The suspected criminal ring in upstate New York wasn't gigantic ... it was geriatric. Most of the people under investigation were their 80s and 90s.

No SWAT Team maneuvers were needed. There wasn't even a raid by local police. In fact, the post office handled the matter just fine.

One day in 1997, about six ominous letters were delivered to people in the area around Plattsburgh, New York. Under the bold title "Medicare Fraud Investigations," a company called United Government Services warned recipients that they were under scrutiny for cheating the government. The upshot: Each of them might owe the U.S. government tens of thousands of dollars.

So who WERE these suspects? Hospice patients. Hospice patients who had beaten the odds. I'm not kidding. This is no April Fool's joke. Their crime: Living longer than anyone expected, and continuing to draw Medicare reimbursement of $88 a day.

One suspect was Rosie, an 87-year-old who had entered hospice with advanced cancer, and was still alive four years later. Another was Beatrice, admitted at age 89 with a whole host of problems, including the suffering of a heart attack during radiation therapy for cancer. Still, she survived for five more years. (Lucette Lagnado, "Hospice patients beat the odds," The Wall Street Journal, June 5, 2000, p. 1).

Were these women a threat to society? Hardly. And yet, the taxpayer's money had to be protected, so Medicare was cracking down. Their policy is that the terminally ill who don't die within six months risk losing coverage.

The message: Die, or get outta here!

There's a link to be made between this investigation and today's Scripture passage, because when you think about it, we are ALL living in hospice care. Yes, we are all in hospice care, getting ready to die -- after all, what else is this brief time on earth? Maybe Dave Bush will want to discuss this passage in his Christian Education Course on Aging.

In accordance with hospice philosophy, we all want to be safe at home, comfortable, and cared for by the right people, until the very end of the life we have been given. But suddenly the apostle Paul comes to us with the intensity of a Medicare investigator and asks, "How can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead?" (1 Corinthians 15:12).

This is key to Paul: The resurrection. Rules are rules, and he wants us to be absolutely SURE about the resurrection, just as a Medicare investigator wants hospice workers to be clear about the definition of terminal illness. For Paul, it's not "die, or get outta here!" Instead, it's "believe, or get outta here!"

He doesn't pull any punches, does he?

Paul's bluntness can knock the wind out of you, and leave you gasping for air. But the resurrection requires our serious consideration, and this is a good day, two weeks before Easter, to take a long, hard look at this centerpiece of our faith.

For Paul, there is nothing as important as the resurrection of the dead … what the Bible says happens after we finish our time in this earthly hospice and die. "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised," he explains; "and if Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain" (vv. 13-14). The entire structure of Christian faith is resting on the rock-solid foundation of resurrection, according to the apostle. It's as important to the structure of our faith as a good cement foundation is to the structure of a house. Built on the resurrection of the dead is the raising of Christ, and laid on top of Christ is Paul's proclamation of the gospel and our own Christian faith. Without resurrection, it all comes tumbling down.

A Medicare investigator has to look closely at terminal illness, and in just the same way, Paul has to take a long, hard look at the resurrection. Neither can tolerate any fraud. If there is no resurrection, Paul argues, then we "are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ" (v. 15). For the apostle -- and for us -- misrepresenting God is an offense with penalties much more profound than the simple reimbursement of government funds.

So where do WE stand with regard to the resurrection? Could it be said that we are guilty in any way of "Resurrection Fraud"? Are we living as though we believe Christ has been raised from the dead ...

Or not?

People who are guilty of resurrection fraud tend to live without a sense of accountability. They feast on whatever sensual pleasures they can get their hands on -- pleasures that promise to dull the misery of a mean and often meaningless life.

And, in a way, you can't blame them. It makes a certain amount of sense. For why shouldn't people crave stimulation of the senses if there is no eternal dimension to existence, no ultimate set of values that divides behavior into virtues and vices? Why shouldn't people get hooked on "Survivor" and "Temptation Island" other voyeuristic entertainment if there is truly nothing better to do than get a kick from watching people eat rats and fight and fall into each others' arms?

Without a resurrection, there's no ultimate accountability. If it feels good, you do it. If you can live la vida loca, you get into it. If you have a chance to "eat, drink and be merry" ... you go for it. And when death comes, that's it. Game over.

But Paul calls us to Resurrection Faith, not Resurrection Fraud. Contrary to conventional wisdom -- both then and now -- Paul insists that there IS a resurrection, one that makes all the difference in the world.

With Resurrection Faith, we know that our actions have consequences, and that what we do has eternal significance. Accountable to God, we're capable of actions that can delight him and advance his divine agenda. Not that we always behave like pillars of purity and perfection -- no, we're as sinful as anyone, and desperately in need of forgiveness. But God's triumph over sin and death brings us the gift of forgiveness and new life, now and forever.

One word makes all the difference: Resurrection. You've gotta believe it. If it is a fraud, notes Paul, "your faith is futile and you are still in your sins" (v. 17). But if it's true, then you are a forgiven person -- and not only a forgiven person, but one who has the power to forgive others. Even people who hurt us terribly, as New York City police officer Steven McDonald forgave the man who shot him a few years ago, leaving him a quadriplegic.

According to Parade magazine, Steven McDonald corresponded with his assailant in jail for years, and became sensitive to the fact that the shooter grew up in a difficult environment -- one in which police are considered the enemy. Officer McDonald reached the point where he could forgive his assailant unconditionally, but he insists that "God played the greatest part in forgiving the young man who shot me" (Marie Ragghianti, "Every Day I Have To Forgive Again," Parade, April 23, 2000, 6-7).

God played the greatest part, he said. He's absolutely right. God played the greatest part: In the resurrection, and in the possibilities for forgiveness that follow. Because of his raising of Jesus from the dead, we can be both forgiven AND forgiving people.

But that's not all. With Resurrection Faith, we know that our life will continue after death. "Christ has been raised from the dead," insists the apostle, "the first fruits of those who have died" (v. 20). What sweet fruits these are. Because Christ has been raised, there is nothing in all creation that can separate us from eternal life with God -- no terminal illness or Medicare mishap or devastating earthly disaster. After death, all will be made alive in Christ (v. 22), and this is not a stunning human innovation or accomplishment. It is a gift of God.

God's the force behind it all. Resurrection is, quite simply, what our Lord does. Says Barbara Brown Taylor: "The power of God is now and has always been the power to raise us from the dead. Period. It is not about us. It is about God" ("Easter Sunday," Christianity Today, April 3, 2000, 72).

If you're serious about God, there's really no way you can commit Resurrection Fraud. You'll more likely be guilty of Resurrection FAITH -- a lifestyle that may not land you in court, but one that will certainly get you locked up with God.

Locked up with God, forever. And for that, you can be thankful. Amen.