Readings (Year C):
Wisdom 3:1-9
Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6
Romans 5:5-11
John 6:37-40
Reflection: Not even death can defeat the just
The responsorial line in this week’s psalm is one of the most known in all of Christianity: Though I walk in the valley of darkness, I fear no evil, for you are with me. This refrain from Psalm 23 speaks to my heart during these chaotic and unstable times. When it seems as though all of humanity is walking through many valleys of darkness, it is not an exaggeration to ask questions like: “What is going to become of us?”
Between the climate crisis, endless wars, rising prices for even the most basic necessities, and political landscapes that leave many of us getting out our copies of The Handmaid’s Tale (or similar dystopian novels) to compare them with the literal book of the Apocalypse—the question is legitimate. But, at the risk of sounding like someone who has her spiritually bypassing head blissfully buried in the sand, this week’s readings assure me that there is nothing to fear. Not even destruction. Not even death.
And the holy souls that we celebrate on this auspicious day would concur.
Our first reading from the book of Wisdom declares, “The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.” The book of Romans offers, “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in the newness of life.” These teachings assure me that the promise of resurrection is mine too. Indeed, it is a promise for us all.
Our gospel reading from John contains a line that we often sing at Catholic funerals: “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”
As a female reader I have a proclivity for adjusting the pronouns in scripture so that they apply to me. I found myself doing that with this classic line. As I read aloud, “and I shall raise her on the last day,” it immediately shifted to: and God will raise me up on the last day. I encourage you to say that line to yourself, and then perhaps aloud: God will raise me up on the last day.
Notice what that is like to make this promise even more personal for you. As we move forward in this uncertain world working for change, what would it feel like if we could keep this anthem close to our heart? We can even say it as a prayer for strength, especially when we are feeling defeated. Many of us are called to stay very awake right now and engage in acts of advocacy to make some kind of difference in this world. We can be both people of action and people of contemplation. For me, I feel empowered to fight on for a better world with greater confidence knowing that this world is not where it ends. For not even death can hold down the just.
That is a promise to hold close to our hearts on this day when we celebrate the holy souls who have gone before us, living in the promise of their resurrection.
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