These devotions are for anyone who is facing death and for those who are facing the death of someone they love. Each of us responds in many and varied ways to death, and these devotions are an attempt to assist a person deal with some of those emotions and to claim the hope that is ours in Christ.

Mark G. V. Hoffman
9-88
LORD, IF YOU HAD BEEN HERE....

Read John 11:28-37. Lazarus has died in Bethany, and Jesus has just arrived there. He has already met Martha and now meets Mary.

We see in these verses how Mary directly charges Jesus with the kind of concern with which we dealt in the previous meditation. Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Strangely enough, Mary says this seemingly without anger or bitterness but with reverence and weeping and calling him Lord. Just what is going on here? Jesus knew how this story would end, but what did Mary know or think?

We know that this story turns out well, but what are we to make of Jesus’ initial response to Mary’s charge? Jesus does not give some consoling platitudes. Jesus does not just return Lazarus to life right away. Instead, Jesus goes to the place of death, and being deeply moved and troubled, he weeps. What kind of Lord do we have who weeps? In verses 36 and 37, we see that Jesus’ response could be interpreted either as great love or as hollow sentiment devoid of power. How do we experience God in our situation? Is God powerless? Or is God really loving?

Read the whole Lazarus story now, John 11:1-44. As this story is presented, it is clear that there is some plan and purpose behind it all. Jesus is indeed seen as the Lord of power and resurrection and life. Even more importantly, we see that Jesus does truly love us and sorrows over our suffering.

All this becomes clear as we look back over Lazarus’ story, but we do not have such a vantagepoint for viewing our own story. Then again, this story just might have something to say about our story. How does your story read? How will your story end?

LORD, Mary and Martha wondered why you were not there to keep their brother from dying. We too wonder at times. You showed your love and power then. In this time of ours, let us know anew your love for us. Though your power seems so far away now, give us the strength and hope of your power of life and resurrection, dear Savior. Be with us, Lord, Amen.
WHY ME, GOD?

Read Psalm 88.

“Why me, God? It isn’t fair!” Life certainly seems to be just a cruel joke at time. We wonder if there is any sense to anything in those times when we feel thoroughly crushed, when we don’t know if we can bear the pain any longer, when there seems to be no hope at all. And it is in these times that we begin to wonder if God really cares.

The person who wrote Psalm 88 clearly felt the anguish of death approaching and let God know about it. Day and night he cried out to the Lord about his plight and his sense of being forsaken and alone and without escape. And what answer does he get from God? Nothing.
Lord, why dost thou cast me off? Why dost thou hide thy face from me?” (v.14) The psalmist knows of God’s reputation for working wonders and of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness and saving help (vs. 10-12) but where is God now?

That the psalmist laments is understandable, but what is amazing is that he continues to appeal to God. Even in his despair, (or perhaps, because of it), the psalmist displays an extraordinary trust in God. It is a trust that holds God accountable to his promises of love and faithfulness.

We too seem to be in a situation similar to that of the psalmist. We too can justifiably complain to God. We can wonder where God is. We can ask, “Why me, God?” The psalmist does not find any answers, nor do we find any simple solutions. But do we have any grounds for such trust as the psalmist expresses? Unlike the psalmist, we stand at a point in history where we have seen God revealed in Christ. We have seen Christ forsaken on a cross. Is this any answer, or does it raise another question: “Why did Christ have to die?’

Indeed, we have no easy answers. So what do we have? The psalmist had a God in whom he could trust even in his greatest despair. We do too.

LORD, we want to know, “Why me?” In this prayer to you we acknowledge that we do trust you to be faithful and loving. Answer our prayer and do not hide from us. Yet even in this prayer, we also confess you to be our God upon whom all things ultimately and finally depend. Give us assurance in knowing that we are part of your sovereignty and grant us’ peace in experiencing your love revealed in Christ who died for us. Amen.
BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS

Read Genesis’ 28:10-17. This is the story of Jacob’s leaving home and his vision at Bethel.

So this was the end result of Jacob’s scheming and stealing away of the birthright from his brother Esau. Esau was out to kill Jacob for his treachery, and so Jacob had to flee. Leaving everything behind, Jacob sets out fearfully towards an uncertain future, He certainly had not planned for things to end up like this.

