Sermon, 11th Sunday after Trinity, 2025
This Sunday, we are reading the 9th Homily in the first book of homilies, which is entitled:
An Exhortation Against the Fear of Death
These sermons have been edited to shorten them and to update the language, with the intent of maintaining the content, or at least the core meaning. The original texts of the homilies can be found in the manuscripts after the edited texts that were preached. For background on these homilies, see the links below.
The 9th homily begins by noting that unsaved men dread death for three reasons: 1) They enjoy their comforts in this life and do not wish to lose them, 2) They lack comforts and fear the pains and discomforts of dying, and 3) They know that there is a judgment and resulting torments that awaits them after death, yet they still they refuse to repent and submit to Christ. Death is indeed a trial for every person, but the Christian knows that it is the entrance into a fuller, more joyous existence. Thus we are encouraged to live wisely and prudently in this world, so that we would not lose our eternal inheritance in the next.