Die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt
A proverb says, "Hope dies last!" If this proverb were true, death would be the end of hope. In the sermon at Pentecost, Peter declared that death could no longer hold Jesus: “God raised him up and delivered him from the pangs of death, for it was impossible for death to hold him” (Acts 2,24).
Paul later explained that Christians, as depicted in the symbolism of baptism, participated not only in the crucifixion of Jesus but also in his resurrection. «So we are buried with him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may walk in a new life. For if we have grown together with him, become like him in his death, then we will also be like him in the resurrection »(Romans 6,4-5).
That is why death has no eternal power over us. In Jesus we have victory and hope that we will rise to eternal life. This new life began when we accepted the life of the risen Christ in us by believing in him. Whether we live or die, Jesus remains in us and that is our hope.
Physical death is difficult, especially for relatives and friends who are left behind. However, it is impossible for death to hold the dead because they are in a new life in Jesus Christ, who alone has eternal life. "But that is eternal life, that they know you, who you are the only true God and whom you have sent, Jesus Christ" (John 17,3). For you, death is no longer the end of your hopes and dreams, but the transition into eternal life in the arms of the heavenly Father, who made all this possible through his Son Jesus Christ!
by James Henderson