Devotion • August 6
Today’s Scripture Reading
Romans 14:7–12
We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. Why do you pass judgment on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” So then, each of us will be accountable to God. (NRSV)
Reflection
In the traditional Protestant funeral order, the service opens with “The Sentences.” These are verses of scripture clothed in comfort and rooted in the hope of life eternal. They set the tone of the service and orient our hearts to the purpose for which we gather: to give witness to the resurrection. One of the verses that has comforted mourners for nearly two millennia comes from Paul’s letter to the Romans: If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.
Paul is stating the obvious: as mortals, we live in the boundary of life and death. Paul himself is keenly aware of this reality. Not only is his body aging, but he is also living under constant threat of persecution. Yet Paul states a near fearlessness about the prospect of death, for he is confident that alive or dead, he is in God’s keeping.
Many of us have known people who, when close to death, have that same confidence Paul proclaims. Knowing that life is drawing to an end, they seem to welcome the promises of God with welcome anticipation and a joy that both comforts and disturbs the living. Theologian Karl Rahner called it “grave-merry.” It’s not that they are happy to be dying, but confident that in their death they are with God. It is liberation from all the anxieties and ills of this mortal life.
I don’t want to wait for death to gain that confidence. Do you?
Paul reminds us that we belong to God not only in death, but in life. We are God’s now. Yes, in death we shed the pain and trials of our human existence, and so perhaps it’s easier to embrace the promise of God. Paul’s invitation is to embrace this confidence as we live. We belong to God in life — in all of life, including the aches and limits of mortality. God is with us through it all; guiding, providing, sustaining, loving.
We all live in the balance of life and death. And on both sides, we have a home in God.
Prayer
In life and in death, I belong to you, O God. May I hold fast to that promise. Amen.
Written by Shawn Fiedler, Major Gift Officer
Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church
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