Making a Mockery of Death
This sermon was preached by Fr. Eckardt at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Kewanee, Illinois, on Easter 2017.
Alleluia! Christ is risen!
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Answer me! You, O death, who have paraded yourself and boasted that you were unstoppable, whom no one could undo, for whom no one had an answer, and thus you have brought anguish and grief to the hearts of many and unassuageable tears to their eyes; you, O death whose grim pall has been cast over all mankind, who have laughed in our faces, for we have been helpless and pitiful in your sight. Where are you now, O death? Where are you today? Or have you not yet heard that Christ is risen? But we have heard! And we know it! Christ is risen from the dead! O death, what do you say about this? Have you no reply? Have you lost your voice? Perhaps you are busy. Perhaps you are napping and must be awakened. No reply to this, O death?
And grave, what of you? You were supposed to be the final resting place, the end of life, you were so sure you had the last laugh. But you are wrong! For Christ is risen from the dead! And your treasury has been emptied; you, O grave, have been robbed by our victorious Thief in the night; your victory has been snatched away from you, and today you have lost everything.
You, O death! You, O grave! Today, you are utterly vanquished! And you are the ones who must languish while we celebrate. Today the pall is cast over you, and your power is taken away. And today, the victory we have gained is in fact eternal and impossible to undo. Just as you had made us helpless, now you are helpless and pathetic in our sight, and you have no answer; and our tears are being wiped away, and it is we who sit with our resurrected Lord in the heavens and shall laugh. We shall laugh in your face. For Christ is risen from the dead! O death, you ugly, detestable, deplorable thing: begone! Be forever gone!
The sting of death is sin, which is to say, sin is death’s great weapon. For all have sinned, and there is none who is righteous. Therefore all are guilty and all must die; all are mortal. That’s what death had on us, this undeniable truth, that we have sinned and are therefore not only mortal, but under the wrath of God. All of us, that is, except for one: our Lord Jesus Christ was without sin, and he, for us, not only entered our mortal state—even from the point of his conception, he not only became incarnate, but became mortal; not only mortal, but actually suffered death, even death upon a cross. Death swallowed him up. Death, like a great sea monster with an insatiable appetite and mouth wide open swallowing everything in its path, also swallowed him: such a tender morsel, a delightful worm. Down the hatch he went. But in that worm was embedded and hidden a great divine hook, and the hook was set, and our Lord by his own divinity raised himself from death, and death was suddenly stopped in its path, and yanked, surprised, from its intention. And the predator had become the prey.
Beloved, have you lost someone? Have you been mournful? Does your heart ache in the face of death? Here is immeasurable balm and healing for the mournful, and for the sick at heart: Christ is risen from the dead. For death is vanquished not only in Jesus’ case, but also in ours. Because he is our Brother, the bearer of our own flesh. In Christ, we have gained this victory: Thanks be to God, says the Apostle, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Let these words sink into your ears. Claim this! Seize it! Believe it! Be steadfast and unmovable. You are free now to mock death, and to laugh at the grave.
But what if you doubt? What if you cannot bring yourself to this point? I am not calling upon you today to summon your will to believe, or to talk yourself into denying any doubts you might still harbor. Rather, here is what must be done with all such doubts and fears. Collar them and drag them to the tomb of Christ. Force them to look there. What do they see? He is not there. He is risen, as he said. Next, drag these fears to the upper room, and show them what is there. Put their nose in that scene. What do they see there? Jesus himself standing, saying, Peace be unto you, showing his hands and his side. Your doubts and fears must be taken to the evidence that demands to be seen and heard. They must hear these Gospel tidings. And in this way, let them be driven away.
And this is no idle talk. This is the truth: Christ is risen from the grave! He stood before his disciples and showed himself alive. He declared peace to them. He talked with them. He ate with them. He proved to them that he was alive. And since he is alive, death is dead. Since he lives, not only is his own grave empty, but the graves of all his saints must give up their victims. For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead in Christ shall rise, and we shall be changed. And all because Christ’s flesh is our flesh, his sacrifice is our sacrifice, his death is our death, and his resurrection is our resurrection.
So today let us feast. Let us receive Christ here at the altar. This bread is his living flesh; this cup is his life-giving blood. If you need any further evidence—and we always do—that his resurrection is your resurrection, then be partakers in it here.
And today let us rejoice. Set sorrow aside. This is the Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord. This is a time for a great celebration, than which none could be greater. This is a victory celebration which shall have no end.
And today, let us mock. Let us laugh. Let us deride: O death, where is thy sting? Where are you now? Christ is risen! O death, what is your reply? Nothing to say? Has your mouth been stopped? Truly, you are gagged and silenced forever this day. And we confess the life everlasting. O grave, where is thy victory? Your coffins have been emptied and your coffers have been cleaned out; your victory has been turned into utter defeat, snatched away from you forever, and you have lost your prey. So get lost. You are nothing.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
Alleluia! Christ is risen!