Sometimes you have a small piece of news to share, and you know exactly who you want to tell. Then you remember that they’re no longer with you.
It can happen in the middle of an ordinary day. You still want to hear their reply. You still wish they were here.
Perhaps you wonder whether believing in life beyond death ought to make these moments hurt less. You have heard about Christian hope, yet missing them remains painfully real.
Today, we can listen to a promise of resurrection with that ache still present.
In First Corinthians, chapter fifteen, Paul writes:
“But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.”
Some people in the church were saying there would be no resurrection. Paul brings them back to Jesus, who died and was raised.
Then he gives them this picture of a harvest. Jesus is the beginning of the resurrection life that his people will share. Paul goes on to say that those who belong to Christ will be raised when he returns.
This hope reaches beyond the years we have here. It rests on what God has already done in raising Jesus, and what he promises to do for those who belong to him.
Paul is speaking of people being raised to life. Later, he describes bodies that will live for ever. God’s answer to death reaches the whole person, loved and known by him.
Yet the person you miss is absent today. The promise of resurrection does not make their absence feel small.
Later in this chapter, Paul calls death an enemy. Even as he speaks with confidence about resurrection, he recognises that death is something to be overcome.
We can hear that promise while still feeling the loss.
In his book Lament for a Son, Nicholas Wolterstorff writes as a father grieving for his son, Eric. He speaks of believing in the God who raised Jesus while also facing the anguish of his son’s death.
His faith and his sorrow appear together on the page. The resurrection remains something he believes, while the loss remains something he suffers.
Perhaps that helps you hear Paul’s words more gently. You can trust that God will raise those who belong to Jesus and still long for the person you miss to be here today.
You may believe the promise with tears running down your face. You may read it quietly, finding the words hard to take in. The hope rests in the risen Jesus through all of that.
Your tears cannot undo his resurrection. A painful afternoon cannot remove the future he has promised his people.
Today, read First Corinthians fifteen, verses twenty to twenty three, slowly once. You might do that at home, in a place where you feel comfortable.
Let yourself pause over the words. If tears come, they can come. You are receiving a promise in the middle of your grief, without having to make yourself feel stronger afterwards.
The passage begins with Jesus already risen. It ends with the promise that his people will be raised too, when he returns. You can read those words slowly, with the person you miss still very much on your mind.
Question for you: what does it mean to you that resurrection hope can be present while you still miss someone? Share only what feels comfortable in the comments.
Let us pray.
Risen Lord Jesus, we miss those who have died. Thank you that your resurrection gives your people hope beyond death. Help us receive that promise gently, with our sorrow still present. When the words are hard to take in, meet us with your kindness. Hold us as we read, and help us trust you with the future. Amen.
Join me next week as we commemorate Remembrance Sunday and ask how we might use the freedom others fought for.