Hi everyone,
You may have heard by now, but “Friends” actor Matthew Perry died yesterday. I know, I’m not usually one to dabble in celebrity gossip, but I guess this one hit a bit different because Matthew Perry has been a relatable person and his character that he most famously played was relatable as well. So this just got me thinking about death, and I am reminded of how inevitable it is.
And I guess I thought about how sad it all can be. Sad because it’s final. Sad because it’s the end. Sad because it’s so unknown and different.
But then, I guess death is death and we can’t change it. At the same time, life is life, and we can change our lives. And in changing them, in living life fully, in choosing to make a difference in the world, somehow death’s sting doesn’t cut so deep. Because we know that while we might not have any choice but to leave, we can choose what we leave behind.
And so through it all, I’m reminded that life is good. Short, perhaps. But good.
Here are the readings for next week:
Revelation 7:9-17
Psalm 34:1-10, 22
1 John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12
This upcoming Sunday is All Saints Sunday, a day that we remember those that we’ve loved and lost. And the usual practice around that is to light a candle to represent that person’s life, the life they led, and the life that continues on in us. In that as their lives had been lived as they were, their legacy is left in us.
In how they’ve influenced us, how they’ve affected us, how they’ve blessed us.
This then reminds us of how we’re all connected, how we’re all joined together, how we’re all a part of this eternal body of Christ in which we find meaning, joy, and hope. Then we see that all aspects of life, the good and the bad, somehow and in some divine way, come together for the good of all who wait upon the Lord.
So then while death is death and we cannot change that, life remains as life… and life is good.
This is what we’re called to know, called to believe, called to live in and around our lives, joined in community, and acting as beacons of God’s love and hope in the world. Be blessed, my friends, for God is with us always.
Thanks be to God! Have a great week, everyone!