Yet even as this story comes to an end, Jacob discovers that he is just beginning another story. In the time of darkest prospects, God gives to Jacob the brightest promises. One moment Jacob fears to look ahead at all, and the next moment Jacob has everything in the world to look forward to. In his fear and loneliness, God comes to Jacob and promises to be with him. In this revelation, Jacob confesses, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it7

We stand today at an apparent ending of a story, at the coming to an ending of a life. Somehow we are always caught by surprise by the endings. We have not expected or planned for them. Like Jacob, we dread to look to a future that is no future. We too are fearful, apprehensive, and perhaps, not a little bit angry.

Yet do we have any beginning in our situation? What bright promise do we have? Can the Lord be in this place of antiseptic and blood and tubes and machines? Could it be that this place of dying “is none other than the house of God  . . . the gate of heaven?”

God came to Jacob at a desperate time in his life in a desert place and promised to be with him. The presence of God was the assurance of the new beginning. Through Christ, God has promised also to us that he will be with us always (Matthew 28:20), and that nothing can separate us from his love (Romans 8:38,39). We do have beginning and hope and future, though in this place we may not know it. We pray that we may know it.

LORD, we confess that you, as Creator, are the beginning of all things. As Almighty God, you are also the ending of all things. At this time we see the ending more clearly, and we are afraid and unsure, and we do not understand. Lord, let us know your presence with us. Give us the assurance that there is some new beginning, some future in you. Show your love in this place and give us peace and promise. Amen.
THE WARFARE IS ENDED

Read Isaiah 40:1-31

All our words and wisdom pale in the bright hope and confidence so eloquently expressed in. this chapter. These are good words for us to hear. As death draws near, everyone involved needs to hear of the comfort that is ours. Our warfare is near its end. God comes to gather and feed his flock. (v.11) God is great, and his word stands firm forever.

In our last meditation, we considered the importance of saying our good-byes and being reconciled with our family and friends. This passage in Isaiah points out how we are to be reconciled with God. Throughout this chapter, Isaiah portrays the power and magnificence and wonder that are God’s. This confession has two implications.

First, we must kneel in awe and humility before God’s greatness. To confess God’s ‘goodness’ is to confess our humanity and weakness. We recognize that we are as the grass that withers and the flowers that fade. We also acknowledge our sinfulness. To confess God is to confess our sin. Yet it is this sin that God graciously pardons. (v. 2) God has always been merciful, and in Christ’s death on the cross, God has won for us the final victory over sin and death. God has reconciled us through Christ. By our confession and God’s forgiveness, we become reconciled ones, God’s lambs whom he gathers in his arms.

The second result of confessing God is that we receive the benefits of being God’s people. We are forgiven. We are comforted. “Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.” We are consoled by the God who comes to feed his sheep. God who created and rules the universe is the God who sustains us. We are the people who wait for our Lord, whose strength is renewed, who mount up with wings like eagles, who run and are not wearied, who walk and do not faint. (v. 31)

May this be a time of reconciliation, and may it be a time of forgiveness and comfort and strength. May our warfare end in peace.

LORD, you are our God, and we are your people. We confess you as the almighty Creator and Redeemer. We confess our sinfulness before you and thank you for the forgiveness and life you give us through Christ. Be with us now and comfort us. Gather us in your arms and strengthen us in your love. Amen.
PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

Read Acts 2O: 17-38.

Paul was leaving, and this was his farewell. Yet this time it was a final goodbye, for Paul would never be with these people again. “And they all wept and embraced Paul and kissed him, sorrowing most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they should see his face no more.” (vv. 37-38)

We too are facing a final farewell. It is not easy. Like those people who saw Paul off, we weep and embrace and sorrow. Saying goodbye involves both the one who is leaving and those who are remaining in this life, and it is important that we note how Paul says his farewell.

He recounts his past experiences with and among his friends. (vv.18-24). He affirms his present relationship with them. (vv. 25-28) He looks to the future as they continue on without him. (vv. 29-30) He asks that they remember him, commends them to God, and hopes that they have learned from him. (vv. 31-35) In effect_, Paul reviews his life and relations with his friends, settles his ‘unfinished business’ with them, and hopes for their good future in which he is still somehow a part.

Death usually catches us unawares and unprepared. So what can we do if we do have time to ‘get ready’ to die? We can learn from Paul. We need to say our good-byes. We need to recollect our past. We need to be reconciled to our family and friends. We need to look ahead. Too many people have died without saying farewell. A person can gain much peace by letting family and friends know of his or her love and concern for them. He/she can also leave to them the peace that comes from the hearing and knowing of that love. Now is the time to declare that love!

