St. Paul wrote to the Romans as follows: "Who or what can separate us from the love of God? A troubled heart? Social tribulations? Economic distress? War? Hatred? No! I am sure that neither death nor devil, nor heaven nor hell, nor past nor future will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus Our Lord."
You see, our life is everlasting, simply because God loves us and therefore, does not want us to cease to exist.
To love someone and, at the same time, to want them to cease to be, is a contradiction.
And so it is that we DO exist after dying to these days of our lives, to this phase of our lives.
This having been said, it remains true that most of us fear death. We fear the associated darkness, the separation and the unknown. Our faith in Jesus who died, who rose from the dead and who continues to love and to cherish each one of us, should provide, at the very least, a partial counterbalance to this natural fear.
Needless to say, our immediate and familiar environment is earth. "Mother Earth." All of our senses and defense mechanisms are tuned to our surviving in this environment. Therefore, the balance that we seek between time and eternity demands a strong , nourished faith. It calls for sacred space and communal, supportive worship, prayer, and the word and sacraments of God ...Church.
We are surrounded and influenced by people we love and value who worship at the altar of youthfulness. Good people who fear growing old and avoid the subject, the reality and yes, the comfort of death.
Jesus says: "Let not your hearts be troubled. When the time comes, I will take you to myself so that where I am, you may be also!"
