food4thought

Audio download available here http://www.christchurchbalham.org.uk/ccb/sermons.php

There are some very stupid things written in cards for funerals. For example there’s one card that says ‘Those we love, never really leave us’. But that’s not true is it. They have left us and that’s why it hurts so much.

It’s true that the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ transforms our experience of funerals, as we’ll see. But however firm our Christian faith may be, the loss of a close Christian friend produces a profound emotional shock. The death of a loved one raises questions about what has happened to them, whether they’re alright and whether we’ll see them again. And so it’s quite normal for us to be apprehensive about our Christian friends who have died.

The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to deal with just that issue. It wasn’t the principal reason he wrote. He wrote principally to defend his ministry and his absence from the young church he’d planted. But in writing Paul was able to respond to questions they’d send back to him through his envoy Timothy. One of those questions was, ‘what happens to those who die before the Lord comes?’

It appears as though this church was unprepared for this eventuality. That’s probably because they assumed that Jesus’ return was not only imminent but also immediate. They thought not only that Jesus would return but that he’d do so in their lifetime. Perhaps some of their Christian friends had died in the past year and they wondered what that meant for them. In response Paul taught that their future was not one without hope and he then explained what that hope is.

Though it may feel odd for us to turn to a letter written two thousand years ago to help us cope with the contemporary problem of someone’s imminent death we’re in exactly the same situation. Both the Thessalonian Christians of the first century and we, live between the two arrivals of Christ. We live after his first arrival associated with his life, death, resurrection and ascension and we live awaiting his return.

• Paul’s purpose in writing was to explain that the dead in Christ will return with the coming of the Lord.

• Paul’s aim in writing was to comfort a church unsettled by events surrounding the return of Christ.

Before Paul begins to deal with their questions he makes two preliminary points. Look at (13).

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

a. We do not want you to be uninformed

Paul realised that there was something deeply unsatisfactory about ignorance in the church. Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is the source of many a problem. Rather than the kind of ‘folk sentiment’ and deceptive well wishing that characterises many funerals he feeds them with solid biblical teaching about events surrounding the Lord’s return. He knew that for the disciple of Jesus to cope with all that life throws at us we need understanding. That’s perhaps never more the case than in the situation where we feel powerless in the face of death.

b. We do not want you to grieve like the rest of men

Paul does not forbid grief altogether. It’s a natural response. It would be unnatural for us to mourn when we lose someone near to us. Whilst we want to remember that Christ’s death transforms the grieving process there’s still a grieving process. It’s just that we don’t need to grieve like everyone else does. The reason is that, as followers of a resurrected Lord, we have hope. Hope in biblical vocabulary is not wishful thinking it’s a certain outcome announced ahead of time. It’s this hope that Paul now expounds.

1. The dead in Christ are with him (14)

Look at (14).

14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

Paul used the word ‘sleep’ in (13), (14) & (15). But when talking about the same people in (16) he referred to them as the ‘dead in Christ’. He therefore used the word as a euphemism for ‘dead’.

The word ‘sleep’ is not intended to communicate the idea of unconsciousness beyond the grave. It’s not as though we’ll be unaware of what’s going on around us in heaven as we await the new creation and our resurrection bodies.

Jesus’ words to the thief on the cross and in his parable about Lazarus and the rich man suggest that what follows death is a conscious awareness of bliss or pain. In Philippians Paul said that to die would be better than living and it’s hard to imagine that he thought being unconsciously unaware was preferable to relationship with Christ.

So the word ‘sleep’ refers not to the soul, which is with Christ, but to the body which rests in the grave. And it’s such a good metaphor for death since

• it illustrates the stillness of the body
• it conveys a period of rest after labour
• it declares a temporary state of affairs

Sleep suggests that death is not permanent. Just as waking up follows sleep so too will resurrection follow death. But his point here is not about state of the dead in Christ but their location. They are with Christ. At the moment of our death we will immediately be with the Lord.

Though his body will lie in the grave and we will mourn his absence James will be with Christ. Our grief is not for James for he is going home. Our grief is for ourselves and for Sarah who must cope with his absence.

2. the dead in Christ won’t get left behind (15)

Look at (15).

15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.

Paul asserted that what he taught derived from an historical word from Christ. This probably means that at some stage of Jesus’ life he taught on this issue but that none of the gospel writers chose to record it. That’s not uncommon for Paul. He did it elsewhere for divorce and paying gospel workers.

Paul used the phrase ‘we who are alive’. This seems to suggest that Paul thought that he’d live to see Christ’s return but that’s unfair. It’s just Paul’s habit of identifying himself with the people about whom he is writing. In this case it’s those who happen to be alive when Jesus returns. It’s ridiculous to think that Paul knew he’d be alive when in a few verses he states that no one knows the time of Christ’s return.

But his point is that when Jesus returns to gather his people, Christians who’ve died won’t be at a disadvantage. They won’t get left behind. It’s not that Jesus will come to earth in all his glory and then have to turn round when he realises forgot to bring the dead with him. There’s no possibility that the dead in Christ will be separated from Christ when he returns or from those alive in Christ. There’s an unbreakable solidarity amongst God’s people.

Jesus is a very wonderful saviour. He will lose none of those whom the Father has given to him. He died for says like today and he won’t leave any of his people behind.

3. the dead in Christ will rise first (16)

As we read these verses we need to be wary of three errors.

• We need to be wary of cynical unbelief.

Though those with whom we rub shoulders on this crowded island are increasingly persuaded by a scientific naturalistic world view, the idea that this world is all that there is and life can be explained solely by science, we must resist the temptation to follow them in their folly. There’s more than enough evidence to convince even the most hardened sceptic that this world is not all that there is.

• We need to be wary of fanciful speculation.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive treatise on personal eschatology, there’s lots of important details that Paul has omitted. We must resist the temptation to fill in the blanks with our own ideas that have little to do with what the Bible teaches.

• We need to be wary of over simplification.

Some people have a way of reading the Bible which pays no attention to its literary form. They read it in a wooden literalistic way and inevitably end up drawing conclusions that have little to do with the author’s intended meaning. With those provisos ringing in our ears we can turn our attention to the four things that Paul asserts.

a. The Lord Jesus will return

16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God.

Christians anticipate a personal visitation of our Lord. Accompanying Jesus’ return will be a universal, authoritative, divine proclamation heralded by a command, an angelic voice and a fanfare. Presumably this will announce the end of this earth and summon the dead to resurrection. These three noises are meant to indicate the overwhelming, irresistible nature of the summons.

b. Those dead in Christ will be resurrected

And the dead in Christ will rise first.

Paul has already told us that Jesus will bring the dead in Christ with him. But now he tells us in what form they’ll come. They’ll be clothed in immortality, wearing their resurrection bodies. It doesn’t say that here. All it says is that they will be resurrected. But in 1 Corinthians 15 Paul fills in some of the blanks.

c. Those alive in Christ will be raptured

17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

The English word ‘caught’ here is the Greek word ‘harpazo’ from which is derived the Latin word ‘rapere’. It could be translated ‘raptured’. The point is that it implies suddenness, as though someone had been snatched. When Jesus returns we who are alive will be snatched away to join him and the rest of his people. The clouds and the air are probably meant to be understood symbolically rather than literally. The clouds symbolising the presence of God and the air stressing that this meeting will transcend space. This will be unlike anything that we’ve ever experienced before.

d. There will be a massive reunion

17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.

The momentary encounter with the Lord will lead to an everlasting relationship. We will be separated from James for a while but it’s only a temporary interruption in our relationship. It’s not permanent. One day we’ll catch up and we’ll have all eternity to do it.

Concluding Implications

Let me summarise what Paul is saying. Despite the death of close Christian friends we have no reason to feel that their cause is hopeless and that they’re lost forever. On the contrary, they’ll be hanging on the back of Christ’s coat tails when he returns in glory.

Paul’s aim in writing was neither to confront them with their own mortality, nor to answer academic questions about precisely what happens at the end of time. Look at (18).

18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

Paul’s concern was to strengthen them in their grief and comfort them in their suffering. He anticipated that we’d encourage one another with these words. Our words are supposed to be encouraging. But what’s so encouraging?

1. There is an existence beyond the grave.

Death is not the last word. This life is not all that there is. Our existence in the New Creation will be one big reunion. We’ll be reunited with Christ and it’ll be like meeting a pen friend for the first time. We know him only by faith now through his word to us but one day we’ll be able to put the Bible aside for he will speak to us in person. But we’ll also be reunited with departed friends and there’ll be a whole load of catching up to do.

2. Our future rests on Christ’s past.

What happens to us in the future is tied to events in Jesus’ past. Christ has died and risen, he has paid the price for sin and triumphed over death, if we are united to him by faith we share in these events. Our future resurrection to life in the new creation is unavoidable. Just as we cannot change history neither can we change what will happen to us in the future.

