https://assets-cdn2.dropwave.io/086174f0-efbe-400f-a3e9-b91549a26ab7/media/Trinity 16 AD 2026.mp3

https://app.dropwave.io/show/our-savior-lynchburg/trinity-16-ad-2026

++ JESU JUVA ++

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

[The Fear]

Many of you know what it’s like to be at the bedside of one who is dying. But fewer of us have been there when death comes. It’s a strange kind of experience. The person who lies there appears to become a mere shadow of what he used to be. He looks like a person, but not. He looks at peace and yet unearthly.

The Bible is concerned with death. We prefer to push it off and not think about death — especially our own. I think that’s part of why so many people don’t want to go to funerals. To die is to cross into a place unknown. It’s frightening. When death comes for our loved ones, it brings us such sadness. So we don’t want to think about it.

The theological reality is that looking into a coffin is sort of like looking into a mirror. If the Lord Jesus tarries, you will one day look like that, too. Our fear of death is not just because death comes at the end of life. We fear death because we live under its power now. Death’s power holds us still in thrall And bears us toward the tomb. Death’s dark’ning cloud hangs like a pall That threatens earth with doom (LSB 552:4). In the very midst of life Snares of death surround us (LSB 755:1).

We suffer the corruption and disorder that sin has wrought in the world — and in our own bodies and souls. Not just death, but the effect it has on us. We live with constant reminders of death: not just that people die, but that they get sick, old, and infirm; that there are constant wars and rumors of wars; inflation; unemployment; abuse; loneliness; and the realization that we are not in control; emptiness; apathy; and despair.

Natural man fears death. He tries to distance himself from it. That’s why he tries so hard to solve it and all the things that remind of death — whether by science or technology or medicine or sheer force of will. Others believe the solution is to not let death come for them, but to embrace it — to choose the hour of one’s death. God alone has the power and right to give and to take life, but we take this authority to ourselves.

Of course, we don’t want to admit this is what we are doing. So we use old terms that have soft meanings. When man wants to describe intentionally taking the life of a child in the womb, he uses a word that meant “to fail, to disappear, to pass away.” In old Latin use, ‘abortion’ was a general term applied to death or miscarriage or even the sunset.

Or when we want to describe the practice of taking the life of the old or the infirm, we use a term that means “good death.” But no matter what we call it, “Medical Assistance in Dying” or “euthanasia” can never be good deaths. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). I sin. Sin will cause me to die. None of man’s solutions work against death because death isn’t a matter of science or medicine or philosophy.

Death is a spiritual problem. That means that the fear of death — and everything that accompanies it — are spiritual matters. At root, the fear of death is unbelief. It’s doubting God’s Word and refusing to believe His promises. This is why we fear death. Because beyond death comes the judgment of God. Each of us are accountable before Him. This, then, is why I keep coming to church. I need the Gospel every week, every day. The weight of death isn’t just out in the world, but in my own heart.

[Death comes anyway]

Today’s Gospel tells of a young man who had an encounter with death. Young men aren’t supposed to die. They’re supposed to be strong and healthy, supposed to be able to fight off those who oppose them. This young man cannot fight this enemy; he’s too strong. Nor can death be outrun. Death comes for him and carries him off.

But what about Dad? Dads are supposed to defend their sons and their families. Dads are supposed to help their children. But Dad is no help in this case. Dad cannot stop death. He must step aside. Even more, death has already come for the young man’s dad. Mom couldn’t help him, either. Moms are supposed to help their kids. But Mom has to step aside — has to let death walk in and take her son.

Doctors, too, no matter how hard they try, cannot stop death, either. They can’t fix it. How about your possessions? your intelligence? your money? your good works? No. None of these can stop death.

Unless Jesus returns beforehand, all of us will die. The only difference is when and how. Some die old. Others die young. Some by illness; others by accident or violence. Some are weak or infirm. Others are athletic and healthy. No one is safe. Everyone must yield to death. Tomorrow isn’t promised to anyone. One day in this life will be your last.

It used to be the case — It happens, but less so now — that when a funeral procession comes down the road, people yield. They stop. They take off their hats. They pray. They wait. Death gets the right-of-way. I remember my grandfather’s funeral procession. It was a small town. There were men working on a power line. They saw the hearse coming, and they came down out of their cherry picker and took off their hats until everyone had passed by.

I think there’s something pious in this. Death is our fierce enemy. We can’t escape it. So we offer it a kind of solemn recognition. So every man will yield before death because we cannot defeat it.