Remebering: God Is with Us

The Bible readings for Sunday, November 10, 2019 are concerned with questions about life and death.  In Hab. 1:15b:2-9, the people wonder whether life can ever return to the way it was before their temple was destroyed.  In 2 Thess. 2:1-5,13-17, the early Christian community of Thessalonica is experiencing great turmoil and confusion around the “second coming” of Christ.  In the Gospel reading (Luke 20:27-38) the Sadducees question Jesus about life beyond death.

It is appropriate to reflect on life beyond death not only in the Christian cycle of readings but also on the day before Remembrance Day.  One hundred one years ago on November 11^th an armistice was signed ending the First World War – the “war to end all wars.”  Today as wars continue to rage it is hard not to be discouraged.  As we remember those who gave their lives in two Great Wars and in the various conflicts since then, we think about death – the deaths of soldiers and civilians – and we, too, have important questions to reflect on.  Still, in the midst of it all, it is good to be able to declare to our children, “In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us.  We are not alone.  Thanks be to God.”