Hi everyone,
How are you all doing? You know, I chuckle at the thought of how many of you actually said “fine” in your heads (or out loud) as a natural and automatic response to that question. We do it all the time. Sure, we might not say “fine”, but we’d say something similar. “Good” or “ok” or “copacetic” all are answers that we just give out of instinct to the question “how are you”.
The funny part of that is we’re not always good or ok or copacetic. We are sometimes bad. We are sometimes sad. We are sometimes so fed up with life that the very thought of having to live another day sends chills down our spines.
And I’m not even kidding.
But we have to know that in those times when we feel like life is too much, that life has it in for us, that you’re down in the dumps without a friend in the world… that you’re not alone. You’re not the only one who has ever felt like this, and you will eventually feel better. Know that the community of encouragement and support surrounds you and cares for you, wanting only to be there for you and with you as you go through your difficult time.
We should look at the readings for next week. They are:
See, we aren’t the only ones who have bad days and are in need of encouragement. Each of these passages for next week were written for encouragement for those who need it. Daniel was written for the Jewish people in exile, Ephesians for the Ephesian church that typically faced persecution and opposition as many of the early churches did, and Luke was written for the marginalized of society, those whom the culture of the time regarded as “not good enough”.
Life can be tough.
We see in scripture that life has ups and downs. But while life may be tough, while we may face the unpleasant things of life such as hardship, disagreements, and even death, while we may have our fair share of bad days, there will be good days as well. We can see that life is also blessed with joy and peace, filled with the life given to us by our gracious God.
As we look ahead to All Saints Day where we typically remember the saints of the past whom we’ve loved and lost, let us not remember just the tragedy of their passing, but remember and uplift the tremendous gift that we have received in having these people in our lives, somehow affecting us in their love, and changing us for the better.
Yes, we do have ups and downs. But let us rejoice in the ups, and let us not forget that we aren’t alone in the downs, that we may always feel the connection to the eternal body of Christ, filled with the saints of the past, present, and future, one kingdom and community welcoming all people of all walks and giving us the name of God’s beloved children.
Have a great week, everyone!