Every time I celebrate Holy Week I am reminded that death and new life are always linked. Nothing dies without something new being born, and nothing new comes to life without something dying.
That is one of the truths at the heart of our faith. Christianity is about death and resurrection, the cross and the empty tomb, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
Most of the time we try to keep life and death as separate from each other as we can. In the medical world, we have hospitals that focus on doing everything possible to preserve life, and we have hospice care that focuses on doing everything possible to help people die well.
We treat life and death as if they are two separate and unrelated things. But everyone who goes to the hospital knows how fragile life is and how vulnerable is the mortal flesh of our bodies. Everyone in hospice care knows how precious life is and how blessed we are share moments of deep connection with each other.
We know that death and life are always linked.
Holy week reminds us that faith requires us to hold on to the connection between death and life. Loss is part of every day of our lives. We are constantly loosing connections with people we love, experiences we found fulfilling, abilities we once relied on, resources we once had in abundance. Every day we have to let things go, say goodbye, do things for the last time, leave something behind. As the apostle Paul said, “death is at work in us…”
Every day we are born anew. Every breath gives us another opportunity to choose life, every encounter brings the possibility of deeper love, every experience holds the possibility of new learnings to discover and every decision opens new opportunities for making a difference in the world. Jesus said, “I came that you may have life, and have it abundantly.”
Sorrow and joy, grief and gladness, despair and hope. Holy Week reminds me that faith requires us hold all of the connections between death and new life.
No comments:
Post a Comment