[Nineteenth in a series of posts on Last Things]Encore Post: Time is a funny thing. We use clocks that measure the vibrations of atoms, coordinated with telescopes to record their passage with great precision and consistency from place to place, transmit them to us via computers, satellites, radio, television, and other digital signals, and synchronize our clocks with them. We barely notice that time is a human thing — except on leap years or when we change our clocks twice a year or move from time zone to time zone.
Time is how we record the changes we notice more and more each year of life. Time passes quickly. When you are a child, an hour drags on forever. As an adult, it passes before you realize it. What is important, our culture has noticed, is not time itself, but what you do with it. It has become our new currency. We would sooner write a check than hang out.
The Greek of the New Testament uses two different words for time. καιρός (Cairos) translates roughly “the right time.” χρόνος (Chronos) is about the passage of time, minute after minute, hour after hour, year after year. Seasons like Advent, days like Christmas and New Year’s Day are χρόνος, times that we plan for, come and go, forming a part of the rhythm of life. That Christmas when you opened your first present is καιρός
The fullness of time when God sent his son, born of a virgin, is God’s καιρός (Galatians 4:4-5). His acts and plans unfolded slowly, one building on another, leading to just that right time. The next big καιρός is the Second Advent, when time itself will come to an end in God’s eternal life with his people.
The persons, events, and institutions leading to that first right time, the incarnation, life, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension of Immanuel — God-with-us — were called by the Early Church the praeparatio Evangelii (The Preparation of the Gospel).
Encore Post: In the Anglican Church’s Book of Common Prayer, the collects for the last Sunday of the Church Year and three of the four Sundays of Advent begin with the words “Stir up …” In England, where the mix for Christmas Pudding needed to cure for weeks, hearing the words of the collect reminded households to stir up the Christmas pudding! So they nicknamed the Sunday “Stir-up Sunday.”
Lutheran churches do not use the first collect, perhaps because it is a kind of works-righteousness. But we do use the three Advent Collects. They are:
First Sunday of Advent: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come, that by Your protection we may be rescued from the threatening perils of our sins and saved by Your mighty deliverance;
Second Sunday of Advent: Stir up our hearts, O Lord, to make ready the way of Your only-begotten Son, that by His coming we may be enabled to serve You with pure minds;
Fourth Sunday of Advent: Stir up Your power, O Lord, and come and help us by Your might, that the sins which weigh us down may be quickly lifted by Your grace and mercy;
The three prayers summarize the themes of Advent. We call on God to come, knowing he has come in the person of his Son, comes to us each day by the Holy Spirit, and will come to us on the last day. But our prayers make his coming our own in a special way. The Spirit and the Bride say to us Come! They invite us also to say Come! to God’s children, lost and found. They call on us to say, Come, Lord Jesus. And so we do in Advent.
[Eighteenth in a series of posts on Last Things] Encore Post: It begins and ends with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The funeral service starts with a baptismal remembrance. At the graveside, we pray and rejoice in the resurrection promised to our deceased loved ones in their baptism. The obituary should be no different.
“Jason Matthew Kaspar, a baptized child of God, died (situation may be included) on Blurnsday, Septober 32, 20xx, (location), having lived [x] years upon the earth (sometimes years, months, days, and hours are calculated).”
Use Baptismal names up front. Short forms and nicknames are suitable in the body that follows. We ought to use baptismal names at the start and in the funeral, as a reflection of the name used in God’s claiming of us. He knows the day He called you by name, forgave your sins, and placed faith in your heart. He knows the name by which you were called.
“Jason was born on [date, location], baptized in the Name of the Triune God on [date, congregation], confirmed in the Christian faith on [date, congregation], graduated from [name of high school, college, technical school, or such institution] on [date], was married to Mandy on [date, congregation] enjoying and toiling [x] years as husband and wife together. [They were blessed in their union by the birth(s) of [x] child(ren)]. He was ordained into the office of Holy Ministry on [date], serving the people of God [x] years in full-time ministry and [x] years of pulpit supply in retirement.”
