On Facing Our Death - Philippians 1:21-23
October 28th, 2005“To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are Philippi with the overseers and deacon: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord, Jesus Christ.”So begins Paul’s letter to the Philippians.
“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always, in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”
Philippians is a very positive letter that breathes with encouragement. Encouragement to continue to walk the walk of faith in Christ into whom you have been baptized.
Philippians is a letter from a pastor who loves his congregation and is very pleased with the way they have allowed the message of the gospel of Christ – crucified, risen and coming again to shape their lives. And in this way, it is also very appropriate for us today.
Paul writes to the Philippians from Rome. What’s he doing in Rome? He’s in prison there, awaiting his trial and sentencing before Caesar for charges brought against him by the Pharisees and Scribes. Paul knows that the Caesar’s verdict could go either way. Caesar’s decision could be execution as easily as it could be acquittal. Death is a very present possibility facing Paul. Paul has been thinking about death. And not just death in general. But he’s been thinking about his death. He shares his thoughts with his congregation.
“For me to live is Christ, to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard-pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” (vs.21-23)
These words express the deepest thoughts of a man who is facing death. But they are not the thoughts and words of Paul. These are Gods thoughts and God’s words for they are inspired by the Holy Spirit and so are “profitable for our teaching and reproof, for our correction and training in righteousness.” (2 Tim.3:16). Theses words are meant for us.
What is our attitude toward death? And not just death in general but to our own death? Talk about a topic that applies to all of us. C.S. Lewis once wrote that even “war doesn’t increase the death toll. Death is total in every generation.” Here is something that believers and unbelievers agree on. The atheist George Bernard Shaw said, “The statistics on death are quite impressive. One out of every one of us dies.”
These are the facts of life – everyone dies. You may certainly live in denial of death. Many do. (By the way, have you made out your will yet?) You may acknowledge that death is inevitable but not something you want to think about – which will call for some serious daydreaming for the rest of this sermon. But Paul thinks about his death. And he includes his thoughts in his letter to his beloved congregation – which means that he wants them to think about their death too. And he gives his own thoughts as an example as if to say – “and here’s how you should think about your death.”
“To live is Christ, to die is gain.” Paul says that dieing is an improvement on living. And therefore, as he weighs the alternatives, Paul prefers death. “My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.” You know how when someone laments having another birthday, and you say, “beats the alternative?” Paul would say, “I don’t think it does.”
Let’s think this through.
The bible calls death the “enemy of God.” God gives life. But death takes life away. When God created Adam and Eve they were built to live forever. But sin entered the world and “the wages of sin is death.” (Rom.6:23).
But the bible says that death does not have the final say. God gives life. Death takes life away. And God gives life back again. The wages of sin have been paid in full on the cross of Christ crucified. Jesus Christ entered into death on our behalf. But death could not take His life away. Christ has died but Christ has risen. (Christ is risen!) “Death is swallowed up in victory.” It has no power over Christ. And you are in Christ. “You have been buried with Christ in your baptism and raised with Christ in His resurrection.” (Romans 6:4). “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Cor.15:26). And Christ destroyed the power of death on the 3rd day.
Now, that doesn’t mean that death is now our friend. Or that we should embrace death. Death is still the enemy. But now, even “death cannot separate us from the love of God in Christ our Lord.” (Rom.8:38). So what are we to think about death – your death? It’s a bee without a stinger. Do not be afraid of it. It cannot hurt you. “O death, where is your sting?” “Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 15:26,54-57).
In light of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, death is no longer the end of the life God has given us. Now, it is simply the door that has been opened to us through which we enter Eden. If you have ever read C. S. Lewis’ “Chronicles of Narnia” – (and if you haven’t you should) every time that Lucy goes into the wardrobe in the attic, she comes out the other side into Narnia, which is heaven. Death is just the door from this life to a better life.
