Seventeenth Sunday After Pentecost September 19-20, 2026
“Life or Death? Which is Better?” Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30
Rev. John R. Larson Ascension Lutheran Church Littleton, Colorado
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. (Philippians 1:20-24)
Life or death? Which is better? Well, I guess it depends on the day. Some days aren’t worth a dime, like the Broncos this past Monday night. On some days we would like to say, “Lord, I’ve had it. If you want me now, this would be the time to take me.” And then, there are the better days, we would like to stick around for a few more years.
So, what is the right answer? Is it better to live or to die? The right answer is…YES!! What? Which is it? Is it better to live or to die? And I think the Bible is very clear on this. The answer must be YES. It is both.
It is better to die. Just look where we get to go. In Revelation 21 we read about our dwelling with God, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will be with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’” (Verses 3-5) Do you remember what Jesus said? “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:2-3)
Paul makes a comparison between living and dying, between now and then, and said, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (II Corinthians 4:18)
Last Sunday we sang the hymn, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing”, (Lutheran Service Book, 686). The final verse reads:
Oh, that day when freed from sinning, I shall see Thy lovely face;
Clothed then in the blood-washed linen, How I’ll sing Thy wondrous grace!
Come, my Lord, no longer tarry; Take my ransomed soul away;
Send Thine angels soon to carry me to realms of endless day.
Last Sunday was the first anniversary since Bob Stamp died. When Bob would come to the 8:00 service, often to sing with the Chorale, I would ask him how he was doing. Very often Bob would say, “Well, I’m above ground. And that beats the alternative.” Bob Stamp was right on most things, but he was wrong on that one. Living does not beat the alternative of dying. When presented with living or dying Paul said, “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.” (Philippians 1:23)
But I have to add something here. Death is better, only if you are ready to die. Jesus said, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14) Later Jesus would say, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Mel Gibson, the actor and movie director, who directed The Passion of the Christ years ago is producing a movie on the resurrection of Jesus. In an interview that came out 10 days ago he was asked to complete the sentence – “When this is over…” He asked the guy with the question. “What do you mean? When this interview is over what am I doing next?” “When today is over what are my future plans?” But Gibson went a little deeper. “When this is over…” “Death. Judgment. Heaven or Hell.” When this is over it will be death, judgment, heaven or hell.
I think Mel Gibson is right. Death is better if you are ready – if you know the answer to what happens next. Do you know that on that judgment day you have someone who is going to speak up for you? His name is Jesus, the One you trust in. The Bible says, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also the sins of the whole world.” (I John 2:1-2)
When Simeon, who was told he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ, went into the temple in Jerusalem and held the infant Jesus, he said with joy, “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for the glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:28-32) Paul would speak clearly about being ready for the day of judgment. He writes, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10)
So, I guess it is just better to die and go to heaven. But the Scriptures have something more about that question about what is better – living or dying. Paul says, “I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.” If going to heaven was the sole purpose of God bringing us into existence than we would get born and then be baptized and then God would take us into heaven. Baptism is God’s salvation for us. We’re claimed as His own, washed of sin and death and we are made His. But, as I can see, you got born, got baptized and God allowed you to live.
Life or death? What is better? The answer is both. It would have been easier for Paul to die when he was in prison while he wrote this letter. But it was more necessary for them that he stuck around.
Maybe that is true for you too. You have already lived quite a few years. Life doesn’t have quite the luster that it had a decade, or two, or three, ago. And, yet here you are.
Do you know what inspires us to keep on going and not give up? The faithfulness and courage and strength of others energizes us. Others become our model. They tell us not to give up. Paul knew that others looked to him. He knew he played a part in how they would live life. He wrote, “I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.” (Philippians 1:20) You too provide a model and example to others.
He lived so that Christ would be glorified. What he said or how he lived would bring others to Christ. His life would be a benefit to others. When he says, “It is more necessary for you that I remain in the body”, he adds, “Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me.” (Philippians 1:25-26)
Somedays the question before us is: “Life or death? Which one is better?” They both are. Paul gives us this word of direction, “None of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (Romans 14:7-8)
Be ready. Be confident. Live in Jesus. Die in Jesus. Amen!!