A listing of significant dates shall include the most important ones: those involving the Christian life in faith. This is also a good spot for a military service record and/or other public service like law enforcement, elected office, service organizations, term as king or queen, and the like. It makes for better reading to list activities dryly here and expound on them in the following section.
“‘Pacco Kappa’ as he was called by little ones struggling to learn their intervocalic ‘s’es and terminal ‘r’s…” [Fluffy details and glowing remembrances go here. Please avoid making the deceased sound like a flawlessly angelic figure in need of no savior. Definitely avoid saying they deserve admission into the heavens by dint of their deeds or character.]
In my case, this will be a short section. The life and times bit is very important to the surviving family. It will likely be the hardest part to write. No one is likely to get all the things they want into the obituary. Space limitations and the memory-blurring power of immediate grief are certain to truncate the data contained herein. Survivors, don’t beat yourselves up about a perfect remembrance. The years to come and your memories will serve far better than these paragraphs.
“He was preceded in death by [expand or abridge this section as desired], and all the host of those have died in the faith.
He is survived by [living relative and descendants are listed here, close/beloved acquaintances are also appropriate].
We, the surviving family, with certain confidence, entrust our son, brother, grandson, friend, pastor, (list exhaustively), into the arms of Jesus Christ, who called him by name on [baptismal date], and who is the Resurrection and the Life.”
The conclusion should absolutely recapitulate our only true hope and promise. There is no comfort outside of Jesus and his work for our loved ones, which has now been delivered! Double down on the thing that gives a lasting comfort: the deceased was promised salvation in their baptism. And they have it today!
Details for visitation, funeral service, interment, and memorials may follow. These announcements aren’t exactly “part” of the obituary. They’re more like obituary-adjacent material. Do your survivors a solid. Start working on your own obituary today. Even just a collection of dates and basic details will help them immensely.
Let us confess Jesus Christ, certain of the resurrection.
I’m compiling an ever-increasing list of errors, failures, and generally bad advice that rose to prominence in the 20th century. While the list is mostly church-related, there are familial and societal issues mingled in. This topic is more familial with theological undertones. Following are five good standards for young people to find a mate (or having one found for them).
First: Faith & Practice
Coming into the 20th century, the prevailing wisdom for young people was to find a husband or a wife within their church tradition, even within their language group (Wendish, German, Polish, Czech, French, etc.). At the turn of the 21st century, that wisdom faded into a hollow hope. Certainly, you’ve heard some statements like these: “At least they’re a Christian.” “I think they believe.” “They might convert when kids come along.”
An unbeliever or a noncommittal Christian is unlikely to have a proper moral compass either. Husbands and wives are bound closer or separated further from each other by their adherence to God’s law. Dishonesty and unfaithfulness are two major disasters that may be averted by similar faith, practice, and commitment to the faith.
Should we be surprised at the rate of marital failure? Is the lack of families growing up in church any surprise? No, in both cases, this is entirely predictable. Confusion or uncertainty about the church in a marriage will lead to confusion, uncertainty, or, more likely, complete apostasy (abandoning the faith) among any children.
The older course is the better course. A generic believer or Christian isn’t good enough for your kids. They need a suitable mate with a high likelihood of marital success. Young people should look for a mate in the churches of their tradition and of close practice to their own. It’s no secret that a huge church in Houston, Dallas, or San Antonio and a small church in Fayette County are unlikely to gather for worship in similar ways. Encourage the young to look in familiar-sounding and looking churches. There are endless battles in marriage. Every sword we can take out of the hands of a world that hates faithful marriage is worth doing.
Second: Money
The number one cause of divorce in the United States remains money fights and money problems. The value of agreeing on how to manage our money before we earn it can’t be undersold. Along with Dave Ramsey, I suggest that giving, eliminating debt, and saving are the most peaceful ways for couples to manage their finances. Regardless of how, we have to agree on how to manage our money. Well-managed finances in a marriage are actually a tactic in fighting off divorce. It’s another weapon taken out of the world’s hand.
This one has a unique ability to be rectified on the fly. Couples can change the whole trajectory of the marriage or the failure by straightening out finances. Working together towards a common goal helps rebuild trust and intimacy. Fighting off the wolves at the door will steel us in our resolve toward each other.
Third: Kids
How many children will we have? How soon will we try? As an extension of the first point, what church will they attend? How will we be doing schooling? How will we guide them in dating? Disagreements here can easily shipwreck a marriage.
I encourage young people to marry young and have children early. My own life is a predictable, negative example. Waiting to marry and have children can place you outside the biological window. The desire to have children doesn’t automatically agree with God’s blessings in opening and closing the womb.
Modern medicine may be a tool to fight back, but not necessarily always advisedly. There are moral concerns with the unnecessary products of fertility. In some cases, those “products” are fertilized human embryos, you know, living babies, unneeded and presumably frozen in a suspended, unliving state forever.
It’s far simpler to marry well, marry young, and have babies soon.
Fourth: Attraction
He ought to find her pretty. She ought to find him handsome. We often downplay these criteria among Christians. “We should look for what’s inside.” Attraction is far more complex than it looks. However, physical attraction is an inseparable element. It makes a suitable shorthand for the whole of attraction.
Fifth: Submission & Headship
This was largely taboo for discussion among Christians in the mid to late 1900s. Fortunately, Christian gender roles are seeing a resurgence recently. For gals, y’all need to be hunting for a man who’s willing to lead. Leadership is not simply authority; it comes with responsibility. A man doesn’t get to shift blame. His leadership comes with being the sole culprit in our failures.
For the fellas, y’all need to be looking for a woman who can follow and support you. Power struggles within a marriage are a recipe for disaster. This disaster comes to us from the fall into sin. The native sin of the man is to shirk authority. The native sin of the woman is to seize it.
“To the woman He said: ‘I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be over your husband, And he shall rule over you.”
Then to Adam He said, ‘Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’: Cursed is the ground for your sake; In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground, For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, And to dust you shall return.’” (Genesis 3:16-19 KNJV)
Bonus: Parental Approval
Yes, your parents do need to approve. It may seem fun or edgy to rebel against their wisdom. It’s not to your benefit. They are God’s gift to you. Some of the stupidity they’re trying to preserve is their own. Your parents want a better life for you than their own.
[Sixteenth in a series of posts on last things] Encore Post: The death announcement is as much a part of an obituary as it can be without being in it. The announcement quickly indicates who the deceased is and where they currently reside. The hopelessness and unmitigated grief in death for unbelievers is the opposite of what we get to confess as Christians. Here is a great standardised format of how we ought to speak of our loved ones in death, commonly used by many pastors in the LCMS. I learned it from my vicarage supervisor, Rev. Robert Smith formerly of the CTSFW Library.
“It has pleased Almighty God on September 8th, 2022 to call into His presence Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor, Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms, who, baptised in the name of the Triune God, trusted in Christ, whose tears are gone and whose sorrows have been turned into joy. We pray God will comfort those who mourn her death with the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the dead. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord!”
“It Has Pleased Almighty God to call into His presence…” Our temporal death is a release from our bondage to the sin that remains in this flesh before the resurrection of all flesh on the last day. Our Lord loves us and is pleased to see us delivered from this vale of tears. Our Heavenly Father sent His Son to die for your sins. It shouldn’t surprise us to hear that our death and deliverance into His presence is His will and our blessing.
“…Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor …who, baptised in the name of the Triune God…” The pagan world has convinced us we can only find comfort in memory. In Christ, that’s not so. In the announcement, we say why we should take comfort. Memory can help us. But the only certain comfort, the only true comfort, comes from the knowledge that God has kept His word. He has saved the Queen, Aunt Hildegard, and Uncle Fritz. He saved them through their baptism, preserved them in the Christian faith, and delivered them to Himself.
In the case of the death announcement and the obituary, it is good to use their full baptismal name. Nicknames and/or titles may follow. Your baptismal name is the name God used when He called you His own and put faith into your heart. This is also true of Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor.
“Who… trusted in Christ, whose tears are gone and whose sorrows have been turned into joy.” Everyone who lives a Christian life has lived from the moment of their baptism in faith. They are forgiven and renewed in that same faith by the continued blessings of the Lord in His absolution and His Eucharist for the forgiveness of sins. In that promise, Jesus has brought her from this vale of tears into heavenly joy.
“We pray that God will comfort those who mourn her death with the sure and certain hope of the resurrection of the dead.” We’ve developed a lazy habit through social media of saying, “prayers.” It’s hollow, keeping up an appearance of faith. Christians and non-Christians alike share the sentiment, revealing its emptiness. Dear Christians, we pray in specificity. In death, we pray for comfort to the survivors. Their comfort comes from the Lord. It flows from the knowledge of God’s faithfulness to us.
“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord!” He has delivered Elizabeth from death into eternal life. He will do it for you, too. That’s the comfort of the resurrection. This separation through death is temporary. We will see it brought to resolution in Christ with our own eyes on the last day.
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. O Lord, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds.” (Psalm 116:15-16)
[Sixteenth in a series of posts on Last Things] Encore Post: The expression “pass away” is a ubiquitous term among English speakers. It’s a euphemism intended in kindness, to soften the blow of death. I’m certain. No one uses “pass away” to mislead anyone. But the term conceals reality. And it fails to confess the great news for Christians in the bitterness of death.
A euphemism is simply a good-sounding word to use in place of a term that may be profane, uncomfortable, hurtful, or off-putting. The Greek root of “euphemism” means nearly the same: good speaking. Good speaking serves to conceal or soften uncomfortable things.
I can’t speak to the origin of “pass away” in common parlance for death. The funeral industry has certainly embraced it. Again, this isn’t a malicious use of the euphemism. They are likely trying to protect people’s feelings. But, there may have been a theological driver here, too.
For some folks, we may not be able to speak confidently about their state after death. Without evidence of Christianity, there’s no hope of salvation or resurrection to eternal life. We should and do hope that something is hidden from us. But some dwell in sin and separation from God by their own doing.
Other Christian traditions place great importance on our actions regarding God. A Baptist may be disinclined to trust in infant baptism. They believe that, contrary to the scriptures, a person must make a public confession as an adult and be baptized for the first time, or again, as an outward sign of the internal decision to accept Jesus. When a Romanist or a Lutheran dies, the Baptist may not have a full-throated confidence in their rest in Christ. This finds confidence in the works and words of man, not God.
We begin the funeral service with a remembrance of baptism. That’s the key fact for Christianity. Pastor starts, “In Holy Baptism [the deceased] was clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covered all his or her sin. St. Paul says: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” (Romans 6:3) The congregation speaks along, “We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His.” (Roman 6:4)
But I digress. Let’s get back to the euphemistic “passing away” as a term for death. Do the scriptures speak about passing away? Yup, they sure do.
“Terrors are turned upon me; my honor is pursued as by the wind, and my prosperity has passed away like a cloud.” (Job 30:15) This is negative. For Job, all the good things of his life before his affliction have passed away.
“I have seen a wicked, ruthless man spreading himself like a green laurel tree. But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.” (Psalm 37:35-36) This is negative. In the Psalms, wicked things, wicked people, and the brokenness of a fallen creation pass away.
“'[The Assyrian’s] rock shall pass away in terror, and his officers desert the standard in panic,’ declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion, and whose furnace is in Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 31:9) This is negative. The power of Israel’s oppressor is the thing passing away.
“Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory and stretch themselves out on their couches… Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile, and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.” (Amos 6:4a, 7) This is negative. In the minor prophets, things that pass away are wicked or sinful.
Speaking in the way the scriptures speak, we are saying that those things which pass away are wicked, evil, sinful, oppressive, or in need of destruction. We ought to speak well of those who have died, even in our simple expressions.
[Fourteenth in a series of posts on last things] Encore Post: In Hispanic culture, there is sometimes a familial practice of setting up an ofrenda (offering altar) for the home visitation upon a loved one’s death. The individual ofrenda may remain up for as long as grieving persists. For example, an elderly person might leave the ofrenda of their child, preceding them in death, up for the rest of the years of their natural life.
In more traditional homes, you might see a family ofrenda, which bears the photos of generations of deceased family members. This type of ofrenda typically doesn’t come down.
