When someone dies, it is often a blur. I know that is how it felt when three of my family members died within two years. The first death was the hardest, because you did not know what to expect. I remember being surprised that I got so caught up in the letting go my Mom that I had a hard time focusing on the future and my beliefs.
We are going through something like that right now. Call it a worldwide trauma or even a “death of social life,” it blinds us to the future and may even try our faith. We may lose our bearings as far as holding on to the promises of Scripture, and especially the meaning of baptism. We may forget that we “live with Christ.”
Visual symbols of our faith can help sustain us. In the case of a Christian funeral, the lit resurrection candle and the pall over a casket mean so much. Both communicate what Paul writes to the Romans-- in baptism we are united in death with Jesus, and so we are united with His resurrection. Both are reminders in the middle of the blur of activities and emotions that God has our back. We don’t know all of details, but the promises of Scripture are that “if we have died with Christ, we will also live with him.”
For us right now—in the middle of Lent, in the midst of this pandemic—it is the visual symbol of the Cross and the empty tomb that sustains us. Jesus died for us—on that Cross. He is no longer in the tomb. Christ is risen. Sometimes soon we who are still living will emerge from our “in-place tombs” and we will have the opportunity to serve Him in an open and faithful way. How are you preparing right now for your emergent faith and service?
“Generous God, thank you for all that you do for us and the symbols of the faith you give us. Lead us to trust in your promises, even when we are uncertain what lies ahead. Amen.”
Pastor Roger Black
Also see the Daily Scripture: Psalm 146, Isaiah 42:14-21, Colossians 1:9-14
