Grandpa Communion

Good Evening,
Death puts fear in the hearts and minds of many all over the world. I remember not to long ago when my Grandfather died. My school day seemed the same as any other day of the week until at my lunch break an office aid came to find me. He said something about my grandpa and his bad condition so I followed him to the office where I was met by Mr. Schishler, my administrator. He told me my Father had called and that it was an emergency. So, Mrs. Maxwell who worked at Colerain High took me home where I met my dad and mother. In a full panic we raced off to Indianapolis Hospital where my grandpa had been for the last couple of months. Arriving at the hospital was a relief. Once we reached my grandpa’s room, the only one in there was my Uncle Greg. (My dad’s younger brother). A call came from the doctor tending him informing of complications during an MRI which he needed because he had fallen into a coma, Greg respected the living will and gave the order to not resuscitate. Only minutes later arrived the news that Richard Willmore died, we were on our way to the elevator to see him. Even though he reached his physical death his life is far from over.
A humble first century theologian wrote this about the death of his Rabbi.

2nd Corinthians 5:14-21
14For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

I have come to love and marvel at this passage. It is beautifully written and a very wise realization of the gospel. The fact that Christ gave himself up to death as a result of human sin means that he surrendoured himself to share our condition; and since he died, we all who believe share in that death and are now dead to sin. Apart from Christ we are dead in sin but in Christ we are dead to Sin.

My grandpa is dead in the worldly point of view however, Christ took his sin so that he may become the righteousness in God and live for eternity. So at this time celebrate with me by taking this small token of reflection to give praise to the one who gave us all life, life in eternity.


Lets pray,
Heavenly father, never will we understand the sacrifice you gave on the cross, yet we wish to show our gratitude. Some day we will meet our physical end but on that day we will rejoice for then we will truly understand life. It is in your wonderful and mighty name of your son that we pray.

Amen.