All Saints…All Souls…. All….Afterlife
Death is one of the toughest areas for spirituality, yet also the most wonderful. How can our beloved ones, so filled with the spark of life, so suddenly be gone from us? Afterlife? Let us face it, today’s world is filled with unbelief about afterlife. Some people say there is no such thing. The 19th century philosopher Nietzsche wrote, “God is dead and we have killed him.” In response, I quote a pungent cartoon from years ago that showed two pieces of paper, one of which said, “God is dead, signed Nietzsche.” The other said “Nietzsche is dead, signed God.”
If Christ was love enough to last through death, then let us adhere to that love, even as we suffer or die. It is within us, no matter how many losses we have. No matter how harsh the world may act, still, in the depth of each and every person, there dwells the source of life, the place of home where God resides. So, how can a friend or family member be filled with the spark of life and then have it suddenly go out? By being welcomed directly into the arms of God even as Jesus himself was when he died. To say it simply, “life after death” is nothing less and nothing more than love. And God is love.