Reflections on life and death

I was reading a Doctor of Ministry thesis document dealing with issues of death for the terminally ill. As a result of this, I came to think about the topic of death and life. Here is my thought.

Death is part of life. When we are born, we are meant to die as well. Death can occur anytime, and indeed, death and life are intertwined. Death is also an end of life. We should accept it, as biblical texts tell us so (c.f., Eccl 3:2, 19; Heb 9:27). It is nothing wrong with it. Denial of it, in some sense, is a characteristic of Western culture.

Yet, death cannot have dominion over us, not because we are stronger than that, but because God is the source of us. Our hope is not rooted in us but in God. That must be the basis of our faith. "In life and in death we belong to God" (The Brief Statement of Faith by PC USA).

*Note: There is an interesting phrase in Dao De Jing: "To come out is birth and to enter is death" (出生入死). The implication is that birth and death are paired with each other. There is also similar yet deeper thinking about this in the Buddhist text: "There is no birth and no end" (不生不滅). This means our existence or things we see are not a new creation. They simply came from somewhere, called the source in the universe. Likewise, when things disappear or our life ends, it does not disappear forever. It just returns to the source. It must be noted that modern science confirms that matter does not disappear, but it changes to energy. Energy and matter only interact with each other.

At the Intersection of Hermeneutics and Homiletics

My edited volume proposal At the Intersection of Hermeneutics and Homiletics: Transgressive Readings for Transformational Preaching was accepted (Pickwick). This ambitious project carries my fresh imagination, love, and care for study and people. I am blessed and joined by 15 conscientious, seasoned scholars who will bring their expertise, transgressive insight, and love to this milestone volume that explores the intersection of hermeneutics and homiletics (see the list below). The target publication date is August 2025. We are one team and on target. We also plan various book publicity activities, including book review panels at both SBL and the Academy of Homiletics.

At the Intersection of Hermeneutics and Homiletics: 

Transgressive Readings for Transformational Preaching

(Pickwick, projected 2025)

Edited by

Yung Suk Kim 

Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity

Virginia Union University

Contributors:
Teresa L. Fry Brown, Bandy Professor of Preaching; Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Candler School of Theology, Emory University

Jung Choi, Associate Dean for Global and Intercultural Formation; Director, Asian House of Studies; Consulting Faculty at Duke Divinity School

Rhiannon Graybill, Professor of Religious Studies, Marcus M. and Carole M. Weinstein & Gilbert M. and Fannie S. Rosenthal Chair of Jewish Studies at the University of Richmond

James H. Harris, Distinguished Professor and Chair of Homiletics and Practical Theology and Research Scholar in Religion at the School of Theology, Virginia Union University

Cheryl A. Kirk-Duggan, Professor (retired) of Religion and Director of Women’s Studies at Shaw University

Jacob D. Myers, Wade P. Huie, Jr. Associate Professor of Homiletics at Columbia Theological Seminary

Hugh R. Page, Jr., Professor of Theology and Africana Studies; Vice President, Associate Provost, and Dean of the First Year of Studies at the University of Norte Dame

Song-Mi Suzie Park, Associate Professor of Old Testament at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary

Daniel S. Schipani, Professor Emeritus of Pastoral Care and Counseling at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary

Katherine A. Shaner, Associate Professor of New Testament, Wake Forest University

Carolyn J. Sharp, Professor of Homiletics at Yale Divinity School

Mitzi J. Smith, J. Davison Philips Professor of New Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary

Drew Strait, Associate Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary

Robert Wafawanaka, Associate Professor of Biblical Studies and Old Testament at Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, Virginia Union University

Demetrius K. Williams, Associate Professor in the Department of French, Italian, and Comparative Literature and participating faculty in the Religious Studies Program, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee