If, then, we have died with Christ,
we believe that we shall also live with him.
We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more;
death no longer has power over him.
GK Chesterton told a tale of a fellow, an expert shot, who routinely challenged those academics who professed no fear of death. These gentlemen had bought into the general cynicism and loss of faith of academia, and insisted that human life is meaningless.
He'd hold a pistol to their face and watch them cower, beg for mercy, or flee. They'd suddenly discover an unfamiliar desire to live, deep, powerful, and compelling. His point: no one faces the futility of death and non-existence without fear; everyone wants to live, whether they can offer a reason to live or not.
I have encountered other fictional characters in literature or film, who, finding no purpose in life, act fearlessly in the face of death. Action heroes fearlessly continue shooting amid a hailstorm of bullets because the TV show has another 25 minutes to go.
Saint Paul and his fellow martyrs face death and act fearlessly out of their faith in the Lord who has embraced them and holds them. They can act with a kind of recklessness because, as he says, they have died with Christ and been raised up with him. Death no longer has power over them.
Depending upon where you fall on the optimism/pessimism scale, you'll agree that we live in fearful times. But optimism is not hope; and pessimism is not despair. The Christian virtue of hope is a divinely-inspired response to God's promises. We cannot act hopefully without the Holy Spirit rousing us to respond to God's promises. When we hear deep in our hearts, "Remember, I am with you until the end of time." we are given the very confidence of the Risen Jesus who leads us to Jerusalem and Calvary and carries us through to Easter.
That courage may cower with Jesus in Gethsemane but then rises in confident obedience to face this world's opposition. We find that courage in the stories of our Christian martyrs. Many persevered through prolonged and ferocious torment as their unshakable confidence in the Lord only grew more confident and defiant.
If we optimistically expect we'll never be faced with martyrdom, we must nonetheless act hopefully -- that is, fearlessly -- in conversation with neighbors, friends, family, and strangers. Because we are holy people, we make sacrifices of time, treasure, and talent even as non-believers insist we should hold back and conserve our resources. We can do that because we know there's plenty where that came from. God has promised and God will provide. We simply ignore those foolish voices who say God has abandoned us, or there is no God. We know better.
With the Commemoration of the Dead we give our loved ones over to the trustworthy hand of God. We pray with them and for them, for their eternal salvation and our own. We're confident they live in the Lord, and that we shall live with them in eternity. We practice the faith that has persisted these several thousand years, through optimistic and pessimistic times, because God does not fail. He cannot deny himself.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.