Ping Pong is a Matter of Life and Death

Paul begins 1 Corinthians with the cross and ends with the resurrection. This isn’t just a clever literary construction: the Apostle believes that all the Corinthians’ many problems sprang from the fact that they didn’t really grasp the full meaning of Christ’s resurrection. Preaching on the first half of chapter 15, Erik pointed out the paradox of the resurrection: the fact that God’s answer to death is resurrection pushes us to celebrate the goodness of life and to hold onto life loosely. In other words, resurrection is a matter of life, death, and everything in between. He introduced this idea with the exemplary life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

If you know one thing about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, it’s this: he was a martyr. Bonhoeffer was a German theologian who was executed for his role in a plot against Adolf Hitler. But did you know that he was great at ping pong? He set up a table at the underground seminary he led and dominated younger students. Or that he had an ear for music? He loved playing Chopin and collected records of Black spirituals. Or that he enjoyed poetry, wine, and food? Bonhoeffer loved life, he found life overflowing with joy, pleasure, and meaning. He wrote: “Only the person who loves the earth and God in one can believe in the kingdom of God.” He wasn’t a famous ping pong player, pianist, or chef. He was a famous martyr. But it raises a question that every follower of Jesus must answer: How was someone who loved life so much, so willing to lose his life?

The secret of loving life is being unafraid to lose it. And the key that unlocks this secret is the hope in the resurrection of the dead.