One of the ways that we describe life is by using the metaphor of a journey. Life is a journey. We come from somewhere and we are going somewhere. I noticed that the early church fathers referred to churches as sojourning. Clement, in his First Epistle to the Corinthians, wrote, "The church of God which sojourns at Rome, to the church of God sojourning at Corinth, to them that are called and sanctified by the will of God, through our Lord Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, from Almighty God through Jesus Christ, be multiplied." Polycarp was a student of the Apostle John. In his Epistle to the Philippians, he wrote: "Polycarp, and the presbyters with him, to the Church of God sojourning at Philippi: Mercy to you, and peace from God Almighty, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, be multiplied."

I wonder if we shouldn’t recover this idea of a journey as a description for life. We sometimes act as if, this is all there is. And we put a lot of effort into getting the things that make for a pleasant now. But, we Christians know there is a lot more. The writer of Hebrews used the idea of a journey. He called Abraham a stranger and alien in the land of promise. He lived in tents with his fellow heirs, Isaac and Jacob, never receiving the promise of God. If they never received the promise of God, why did they keep on? Abraham knew that life was flawed and broken. And he was willing to live as an alien in the promised land because he knew there was something better. The writer of Hebrews put it this way, "But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them."

Life is a journey. It starts out well, but somewhere along the way, we start to notice that there is something wrong. Al Detter, writing in Leadership Journal said that on his 25^th wedding anniversary, he thanked his wife for all the wonderful years that they had together. They had their four children, both of their parents were still living and they had known many blessings and few problems. But he also said "We won’t arrive at the end of the next 25 years like we have these. Almost everything will change. Our parents will die, our children will leave home, and we will face hardships like we have never known." It was the very next day that the life began to change when his father was killed in a car accident. (Leadership, Fall, 2002, page 108.)

Somewhere along the journey, we notice that the way becomes very rough, almost beyond our ability to bear. We often don’t know how to cope with the struggle. We can’t get a handle on what troubles us. It is too bad that we have lost the imagination of the people of the Middle Ages who saw dragons and monsters and demons behind every rock and every tree. The unknown was filled with danger and the danger had a name. On old world maps, on those areas where no one had gone before was written, "beyond here there be dragons." Today we just fear the unknown without an image of an enemy. And sometimes we can’t imagine our Savior as well.

We have a deep need to be reminded that, even in the 21^st century, we Christians are still aliens and strangers who are looking for a far off country. We share the same anxiety as did the believers at church at Thessalonica.

The Thessalonians were very new to the faith. They did not have centuries and millennia of cemeteries with headstones made of crosses with words of hope written on them. Hope after death was something new to them. Their pagan religions, at best, offered a dreary, shadowy existence in a dungeon like place. One of their writers, Theocritus said, "hopes are for the living; the dead are without hope." But, Paul had told them about our Christian hope. Paul taught the imminent return of Christ. As far as Paul was concerned, Jesus would return any day. They too had that hope. They learned from Paul and it was one of the things that enabled them to endure the hardships of persecution.

However, some of them were dying before the return of Christ and they had questions. It troubled them. What would happen to those who died before Jesus returned? Would they be lost?

Paul said that he did not want them to be ignorant or uninformed about these matters. He did not want them to grieve as those that have no hope. There is nothing wrong with grief. Paul did not want them to grieve like the pagans who knew of no hope after death.

Notice that Paul refers to the dead as those who have fallen asleep. There has been a lot of speculation about what this means. Even Jesus used the term of Lazarus. What does it mean to fall asleep? More than likely, it refers to the temporary nature of death. Just as one awakes from sleep, one will also awake from death. By using this metaphor, Paul is already hinting at the words of hope he is about to issue.

First, he says that if we believe that God raised Jesus from the dead, then we should have no problem believing that he will also raise our dead brothers and sisters. Thus, God will bring with him those who have died in Christ. Paul says that this is by way of the word of the Lord. It is not just mere opinion that he expresses. It is God’s word to us.

Here is the core of the matter, We who are alive are not ahead of those who are dead. In fact, we will not precede them at all. Instead, when Christ returns, he will bring with him, those who have died and are now resurrected as he is. In that great day when all time ends, in that cosmic event where all people will see at once the return of Christ, he will be accompanied by those who have died. The trumpet will sound and the Archangel will shout. Then the dead in Christ shall rise first. I believe that this is the end of time and that those who have died are no longer in time, they are in what we call eternity. When Jesus returns, to those who are living, it is the beginning of eternity as well.

The dead in Christ are first. Then we who are alive will be caught up together to meet them in the air. I suspect it would not be wrong for us to read into this Paul’s later writing in 1 Corinthians 15, we all shall be changed. In that moment we shall be transformed just as those who have died are transformed. In one big massive movement, we will all be caught up with them in the air. What a grand moment that will be! Then we shall be with him forever.

We are to comfort each other with these words. I remember when my father died, I felt I needed to say something. That morning as we were leaving the house, I stopped my family and read this passage because it is commanded that we comfort each other with these thoughts. When we think of our loved ones who have gone on before us. When we ponder our own fate that awaits us. We must remember that for those who are in Christ, it is a done deal. Paul says that right now we are risen with Christ, we are in him, it is a guarantee. So when that day comes, whether it is our own personal death or the death of others, we need to remember the words of Jesus, "this day you will be with me in Paradise."

It will be a grand reunion. When we who are alive are rejoined with those who have gone on before us, we will be taken to be with Jesus forever. That is our destiny. We may have to pass though the land of dragons and wild beasts. Our lives may turn out to be one big battle. But, He who rose from the dead has made us a promise. If we are in Christ, we will persevere to the end because God himself will sustain us.

On that day when the trumpet is sounded, we, his church, his people, will be in his eternal presence forever. Look around this room. These are your companions for the journey, your church! But these are also your companions for eternity. We will be transformed, changed in the twinkling of an eye. And our journey will be over. We will be home