3. The gospel transforms grief

That’s why Christians shouldn’t grieve like those who have no hope. We’ll grieve of course because we’re human and it would be unusual for us not to express the pain of parting and the severance of relationships in emotionally appropriate ways. But we have a hope that ought to transform our grief. Unlike the non-Christian funeral we have it on God’s word that we’ll see our Christian friend again and we know that we’re not lost forever.

These are the two e-mails sent at the time of James’ death. The first is an e-mail sent to the Co-Mission staff on the Monday before James died. The second is the one sent to CCB members. I wondered about the wisdom of including this or not. I’m learning to err on the side of caution in debatable matters. But the details of James’ death are known as are the identities of those most affected. But the thing that clinched it for me most is that the issues his death raises are issues that we all need to deal with.

Dear Everyone

I thought that you’d want to know that James Meagher was admitted to the Marsden on Friday night for what is expected to be his last time. He will not be returning home but is expected to die in the next few days. His secondary tumour is the one unexpectedly causing the problems. Internal bleeding in his brain is causing his body to slowly close down. He is not in pain but in a steady but stable state of deterioration. He has moments of limited lucidity and has said he’s ‘ready to go’. He is in Sarah’s words, ‘dying well’. I’ve been able to see him on three occasions in the last few days and we’ve read the bible, I’ve reassured him of the gospel promise of life and the prospect of going home to meet his Saviour and we’ve prayed. He is in good heart, though a pale shadow of his former self.

Few of the Doctors thought that he’d survive longer than Saturday morning. In one sense his prolonged demise is problematic. The family are weary, they’ve had very little sleep and they’re ready for him to go. They’ve said their goodbyes and for James’ sake they’re keen for him to move on to the next stage of his life. Wonderfully there’s great confidence among the Christian family about where he’s going. Being among them is a great privilege. Once I’d found my feet I’ve been able to lead them in praying together in the waiting room and by James’ bedside. The atmosphere is one of encouragement, support and prayerful godliness. It’s not at all awkward, they are terrific Christian people.

If you wanted to pray then asking God to grant him a swift death would be high up Sarah’s list of priorities. She is bearing up well. She is grieving already, she’s very, very sad to be losing the man she loves but she’s thrilled for him that he’ll be miraculously healed within a matter of a few hours. She is being looked after by a terrific Christian woman called Audrey Nelson. Audrey is one of Sarah’s prayer partners at CCB and she has resolved to be a constant companion throughout this ordeal.

Obviously lots of people at CCB are terribly upset and as you would expect there have been lots of tears. But as wonderful a servant as James was in his 4 ½ years with us in the providence of God his death may well accomplish even more. There’s a fresh realisation that church is not a hobby, that Christ’s death is more than just an idea and there’s real appreciation that church is a family. We’ve been able to remind one another that this is why Christ died. For me I’ve been reminded that this is why we do the job that we do – we’re helping people to die in faith. So do pray that the Lord would teach all of us at CCB that we’re not invulnerable to death, that Christ is a wonderful Saviour and that the gospel is life and death. Hope to see you later on today. With best wishes in Christ

Perks

This e-mail was sent to everyone at CCB. We’d talked in both the All Age and Evening Meetings about James’ condition and passed on some reflections from Sarah.

Dear Everyone

James Meagher died this morning at the Royal Marsden Hospital. He died peacefully and was in no discomfort. He is with the Lord.

Sarah and the family are well but as we would expect they are weary and grieving. But as they keep emphasising, they grieve not for James but for themselves. They are aware that this is not the end of a relationship but merely an interruption, painful though it is.

It has been a great privilege to be with this family as they have cared for James and for one another. They are great Christian people. There have been truly wonderful times of laughter, recollection and prayer. The Lord has sustained this family through these last few days and He has comforted them with His word.

I read these words of Jesus to James and the family last night,

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:1-6

James knew this. He believed it. And it’s this confidence that continues to comfort Sarah, the family and those who love James.

It is likely that the funeral will happen in the middle of next week. Do continue to pray for Sarah if you are able.

With best wishes in Christ

richard

The following is from Sarah and was included in the order of service

Thank you for coming today and being part of this public farewell to James. It means a great deal to me and the rest of James’s family that you are here today.