In other cases, the individual ofrenda or family ofrenda may only be set up for the celebration of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), November 1st and 2nd. The Day of the Dead festivities come from extant pagan ancestor worship practices of the Aztecs and other Central American tribes. Upon their conversion to Christianity, ancestor worship remained to varying degrees.
Make no mistake, the ofrenda is an altar of worship to the deceased. Placing a crucifix nearby doesn’t make it anything else. The offerings in particular reveal this. There are various food and drink offerings set on the ofrenda for the dead. But the “required” items are: water, bread, and coins. These confess a specific, non-Christian eschatology (understanding of things pertaining to the end times).
In Aztec religious beliefs about the afterlife, the dead must undergo a journey to the land of the dead. The journey is long, through a barren land. So, the offerings are for the journey. Many pagan cultures worldwide share similar views.
Christianity teaches differently. For us, upon our death, our souls are immediately delivered to heaven to rest, awaiting the resurrection of all flesh on the last day. On that day, the souls of all believers will be reunited with their glorified bodies to dwell forever in the new Jerusalem with Jesus.
About now, you might say, “But, Pastor Kaspar, I’m an Anglo. We don’t do these things. What does this matter to us?”
Many of us have an Uncle Fritz with one of these. Uncle Fritz lost his wife 15 years ago. He put her ashes on the mantle at home, or on a sofa table in the hallway. Her picture is there too. He and the kids periodically place little mementos on the table or mantel. This is basically also an ofrenda.
The only real difference is the occasional attempt by ofrenda users to sanctify the paganism with a crucifix or a statuette of St. Mary’s Sacred Heart. The non-remembrance altar doesn’t even get religious recognition.
These altars to our deceased loved ones are a bad idea. They teach us to think about death differently than the scriptures teach. It’s best to place our dead to rest, among their brothers and sisters in the faith, in a permanent spot. Let their bodies rest undisturbed until the day of resurrection.
Remember that although death separates us in this life, we are still united in the faith. Specifically, when we celebrate the foretaste of the feast to come in the Lord’s Supper, a spectacular reality descends to us. It is in that moment, singing “Holy, Holy, Holy,” with all the hosts of heaven, that we commune with all the saints in heaven.
It’s not a little pagan altar to my mom that gets me close to her. It’s the Lord gathering the faithful around His altar, which brings us back together for a moment, a foretaste of the eternal feast awaiting us in His kingdom, for the sake of Jesus’ death for us. That’s what brings us closer to our dearly departed loved ones.
[Fourteenth in a series of posts on Last Things] Encore Post: “Pennies from heaven,” “a cardinal on my fence line,” and “someone looking down on me” are a few examples of seemingly innocuous things even faithful Christians will say regarding the dead. We’ll hear folks speak of the dead as if they are still interacting with us here on Earth. I don’t believe for a second that most folks realize what they’re saying or intend to promote heresy in any way. However, it’s incorrect and needs to be addressed.
The first concern here is that our loved ones at rest in Christ are sending love notes to us from their rest in Christ in heaven. As I’ve discussed before, our deceased loved ones are finally free from the taint of sin. Dwelling only in blessedness and righteousness, they have a dim view of the world, still corrupted by sin and our part in it.
“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.” (Revelation 6:9-11)
I thank the Lord that their awareness of us is probably hidden.
In Luke 16, we have the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. In torment in Hell, the nameless Rich Man is allowed to see Abraham and Lazarus. He speaks with Abraham. There is no interaction between him and Lazarus. The rich man sees nothing else of Heaven or Earth. And Abraham defines their positions thusly, “…between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.” (Luke 16:26)
Now, the second concern here is the attribution of godlike powers to those who have been taken on to glory in the heavens. In this case, Aunt Hildegard is “smiling down on me.” We’ll hear of her sending a rainbow, of a cool breeze in the summer heat, a rainstorm in a drought, sunshine to break up a monsoon, a pristine snowfall on a winter’s night, or some other weather anomaly.
