Biblical Commentary and Homiletical Helps
1 Corinthians 15:51-58
Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’ ‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.
The Apostle Paul makes us aware of the mystery of our own existence, suggesting that the power of God, through which Christ rose from the dead, is mysteriously working in us, giving life, beyond what passes, dies and fades, to our mortal and perishable bodies. The mystery of Christ, who triumphed over death, is at work in our lives, for the new power of the Resurrection and the seeds of new life have been planted within us. Yet, we are not always aware of this mystery working in our lives, because we are distracted and preoccupied by so many other things. As a result, we do not pay enough attention to what is happening at a deeper level. Living “outside” ourselves, we do not always realize that, deep down, we have already been changed and renewed. In avoiding the mystery of our own existence, we pay more attention to what is getting older within us, what is withering and dying.
In the same way, we are unable to come to terms with the mystery of the Body of Christ, the Church of God. There, too, we notice what is wilting, what is destined to die, what is not destined to continue and to live on. We often do not go beyond the surface of things; we are more conscious of the turmoil caused by what is taking place around us, and at times are less aware of the fact that God is mysteriously at work within us, changing what is earthy and perishable into new life. The ecclesial body is also being worked with the leaven of new life, but it is not always easy to discover what the victory over death by the Resurrected One is changing. What is Christ doing with his Church? How will new life spring forth from this body, which seems broken, scattered and wounded, dismembered and disunited? We “will be changed” in an instant, of course, at the end of time, but already, now, we can be changed if we remember that our efforts cannot be fruitless in the Lord and that he, our victory and our life, is already building a new reality, allowing to die all that is destined for death and transforming the endeavours of those who work towards unity and reconciliation, giving their efforts life for all time.
Thus, relying on God and on Christ’s victory over the power of death, we can hold firm and remain steadfast – even if efforts for peace and unity are challenged and seem useless at times – assured that “in the Lord,” our efforts cannot be in vain.
Gilles Routhier
Université Laval, Québec, Canada
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