Thank you for supporting James and I through his illness. So many different people have looked after us in many different ways since the tumour was diagnosed in October 2004. We are very grateful. Throughout James’s illness we have always felt cared for and supported by a multitude of people.

Today is a very sad day as we say goodbye to James. James was a wonderful, loving and caring man, and I was privileged to be his wife. James not being here any more leaves a huge hole. We are all grieving the loss of James, the loss of potential in our relationships and experiences that we won’t be able to share with him. There will be many things in the years to come that James would have loved.

But as we grieve, we are grieving for us missing out and not grieving that James can’t do or be all that he could have. James is now somewhere so much better – Heaven. Instead of struggling in this life, dealing with the limitations of his illness and the knowledge that his life here was ending: he is in Heaven where there is no pain and is rejoicing in God’s presence.

James was ready to go from this life to the next. He knew and understood what was happening and in God’s mercy he did not endure a long period of knowing his death was imminent. Between last Friday and Tuesday morning his family and I were all able to say goodbye. James left this world knowing he was very loved. He died peacefully and without pain in his sleep.

So although we mourn, and I will cry more than you all, it is a real comfort to share memories of James and to remember that it is we who are missing out on James, not the other way round, because James is somewhere amazing.

This passage from Isaiah 25: 6-9 reminds us how great Heaven is for James:

On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine— the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. In that day they will say, "Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation."

James and I hope that you will be able to say this too, so we can all meet again in Heaven.

Much love

Sarah

I took my first adult funeral service today. James died last Tuesday morning, after a rapid decline in his health over the weekend. He was 28 years old. He left behind his wife Sarah and a host of family and friends. This is the text of the sermon I preached. Both Sarah and James left me in no doubt of what they wanted me to say!

Audio download available here http://www.christchurchbalham.org.uk/ccb/sermons.php

A few days ago when Sarah and I were talking she said this, ‘I want you to explain why James’ death is not the worst thing that ever happened and in many ways why it’s the best thing that’s ever happened’.

Is that not an extraordinary thing for a wife to say? Of course, James would have said the same thing. And on hearing those words we might assume that this was an unhappy marriage! But those of us who knew them well know that simply isn’t the case. There’s was a marriage in which the parts complemented the whole to greater effect. But is it not a surprising thing for a wife to say, a wife who adored her husband, a man she’d known since they were three, a wife who his mourns his departure and grieves the ‘neverness’ of their future life together?

So what could convince someone in the midst of the anguish of grief to say such a thing? Resuurection hope. It’s the hope of the resurrection, where the meaning of the word ‘hope’ is defined by the Bible and not by the dictionary. ‘Hope’ in Christian vocabulary means not ‘wishful thinking’ but ‘certain confidence’, the certain confidence that on the basis of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead that life does not end in the grave.

But that’s an idea that’s met by scepticism in our own age. Many find the idea of our bodily resurrection hard to accept. And they are not alone. Since that seems to have been the issue that dominated the passage Steven read to us earlier. Look at (35).

35 But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?"

Some were saying that the idea that a dead body could live again is ridiculous. They were denying that there was a physical, bodily resurrection for believers beyond the grave. It may be that some of us here may feel the force of that argument. But Paul responded in no uncertain terms.

36 How foolish!

And to establish the claim that our existence does not end in the grave Paul mentions three things about our bodies in what is a breathtaking section.

1. our bodies will be transformed (36-44)

In these verses the Apostle Paul demonstrates from the world around us that God has a track record of producing and transforming bodies.

In verses (36-38) Paul gives us a lesson in gardening.

What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. 37 When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed, perhaps of wheat or of something else. 38 But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body.

A seed must die before it emerges transformed as a plant. What we put into the ground is not the plant but the seed. It’s the same seed that arises out of the ground but it’s transformed with a new body. But God gives the seed a new kind of body ideally suited to its environment and purpose.

In verses (39-41) Paul takes us to the zoo, the aquarium and the planetarium.

39 All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. 40 There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendour of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendour of the earthly bodies is another. 41 The sun has one kind of splendour, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendour.

Not all bodies are identical. God has clothed animals, birds and fish with different kinds of bodies. He has also created heavenly bodies with a splendour and brilliance that sets them apart from earthly bodies. Paul’s point is that it’s ridiculous to think that God can’t transform us for heaven. God has a CV with ’body manufacture’ as an area of expertise. Whether it’s land, sea, air or space God doesn’t struggle to make bodies designed for that environment.

And so in (42-44) Paul invites us to consider the implications for the resurrection of human bodies.

