Is "the last enemy to be destroyed is death" appropriate to read at a funeral?

It is more than appropriate. It is the heart of Christian funeral hope. Death is named as enemy precisely because Christ has come to defeat it.

Second Reading (New Testament)

1 Corinthians 15:20-28

"So too in Christ shall all be brought to life"

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Scripture text (World English Bible)

But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep. For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then those who are Christ’s, at his coming. Then the end comes, when he will deliver up the Kingdom to God, even the Father; when he will have abolished all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be abolished is death. For, “He put all things in subjection under his feet.” But when he says, “All things are put in subjection”, it is evident that he is excepted who subjected all things to him. When all things have been subjected to him, then the Son will also himself be subjected to him who subjected all things to him, that God may be all in all.

Themes

Christ raised as firstfruits
resurrection of the dead
death the last enemy
Christ's reign over all
God all in all

Reflection

First Corinthians 15 is the most extended treatment of the resurrection in all of Scripture, and these verses give the Catholic funeral one of its most magnificent proclamations. Christ has been raised as the "firstfruits", the first sheaf of a harvest that will include all those who belong to him. Death is real, but it is "the last enemy to be destroyed." The end of the story is God being "all in all."

For a Catholic funeral, this reading does what the funeral most needs: it places the death being mourned today inside the larger drama of Christ's victory. The deceased is not just being remembered; they are being named as part of the harvest of which Christ is the firstfruits. They have died in him; they will be raised in him. The chronological order matters: Christ first, then those who belong to him at his coming. The deceased is now among the latter, awaiting in glory the final resurrection of the body.

The reading's closing horizon, "God all in all", is one of the deepest visions in the New Testament. Everything will be subjected to Christ; Christ will hand the kingdom to the Father; God will be everything in everything. This is the future toward which the deceased's soul is already oriented. The funeral participates in that orientation; the family's grief is held inside it.

For families who want their funeral to proclaim the full scope of Christian eschatological hope, this reading is unmatched.

Best for

·Funerals where the family wants explicit resurrection theology
·Liturgies during the Easter season
·Catholic families with strong doctrinal formation
·Funerals for someone whose life was marked by hope in the resurrection

In the liturgy

A longer reading. Theologically dense; pace it slowly. Pairs especially well with the resurrection Gospels: John 11 in particular.

Pairs well with

Frequently asked questions

Is "the last enemy to be destroyed is death" appropriate to read at a funeral?: It is more than appropriate. It is the heart of Christian funeral hope. Death is named as enemy precisely because Christ has come to defeat it.

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