Thursday, November 5, 2015

Today’s Reading  |  Colossians 1:11-20
May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross. (NRSV)

Reflection
Part of my ministry is to walk with those who are grieving the loss of loved ones and to help them plan what we call a “service of witness to the resurrection.” As I explain the spiritual framework in which I ask them to place their sadness or anger, I sometimes wonder if they feel like I’m playing semantic or theological games with them in a time when their world is falling apart.

Yet time and again I am amazed by their capacity to live into hope. In the midst of their pain they do recognize that there is much to celebrate, in the life of their loved one and in all that they have shared. When they share in readings, prayers, and stories not only speaks to the personhood of the one they have lost, but also reveals their trust that the one who has died is not, in the end, lost. It displays their faith that it is now peace and hope into which they have passed, because they trust in a God who came to redeem and to restore.

Verses 15-20 of today’s reading were probably part of a hymn that speaks to the lordship of Jesus Christ over all things, all realms, and the way in which Jesus binds all things, in himself, to God. In the end, anything we do in this life as Christians—especially the hardest things, like celebrating the life of a loved one even as we mourn their death—must rest on our trust in the one who is Lord of all things, in this world or any other.

Prayer
O God, who gave us birth, show us your grace each day, that as we face the mystery of death we may see the light of eternity. Speak to us once more your solemn message of life and of death. Help us to live as those who are prepared to die. And when our days here are ended, enable us to die as those who go forth to live, so that living or dying, our life may be in Jesus Christ our risen Lord. Amen.

(Prayer adapted from The Book of Common Worship)

Written by Hardy H. Kim, Associate Pastor for Evangelism

Reflection and Prayer © Fourth Presbyterian Church

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