Hope Beyond Death

Prayer-Soldier · Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2020 1:16 pm Post subject: Hope Beyond Death

Hope Beyond Death

Scripture:

Therefore prophesy, and say to them: Thus said the Lord God: Behold I will open your graves, and will bring you out of your sepulchers, O my people: and will bring you into the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall have opened your sepulchers, and shall have brought you out of your graves, O my people: And shall have put my spirit in you, and you shall live, and I shall make you rest upon your own land: and you shall know that I the Lord have spoken, and done it, said the Lord God:
(Ezekiel 37:12-14)

And they who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh, but the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body indeed is dead, because of sin: but the spirit lives, because of justification. And if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you; he that raised up Jesus Christ, from the dead shall quicken also your mortal bodies, because of his Spirit that dwells in you.
(Romans 8:8-11)

Now there was a certain man sick, named Lazarus, of Bethania, of the town of Mary and of Martha her sister. (And Mary was she that anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair: whose brother Lazarus was sick.) His sisters therefore sent to him, saying: Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick. And Jesus hearing it, said to them: This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God: that the Son of God may be glorified by it. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister Mary and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he still remained in the same place two days. Then after that, he said to his disciples: Let us go into Judea again. The disciples say to him: Rabbi, the Jews but now sought to stone you. And go you there again? Jesus answered: Are there not twelve hours of the day? If a man walk in the day he stumbles not, because he sees the light of this world: But if he walk in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him. These things he said; and after that he said to them: Lazarus our friend sleeps: but I go that I may awake him out of sleep. His disciples therefore said: Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well. But Jesus spoke of his death: and they thought that he spoke of the repose of sleep. Then, therefore, Jesus said to them plainly: Lazarus is dead. And I am glad, for your sakes; that I was not there, that you may believe. But, let us go to him. Thomas, therefore, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples: Let us also go, that we may die with him.

Jesus therefore came: and found that he had been four days already in the grave. (Now Bethania was near Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.) And many of the Jews were come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Martha therefore, as soon as she heard that Jesus was come, went to meet him: but Mary sat at home. Martha therefore said to Jesus: Lord, if you had been here, my brother had not died. But now also I know that whatsoever you will ask of God, God will give it you. Jesus said to her: You brother shall rise again. Martha said to him: I know that he shall rise again, in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life: he that believes in me, although he be dead, shall live: And every one that lives and believes in me shall not die for ever. Do you believe this? She said to him: Yea, Lord, I have believed that you are Christ, the Son of the living God, who are come into this world. And when she had said these things, she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying: The master is come and calls for you. She, as soon as she heard this, rises quickly and comes to him. For Jesus was not yet come into the town: but he was still in that place where Martha had met him. The Jews therefore, who were with her in the house and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up speedily and went out, followed her, saying: She goes to the grave to weep there.

When Mary, therefore, was come where Jesus was, seeing him, she fell down at his feet and said to him. Lord, if you had been here, my brother had not died. Jesus, therefore, when he saw her weeping, and the Jews that were come with her weeping, groaned in the spirit and troubled himself, and said: Where have you laid him? They say to him: Lord, come and see. And Jesus wept. The Jews, therefore, said: Behold how he loved him. But some of them said: Could not he that opened the eyes of the man born blind have caused that this man should not die?

Jesus, therefore, again groaning in himself, comes to the sepulcher. Now it was a cave; and a stone was laid over it. Jesus said: Take away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said to him: Lord, by this time he stinks, for he is now of four days. Jesus said to her: Did not I say to you that if you believe, you shall see the glory of God? They took, therefore, the stone away. And Jesus lifting up his eyes, said: Father, I give you thanks that you have heard me. And I knew that you hear me always: but because of the people who stand about have I said it, that they may believe that you have sent me. When he had said these things, he cried with a loud voice: Lazarus, come forth. And presently he that had been dead came forth, bound feet and hands with winding bands. And his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said to them: Loose him and let him go. Many, therefore, of the Jews, who were come to Mary and Martha and had seen the things that Jesus did, believed in him.
(John 11:1-45)

Reflection:

Our God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. (cf. Matthew 26:63) As tragedies strike and loved ones pass, we are tempted to forget what God said (cf. Ezekiel 37:12-14) and what Jesus taught (cf. Matthew 26:63). As we lose someone close to our heart, it is natural for sorrow to overwhelm us. As we are separated from a loved one, it is as if part of us dies. And so it was that Mary and Martha wept for their brother as he fell ill and passed from the world. The friends of Lazarus wept as well. The sorrow which filled the people touched the heart of Jesus, the only begotten Son of the Living God, and so He brought back to them the one who was a brother and friend.

Death is the end of our physical existence in this world. Because we do not see beyond it, it is natural for us to observe it as an undeniable end. We know we all face it, but too often we live as if it will pass us by. We should take note, even Lazarus was eventually taken from the world, although the scriptures do not tell us exactly when. It is simply a reality that physical death waits for us all, no matter our place or station in life. Thomas, called Didymus, too, resigned himself that it would come, even if it was at the side of the One sent from heaven. (cf. John 11:16)

Our sorrow from the loss of a loved one comes from our separation, but we must also remember hope, for did not Jesus stand with Moses and Elijah in front of Peter, James, and John? ( cf. Matthew 17:1-8 ) Can someone who died generations past, stand and converse with someone present? Indeed, they passed from the world, but they now live in the kingdom of God, so they may be dead to our physical senses, but they live and wait for us to also choose life through our Lord and Savior and join them in the holy kingdom of God. (cf. John 3:16-21)

As we weep for those we lose, we also weep for ourselves because of what we have lost and the pain which pierces our heart. Our sorrow is natural. The more we love someone, the greater the pain when we are separated. It becomes devastating as we perceive the separation to be permanent. The pain swallows up all happiness. Joy appears to become a memory past. The hopes of future days, in a moment, appear forever dashed.

As we face this realization, we are tempted to despair, but we must remind ourselves of the reason for our hope. Just as the angels asked the women at the tomb, ?Why do you seek the living one among the dead?? (Luke 24:5) we must remember that our time here is but a short moment compared to what is ahead of us. If we truly follow the God of the living, then, we must also trust in the life He offers; an eternal life in His kingdom where love is shared by all, where there is no pain or affliction, and where He wipes away every tear. (cf. Revelation 7:17, 21:4)

We should begrudge no one their grief, for separation from those we love is painful. We should not expect that anyone should put away their grief, for as long as we are separated, the pain remains. What we must look to is our hope; our hope in the Lord. What we must remember is that where there is love, we shall also find the compassion of our Lord. As we live our love for Him and one another, we shall create the conditions by which all loving souls shall come to Him so they may be raised and reunited in the place of their inheritance; the eternal kingdom prepared for the hearts of love. (cf. Matthew 25:34)

Questions for further reflection:

In what ways do we allow the Spirit of the Lord to live within us?

In what ways do we seek the life of the Spirit?

In what ways do we seek the salvation of the Lord?

May the peace and blessings of the Lord be with you always,
Prayer Soldier