“The Immortal”
Text: 1 Corinthians 15:50-57
4-9-2023
In the name of Him who is the resurrection and the life, dear friends in Christ. Right around 1970 there was a very short-lived TV show called “The Immortal.” It was about a guy named Ben Richards who discovers that he has a rare type of blood which makes him immune to every known disease, including the aging process. Kinda makes you wonder how he ever made it to the age of 30, but that’s not the biggest problem with the show. You see, the title is a misnomer. The word immortal literally means that you cannot die. In the plot of the story, Ben can live forever; but only if he doesn’t have a fatal accident. Which means… that he’s not really immortal. Anyway, there was a billionaire who wanted to get transfusions of Ben’s blood so that he too could have this fountain of youth. And therein lies the trouble. Ben was the only man on the face of the earth who possessed this limited immortality. It’s an oxymoron if you think it through.
The ancient Greeks in their mythology had a little better story line. They believed that there was a food called “ambrosia” which the gods ate and it gave them immortality. The disappointing part of this myth is that ambrosia was only for the gods. There was a guy named Tantalus who got into big trouble when he stole some ambrosia and gave it to humans. That was strictly forbidden. And that’s why humans die while the gods live on and on, or so it goes in Greek mythology.
The Bible, on the other hand, tells us the truth about immortality. And yes, mankind possessed it at one time. As you heard in the Old Testament reading, God created Adam from the dust of the ground and “breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” This was much more than just oxygen. It made the man alive both physically and spiritually. That was never meant to end. Then God gave Adam free access to the Tree of Life. But the fruit on that tree didn’t have some magical power to give immortal life. No, Adam already possessed it. The Tree of Life stood more as a symbol and reminder of the gift God had given. And Eve also was immortal because God formed her from the immortal substance of Adam.
However, all that changed when our first parents sinned. God had warned them that they would become mortal and die if they disobeyed Him, which is what they did. They were then banished from the Garden. In a very real way, they became separated from their source of immortality, which was God. They were now mortal and susceptible to death. And that’s the way it has been throughout the centuries ever since. We have all had mortal bodies passed on to us. Bodies that can be hurt and diseased. Bodies that can and will die someday. But just as important, our souls within our bodies are also affected. As strange as it may sound, even though the soul exists after our physical death, it can experience spiritual death, which is nothing other than total separation from God.
Whether people believe in God or not, it should be obvious to every human being that we are all mortal. Death may come when we’re quite old, or middle aged, or very young. But we’re all equally subject to mortality. Which is why most people like Easter. It may be easy, even for some Christians, to bypass Maundy Thursday. They ask, “What’s the big deal? Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper and now we repeat it a couple Sundays a month. Why go an extra time on a Thursday?” And Good Friday? Yeah, it’s sad that Jesus died. But I see enough death all around me in this world. Let’s skip that and get on to the good stuff. Let’s get to Easter so that I can hear about at least one person who beat death. Let’s hear how Jesus Christ is the original “Immortal.”
If that’s the prevailing attitude of some folks, and sadly I believe it is, then it’s no wonder that the popularity of Lent, Holy Week, and even Easter is waning. Because if that’s all there is, then it’s no different than watching your favorite team win the Super Bowl. It may make you happy but it really doesn’t change your life. Thankfully, there’s more to the Resurrection of Jesus. You see, the benefits of His death and rising again were not solely for Him, like it was for that guy, Ben Richards. Christ, as the Immortal One, is not simply immune to diseases and aging. He’s immune to death! And unlike Greek mythology, the gift of Christ’s immortality is not limited to a chosen group of divine beings. No. as St. Paul tells us in our Epistle reading, Jesus died and rose from the dead so that He could restore immortality to all humans who trust in Him.
The only question is, how do you get it? Well, believe it or not there is a Christian “ambrosia,” that is, a food of immortality. And it’s hidden in plain sight. There is no secret to it, nor is it reserved for a special group of mythological gods. No, it’s for you and it’s found in God’s Word and Sacraments which are the food of immortality for your soul and body. That’s because the Word and Sacraments contain and distribute to us the immortality of Jesus. In the waters of Holy Baptism, your dead, mortal soul was bathed in the immortality of Jesus. Through God’s Word, Christ comes to you with His immortality. By His word of Law, He kills the mortal nature of your sinful soul, and leads you to confession. By His precious Gospel, He fills you with forgiveness, life, and salvation. In the Lord’s Supper, Christ comes to you with His very body and blood in the bread and wine. The ancient Church Fathers were fond of calling Holy Communion the “medicine of immortality.” If we eat and drink it by faith, believing all that Christ has promised, then we receive His gift of immortality for our souls.
That’s why Lent is so important for us. Because it turns our wayward hearts back to Christ through repentance. On Maundy Thursday, our faith is taken back to the origin of the Sacrament of the Altar wherein Christ serves us His medicine of immortality. On Good Friday we are taken back to the cross where Christ died for our sins so that all who believe in Him may receive His immortality. And of course, that’s why Easter morning is so important for us. For on this day, we celebrate Christ’s resurrection and immortality, knowing that through Him we too shall rise from the dead and be immortal with God in heaven. But you don’t have to wait another year in order to celebrate this again. Every Sunday is a commemoration and celebration of the resurrection of The Immortal One, Jesus Christ, who gives to us His immortality. That’s why, as we celebrate, we repeat to one another those joyous words: Alleluia! Christ is risen! {He is risen indeed! Alleluia!} May God continue to strengthen our faith in worship all throughout the year as we are regularly fed by Christ’s great gifts of immortality for both our soul and our body. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria!