Scripture – Isaiah 40:8: “The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand for ever.” (NRSV)
This morning, I was walking around my house while I was walking my dog. I was looking at the leaves on the ground, thinking of how much raking and mowing I would have to do this weekend. Despite the unseasonably cold temperatures this week, most of the leaves are still on the trees. But I know that through October, my yard will soon be overrun. This got me thinking about the nature of our mortality and our quest to continue, to matter, to not lose what makes us human.
In the Gospels, a rich man approaches Jesus and asks, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus invites this man, who has kept the commandments since his youth, to sell what he owns and give the money to the poor. This is a step too far for the man, who turns rejected away from Jesus. When we think of eternal life, it is not immortality on earth, but eternal life in heaven. But is it a full continuation of the self in heaven? We think of heaven as a perfect place where sin is gone and all have found peace, happiness, and union with God. But humans are imperfect, in some ways to the core of our beings. In that rich young man had found the “eternal life” he sought, would he still be tinged with miserliness and greed? Do the conflicts and desires and anger that are hallmarks of human nature belong in an eternal realm?
With this in mind, mortality may not be such a bad thing. It means that all things that fall short of God will disappear eventually. But that does not mean that our human lives are imperfect. When the leaves fall in forests, they eventually decompose into nutrients that nourish new life. Likewise, our human efforts of love and justice and invention live on after us and sustain and encourage the generations that come after us. And our truest selves, the sliver that exists beneath our fears and cruelty, will find that eternity and that connection with God. So, when things change and it seems like all hope is gone, remember that good can come from loss and the love that binds us to each other and to God will never end.
Prayer – Lord, quiet our fears and remind us of your presence in our hearts and your word, which stands forever. Amen.
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