1 Corinthians 15:12-20

None of us would say that there is no resurrection of the dead, right? We are orthodox Christians, Trinitarian, Creedal, after all. We

Catholic teaching on sin can be very helpful. The way Catholic teachers describe sins of omission and sins of commission are helpful. The sin of commission is a blatant, intended, known transgression. When we know something might be sinful and still do it, it is a sin of commission. A voluntary transgression of a know law, if you will.

A sin of omission, however, is the failure to do something we ought to have done. We have not lived according to the love we ought to extend. If a sin of commission is perpetrating an act we know we should not have done, a sin of omission is not practicing an act we know we should have.

I’m not telling you something you don’t already know, preacher, but I think it bears repeating in light of 1 Corinthians 15:12-20. This pericope is well known. There is a clear thesis to these passages; Christ is resurrected!

I think we’d all say, with Paul, how can you say there is no resurrection of the dead? To make that claim is to deny Christ and forsake the great hope of our faith! To say, like those Corinthians, that there is no resurrection of the dead would be, for the sake of this essay, a sin of commission.

The question for us, then, is not if we say there is no resurrection, but if we don’t say there is a resurrection. Does that distinction make sense? The question to guide our preaching (at least for the Church in the West) is not “Are we denying the resurrection?” but “What difference does the resurrection make?”

I’m not fearful that we deny the resurrection, but that the resurrection simply isn’t on the lips and extended by the hands of the Church! We have great programs to keep folks “engaged.” We have exciting initiatives to “make a difference” (define that as you will). We can give people opportunities for personal growth and emotional wellness. These are all well and good!

But we don’t need the resurrection for any of these! My fear is that far too many of our endeavors and far too many of our parishioners don’t deny the resurrection, but simply forget it! My fear is that the resurrection is secondary to everything else we try to do!

If this sounds overly harsh, it’s because I’m writing this to myself… There is a denominational conference I will be attending focusing on “Mission” or, dare I say it, “Evangelism.” When I think about the missional work being put forth by those under my lead do we tell people the good news of our great music or the good news of our growing children’s program or the good news of a redesigned worship space? Again, all well and good, but not the resurrection!

Preacher, can you remind your people, who most certainly won’t deny the resurrection, that the resurrection is the great hope of our faith? Can you remind them that as good and inspiring as all the other wonderful things happening in your church may be, that all of that is secondary to the Resurrection of Christ!

We may not be like those Corinthians who deny the resurrection. May we not neglect to preach and teach and practice the resurrection!

As a final note; consider lengthening the reading this Sunday to verse 22. And consider listening to Handel’s Messiah P. III “Since By Man Came Death.” This beautiful little piece captures the hope of the resurrection as laid out by Paul!

Friends, Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again and we will share in His Resurrection. This is the Good News of Jesus Christ!