So, what does Paul mean when he says, “For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain”? A nice way to rephrase this would be to say, “to live is Christ and to die is more Christ.” Here, as we live on this side of death, Christ is our life. He is our whole life. And all of Christ is in you and you are in all of Christ. Paul is not saying that on this side of death we only have a portion of Christ – say ½ or 2/3rds and that when we die we get a bigger portion of Him. No, Christ is all in all – on this side of death and on the other side of death. We get no more of Him there than we have here.
But while we are here, on this side of death, we see through a glass dimly as Paul puts it. Christ is present with us and we with Christ but His presence is veiled behind His Word and behind the His Sacraments of bread and wine and water. There, on the other side of death, we shall see Christ in unveiled glory – face to face, as He is. And to the person whose whole life is Christ and for whom Christ is everything – it doesn’t get any better than that.
This is how Paul thinks about his death when he says, “For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain.” And this is the way we should think of our death as well.
The problem that we have in thinking about our own death as Paul thinks about his however is this. Although we agree with all of this in principle, the reality of our life is often altogether very different. Even though Christ has given all of Himself to us and we have all of Christ – we have not given all of ourselves to Him and He is not everything to us.
For Paul, “to live is Christ.” There is nothing else. For us, this is rarely the case. The best we can say if we are honest is that for me to live is Christ – plus finances, plus possessions, plus pleasures, plus, plus, plus. If we were completely honest with ourselves, we would probably say, for me to live is finances, possessions, pleasures, plus Christ – if there’s anything left over.
It is the things of this world that all too often constitute our primary passion. But death most certainly means the end of all of this – our career, our possessions, our money. None of it goes with us. If these are the things that make up the meaning and purpose of our life – then we certainly cannot think about our death as Paul does for then death is not gain but loss. Death is only a gain to the one whose life is Christ.
So, how then shall we prepare for our death? Wouldn’t it be wise to begin now to let go of our attachment to the things of this world that will not go with us and increase our attachment to that which will remain – and the only thing that will remain is Christ. Jesus says it like this, “do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth… but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven….” (Rom.6:19). And Christ is the treasure of heaven.
But we know all of this. And we believe all this. And we agree that it would only make the facing of our death so much easier if we began now to let go of our attachment to these things until we can say, “for me to live is Christ”? But how painful and hard this is for us. We’re like a hawk on it’s perch with that leather thong – one end tied to it’s ankle and the other to the hand of it’s master. How we would like to fly and be free of it all – but we’re so tied to the things of this world. Maybe this is what the psalmist was thinking of when he said, “the cords of death entangle me…” But all those cords are cut when we die. And we are free of all that separates us from Christ. “To die is gain.”
Luther says, “We have the promise and hope of heaven. And the reward of our present misery will be so great that we will rebuke ourselves severely for ever having dropped one tear or sigh on account of the sacrifices we endured in this world. Why, we shall say, did we not suffer even worse things? I never would have believed that there could be such surprising joy in heaven; else I would not have dreaded to suffer even much more.”
Think of what else we will not go with us through death. All of our greed, our envy, our jealousy, our anger, our prejudice, our shame – everything that tempts us to sin and all of our sin. All war and injury, sickness and disease, poverty and injustice. All of that is finally stripped away from us through death. And the struggle is over and the fighting is done. And there is only the feast of victory for our God.
No wonder Paul says, “my desire is to depart and be with Christ for that is far better.”
C.S. Lewis puts it beautifully in the final book in the Narnia series. Lucy and the children are once again in Narnia. They had visited several times but, but like Paul in prison, there were always told to return because there was still work for them to do. Now Aslan, the lion who is the Christ figure in the story says to them, “You do not yet look so happy as I mean you to be.” Lucy said, “We’re so afraid of being sent back, Aslan. You have sent us back into our own world so often.” “No fear of that, “said Aslan. “Have you not guessed?” “There was a real railway accident,” said Aslan softly. “Your father and mother and all of you are – as you used to call it in the Shadowlands – dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.” (The Last Battle – p.165).
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» On Personal Relationships - Philippians 2:1-11
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