We’ve made blessed Aunt Hildegard into nothing more than a pagan weather goddess. By applying god-like power to her, we diminish the Lord of the heavens and the earth. And we seek to pull her out of salvation in heaven with Jesus. Instead, we’d see her moved into a pagan pantheon and a lesser god status there, too.
The real error: finding peace and comfort in this life, not the promise of the resurrection. There’s no promise our loved ones will hear us now. But we will see them again at the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom. That’s a little sad, and a whole lot OK.
Real Christian comfort comes in knowing that our loved ones have received salvation bought for them by the death of Jesus. That’s the same salvation promised to us in our own baptism. It will be delivered in full on the day of our death. The day when we too inherit the crown of salvation bought by Jesus’s blood and righteousness.
In our grief, let the Lord be the King of Salvation.
[Thirteenth in a series of posts on last things] Encore Post: Even with the effects of the fall, the world can be very sweet, pleasant, and beautiful. When God finished creating the world, he stood back, looked it all over and said, “very good.” (Genesis 1:31) Even after sin entered the world, bringing with it death, sorrow, grief, pain, disease, and disaster, the hand of the creator is present everywhere. Breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, seashore views and gentle, warm breezes, mountain valleys and peaks all speak to us of his majesty. Even cloud patterns before a storm cause us to admire his majesty. There is the pleasure of the presence of loved ones, holding your child or grandchild for the first time.
Life is very precious to us. It absorbs us in planning, working towards goals, saving, dreaming, and enjoying the many gifts God gives to us. We deal with it as best as we can with the tragedies of life, but there are long stretches of time when we think it will never end. We forget that this world—and, more to the point, our world — is passing away. We go to sleep spiritually. The work that God calls us to do, especially to witness to the Good News of salvation in Jesus, doesn’t seem quite so important. When sports tournaments are held on Sunday, we skip worship to watch our kids compete. We put caring for the poor, contributing to the work of the church with our resources and time second; we put off uncomfortable conversations with loved ones who wander from the faith.
Yet it is very much at times like these that our Lord will return for us. He will do so suddenly, without warning, the way that the flood came in the day of Noah, the way the sudden attacks on Pearl Harbor Day and 9/11 came. It may be at the end of time or at the end of our time. It is why Jesus calls on us to stay awake! We remember he came at the fullness of time, lived the perfect life for us, suffered and died for us, rose again for us, and ascended to prepare a place for us. And so we set the watch, day and night, knowing that he is coming for us. In the meantime, we work for the day, and the time will come when we can no longer work. All the while, we pray: Come, Lord Jesus, come!
[Twelfth in a series of posts on Last Things] Encore Post: One of the most popular of the signs Jesus predicted would happen before the Second Advent is the success of the missionary mandate. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world ,” Jesus predicted. (Matthew 24:14) This sign appears to be, unlike the other signs, a unique condition, one that was not fulfilled during the ministry of Jesus. Millennialist prophecy scholars observe it wasn’t until the 19th century that many areas of the world were visited by missionaries. While this is true, it is based on an English translation of the prophecy. The passage is better translated: “And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole civilized world. (οἰκουμένῃ–oikoumene–Ecumene)”
The Greek language of the New Testament uses several words that are translated world in our English Bibles. οἰκουμένῃ was used by the Greeks and Romans for the lands of the Roman Empire. They thought of humanity as made up of two classes of people, the civilized Graeco-Roman nations and the barbarians. κόσμος (kosmos–cosmos) was the word used by Greek philosophers to speak about the universe. Greek-speaking Judaism used it to translate the Old Testament phrase “Heavens and the Earth” — all of creation and especially all peoples. This is the word used in John 3:16. The word γῆς (ges–the root for our word geography) was used for the physical world, translated earth or the land.
This prophecy, then, is similar to the others we’ve examined. It refers to the gospel being preached to all peoples. It was fulfilled already when St. Paul reached Spain, known in his day as “The End of the World.” It continues to be fulfilled wherever Christians preach the good news of salvation, wherever they live. As they fulfill Christ’s sending, baptizing and teaching, the Holy Spirit uses their witness to create faith, call the lost to faith, and build Christ’s church. When he completes this task and our mission in accomplished, Jesus will return to bring his bride home.