Then, like Paul and his friends, (v. 36), pray with them the following prayer.

LORD, we look back over our lives, and we thank you for all the mercy and goodness you have shown us, But now, as we get ready to leave this life, help us to be reconciled to one another. Grant to the one who must leave the peace of knowing that life has meaning, and that he/she has given meaning in life to others. Grant to those who remain behind the peace arid comfort of having been a part of this person’s life in a way that death cannot destroy. Let your love, Lord, and our love be known. Help us to say goodbye and to be reconciled with family and friends and you. Amen.

THE CROSS

Read Luke 23:32-49.

The significance--and the scandal--of Christianity are bound up in Christ’s death on the cross. Luke’s account of the crucifixion provides us with a number of perspectives from which to see and understand. Keeping in mind our present situation, we need to find our role and the role of Christ in this drama of the cross.

The story speaks for itself well enough. We see the two criminals: one angry and sarcastic, the other penitent and imploring. We see the crowd looking on and the soldiers and rulers mocking and jeering, casting lots for Jesus’ clothes. Through it all, Jesus seems to be a person at peace with the world. He forgives those who kill him. He assures the one criminal seeking comfort. Jesus is also at peace with himself and with God. “Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit!” Jesus stands confidently in the face of death.

How do we stand in the face of death? Perhaps we are, like Jesus, at peace, confident that death is part of our plan and purpose. Or perhaps we are like the crowd, just looking, not quite certain what it all means. Or perhaps we are like the soldiers and rulers, not a little sarcastic of this one who would save others-but who evidently cannot save himself. Are we like the one criminal, angry and bitter at the Christ who does not save us from death? Or do we identify with the other criminal?

At the moment of Jesus’ death, the whole scene changes. The centurion standing by praises God and declares Jesus innocent. The crowd returns home beating their breasts in sorrow. What has happened? Could it be that an innocent person has died without being angry or despairing? Could it be that Christ died because of us? Could God love us so much that he would send his beloved Son to die for us?

Only a risen and living Christ can tell us. And if he does live, this Christ would be one who is able to know and share our pain and tears. This Christ would be one who would stand with us in the face of death, and he would also comfort us with the hope that goes beyond death.

LORD, we stand at a crossroad in life. Hold before us your cross that we may see and know that you share our suffering, that you grieve with us, that you do love us so much that you would die for us. Give us your peace and your hope that you have overcome death. We are sorry, Lord. We are in sorrow, Lord. We are thankful for your sacrifice and victory, Lord, Amen.

NOW AND FOREVERMORE

Read Psalm 121.

“I lift up my eyes to the hills.” What lay beyond those hills for the psalmist? We do not know. But we do know the beautiful expression of hope and confidence he gives. Death lies beyond this final hill that confronts us now. From where does our help come? “The Lord,” says the psalmist. The Lord who created us and who never slumbers will help us. The Lord will keep our life--now and for evermore.

Read Romans 8:31-39.

We see that Paul, like the psalmist, also knows of the God whose love cannot be topped by anything, even death. Like Paul, we have experienced this love in a way that the psalmist never could, for we know the Christ who suffered, died, and rose again to declare God’s undying love. “God is for us,” Paul announces. “Who is against us?” So then, in the face of danger or suffering or even death, Paul knows that “We are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” We are victorious warriors marching through the darkness and desolation and death around us in the bright light of God’s love revealed by his Son who leads us.

Read Philippians 4:4-7.

‘Rejoice in the Lord alway; again I will say, Rejoice.” Rejoice always? Oh, that we could, but oh, how can we not? The time of death is a time for sadness and grief, but it is also a time for rejoicing. Now more than ever we can see that the victory is ours and that our rest is at hand. Now more than ever we can know of the peace of God which passes all understanding,” for now more than ever the Christ who died stands before us as the Christ who lives. Now more than ever we rejoice in our God who loves us now and for evermore.

Lord God, we praise and thank you for Jesus your Son who has revealed your love for us. We thank you that, by Christ’s death, your love has conquered death and that Christ now lives with us to keep us and give us peace. Our eyes are lifted to you to lead us as victorious warriors through these last steps of this life. We thank you for the life you have given us now, and we place our confidence in you and the eternal life you promise us for evermore. Amen.