Sermon on 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, for the 25th Sunday after Trinity (1 Yr), "Hope in the midst of grief"
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. The seasons of the church year are changing, and we are coming to the end of one year, and the beginning of the season of Advent in a couple of weeks, as we anticipate Christmas. The end of the church year focuses on Christ’s and coming judgment of the living and the dead. Today’s reading from 1 Thessalonians 4 is often heard at funerals, but also gives us some basic information about Jesus return. Paul begins by saying that “ we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep.” When Paul says “ uninformed”, he’s obviously hinting that they have some basic shortcomings understanding death and the end times. One idea in the church seemed to be that some were afraid they had missed Jesus’ return and that He had already come. Today some shortcomings and confusion might include ideas about reincarnation and multiple lives, or ideas about a resurrection without a physical body, or that we tur...