42 So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; 43 it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; 44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

In the same way that seeds perish in the ground, our bodies will eventually wear out and die. But they will rise up out of the ground transformed. Our decaying, sinful, vulnerable and impotent bodies will be transformed into indestructible, glorious, powerful and everlasting bodies. 

In the 2 ½ years of James’ illness his physical capabilities slowly deteriorated. Increasingly he found himself unable to do the things that he wanted to do. Suffering further humiliating debilitation was one of the things he feared most from a protracted period of palliative care. In answer to his prayers God mercifully rescued him from that. Medical problems are not his issue any more. But it’s not simply that they’ve gone away it’s better than that. Wonderfully his ailing body will be completely transformed.

2. our bodies will be heavenly (44-49)

In this section Paul argued that since there is an earthly body for this earth so too must there be a heavenly body for heaven.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit.

Paul teaches that there are two progenitors or originators for humanity. There’s the first Adam and the last Adam. Christian men and women can claim descent from both.

From the first Adam we gain natural human life.

Quoting from Genesis 2 Paul recalled the creation of the first man to enjoy relationship with God. God gave Adam an earthly body constituted from the chemical elements found in the ground. He was a man made from dust and sustained by God’s breath of life.

From the last Adam we gain supernatural resurrection life.

When he was raised from the dead, the second Adam, Jesus Christ received a different kind of body. In his resurrection appearances Jesus manifested a more glorious human existence. He not only has the breath of human life but he is able to give spiritual sustenance to those who believe in him. However, historically the first natural Adam preceded the last supernatural Adam.

46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.

Adam came before Christ and in the same way our natural existence must come before our supernatural existence. Put another way we must assume the appearance of the first Adam before we assume the appearance of the last Adam.

Of course this is not automatic. If we’re to share the hope of the resurrection body we need to be in Christ every bit as much as we’re in Adam. And to be in Christ is to be united to him by faith. Our deliberate identification with him is brought about by entrusting our past, our present and our future into his hands. This was James’ settled conviction. It never wavered even as he stared death in the face. And because of that faith he will enjoy a new existence.

3. our bodies will be imperishable (50-57)

In this section Paul explained that the resurrection body is necessary because perishable flesh and blood cannot survive in the eternal kingdom of God.

50 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable

Because the perishable cannot inherit the imperishable we will be changed (51-53)

51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

The transformation of believers will occur when Christ returns. It will happen instantaneously. Those alive at the time of his return will be changed. Those who are asleep in death, present with Christ but not yet in bodily form, will also be changed. In less time than it takes to blink all of Christ’s people will be clothed by God with imperishable immortal bodies.

Clothed in immortality we can taunt death (54-55)

54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." (Isaiah 25) 55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (Hosea 3)

When Christ returns Christians will be able to take those Old Testament quotations to our lips and mock the threat of death. The reason for that taunting will be that death will be rendered impotent (56&57)

56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Sin, our refusal to let God direct our lives, is like a deadly sting that causes death. The law, the expression of God’s will for us, provokes our sinful disobedience. That deadly combination appears invincible. But death has been defeated not by us but by another who shares the spoils of his victory. In his death in our place, suffering the punishment for our sin and in his resurrection from the dead, guaranteeing our eternal life, Jesus Christ has rendered death impotent. Death was not the last word in Jesus’ biography nor will it be in ours.

We have not seen the last of James Meagher! Our relationship with him has not ended. It is merely interrupted. And painful though we find that interruption we await a future time when raised to life with him we will share in the victory achieved by our saviour Jesus Christ.

Conclusion

The conclusion comes in (58).

58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain.

In the face of the unsettling cynicism of their sceptical friends they were to remain unshaken in their commitment to the resurrection. There will always be those who try to persuade us that there’s no existence beyond the grave. The evidence says otherwise. James believed that.

But they were also to remain unyielding in their dedication to gospel work because it lasts into eternity. James was a man who remained a faithful servant of Christ and his gospel to the moment of his death. Not even sickness could prevent him from participating in church life as best as he was able.

When a grieving widow says, ‘this is not the worst thing that ever happened and in many ways why it’s the best thing that’s ever happened’ it is not wishful thinking. It’s a conclusion drawn from a conviction about the resurrection of the dead. And that transforms grief. We grieve, of course we do, because we miss him. And we grieve not for him but for ourselves. But our grief is not without that certain hope to sustain us. Let’s pray.