Sunday Gospel Reflection
I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live

Introduction:

How has the our society's view of death changed? How has it stayed the same?

An old saying goes, "As we treat the dead, we treat the living." While the funeral industry has become big business in the country, it is built upon the way our society honors its dead. And we do honor our dead with services, eulogies, and memorials. We treat our deceased as missing, yet still connected to us in some
way.

Christianity adds to this sentiment with one insight. We are still connected with our departed, because we are one in Christ. He is the one who gathered everyone to him in this death. And in his resurrection.

First Reading
Wisdom 3:1-9

1 But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,and no torment will ever touch them.
2 In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be an affliction,
3 and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace.
4 For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. 5 Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;
6 like gold in the furnace he tried them,and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.
7 In the time of their visitation they will shine forth,and will run like sparks through the stubble.
8 They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them for ever.
9 Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his elect, and he watches over his holy ones.

Second Reading
Romans 5:5-11

5 ...and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
6 While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man-though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die.
8 But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
9 Since, therefore, we are now justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
11 Not only so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received our reconciliation.

Gospel Reading
John 11:17-27

17 Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
18 Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off,
19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother.
20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary sat in the house.
21 Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.
22 And even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you."
23 Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."
24 Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."
25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,
26 and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?"
27 She said to him, "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world."

Bible Study/Meditation

"Do you believe this?" Jesus asks Martha in this week's Gospel reading, inquiring into her view of life and death.Our response to death often reflects both how we view life and how we view eternity.

Do you believe this? That death is bad and should be grieved over hopelessly, or do you believe that death should becelebrated as the passage from something good to something better? This week we celebrate All Souls Sunday to commemorate those who have preceded us into God's presence. We celebrate the truth of
Wisdom 3:4-6, "... their hope is full of immortality. Having been dis-ciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them."

If we view physical life as of supreme value we will only feel sad and depressed when someone loses his life. However if we realize that this physical life is preparation for, and passage into, the eternal life which is to come, that life which really is supreme, we will be able to celebrate physical death as a graduation to something better and as a reward for having completed the lessons and tests of life.

"Ah," you say, "but what about the person who did not do so well with the lessons of life, or who in our eyes failed the test?" Therein lies the hope of the Christian life. God has made a provision for all of us who are weak and who have failed so often. This week's second reading tells us, "and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." Those who can answer affirmably the all important question which Jesus asked Martha, pass the final test. Jesus asked, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" That's the key to turning a
funeral from a morbid, grief-filled, dirge into a joyous life-giving celebration. How do you answer?

"Death is strong, for no man can withstand it. Love too is strong, for it can conquer death itself, soothe its sting, calm its violence, and bring its victory to naught. The time will come when death is reviled and taunted: O death, where is your sting? O death, where is your victory?

"Love is as strong as death because Christ's love is the very death of death. Hence it is said: I will be your death, O death! I will be your sting, O hell! Our love for Christ is also as strong as death, because it is itself a kind of death: destroying the old life, rooting out vice, and laying aside dead works." (From a treatise by Baldwin, Bishop of Canterbury, as recorded in The Liturgy of the Hours, Volume IV.)

Reflections:

· Please re-read the phrase(s)/sentence(s) that  move(s)/touche(s) you and what inner message of the heart is the Spirit whispering to you?

. All Souls Day gives us a chance to reflect on God's love and on the way we view death. Nothing will separate us from God's love. Death (both symbolically in our self giving and literally) is the door to God's love. In God's love we are alive (both figuratively and literally). In Christ, we are all truly connected.
  ----On this day of remembrance, think of the ones you have lost in the light of Chrsit's death. How does that thought comfort you?
 
. To follow Christ meant to partake in his death and resurrection in a very real way. When Christ died and rose again, the Father was present. When the Christian served and died to self, Christ was present; if Christ was present, so was the Father [26]. Note the language is not purely symbolic; God is truly present in our
unselfish acts. As Christ is truly present when we are fed at Eucharist, he is present when we fed others through our selfless acts-

  ----How has Christ drawn you to himself? How has his "draw" changed you?

.No one can escape death and no one will. Are you afraid of death? Why? What are your fears? Compare yours to those of Jesus when he faced the imminent death in the Passion.

.The eternal life is a free gift from God, what actions should you take to claim and to accept this irrevocable gift?

.How has these passages changed or affected your view of life and death?

.Why do you think Jesus made an exception regarding Lazarus' death and by restoring him to physical life?

.What are some important things we can do to console someone regarding the death of a loved one?

Prayer

Lord Jesus Christ, you are my King and there is no other.  May your love rule in my heart that I may think and act with charity towards all