Jim Cassell Memorial Meditation

No funeral or memorial service, but I was given a few minutes to speak at the memorial gathering, so this is what I said:

Jesu Juva

“A Building that Lasts Forever”

Text: 1 Corinthians 15:19-23; Matthew 28:1-10

The reason we can celebrate Jim’s life is because of Jesus’ death. And resurrection. Otherwise, as Saint Paul said, there is only this life. And if we have hope only for this life, how sad is that. 

But as those women who went to the tomb that sad Sunday morning found out, there is hope after the grave. They went expecting a full grave and a dead body. What they saw was an empty grave and a living Jesus. It was a stunning reversal. The big, strong soldiers who had crucified Jesus were now terrified and scared stiff, while the man whose weak, whipped, bloody, and lifeless body had been laid in the tomb was the strong one now.

And He is our strength today. For our strength lies not in good memories of the past, but in our hope for the future. Hope which is more than wishful thinking, but a confident hope that because Jesus’ tomb was empty, so will our graves be as well. And that just as death was not the end for Jesus, neither will it be our end. That again, as Saint Paul said, as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. And to a life that will have no end.

That’s the life God created us for. Death was not part of God’s good creation. It was never meant to be. The world God created was meant to bear fruit and grow, not be a place for graves to hold the dead. 

So the truth is that no matter how long you live, your life is too short for the life God wants for you. We were fortunate to have Jim as long as we did. His heart attack a few years ago almost took him then. When he woke up in the hospital again, it was like a little Easter morning.

But Jesus’ death and resurrection hasn’t just provided us with little Easters, hope for this life only, but with a big one. A lasting one. One that will not end. When not just the grave, but death itself will be destroyed. That is the kingdom Jesus has come to build, and which He is building through His Word and Spirit even now. A kingdom without end.

Which Jim could appreciate, because as all of you know, Jim was a builder, too. And a good one. But no matter how good a builder he was, what we build doesn’t last. Buildings that are strong today, decay and fall tomorrow. But that’s true of anything we try to build. Just look at what is happening in our world today - people who just a generation ago were honored for their accomplishments are today being torn down and regarded as evil. 

But the kingdom Jesus builds does last. Forever. Perhaps that’s hard to imagine, or believe. Those sad women who went to the tomb that Sunday morning couldn’t imagine it. They expected more of the same. But what they got . . . was joy and victory and the beginning of a whole new life. 

That’s the life Jesus has for you. That is the midst of sadness, we rejoice in His victory. In the midst of uncertainty, we hold fast to His promises. And in the midst of death, we look to Him for life. For risen from the dead, He has life for you. Life that is found no where else.

So today we remember Jim’s life. It’s good to do so. But also today, and every day, remember Jesus’ life. The life He lived for you. The life He laid down on the cross for you. The life raised from the dead for you. The life He wants so very much to give to you.