November is a month for remembering, particularly the dead. It starts with the two Christian festivals of All Saints and All Souls and then moves to Remembrance Sunday. Somewhere in the mix is All Hallow's Eve, "Halloween", with alleged links to memories of a pagan past. In our society today we largely try and avoid thinking about death; we prefer to speak of people "passing away". But we cannot avoid it; it will happen to me, it will happen, dear reader, to you. November can remind us of our mortality. So what, if anything happens then?I do not really know what happens to us when we die, at least not in any detail. For much of Old Testament times there was no clear concept of any kind of worthwhile afterlife; just vague references to a place of shadows called Sheol. By the time of Jesus, there was a much stronger belief that the dead would rise again; as a Christian I believe this is what Jesus showed. But Jesus himself was vague on the details, as are most New Testament writers. I do not need to know the details of what happens, how it happens, what it means to have a "resurrection body". All I need to know are the words I proclaim at every funeral; Jesus's declaration that he is the resurrection and the life, St Paul's insight that nothing, not even death, can cut us off from the love of God. As a recently deceased theologian said, when asked about what happens when we die; "The God of life will prevail". There is nothing else I need to know.
Some may recognise the name of Marianne Budde; she is the Bishop of Washington who preached at the inauguration of President Trump back in January; her sermon, on Christian values, did not go down well with the president. These are extracts from a blog she wrote in June; I would encourage you to read it in full (Hopelessness is Not an Option - by Mariann Budde)."Earlier this year.... I was invited to lead a morning Bible study on Matthew 28:1-10 with 4,300 participants and also give an evening address. It was deeply humbling and inspiring to witness that level of unity, compassion, and hope that reverberated amongst the attendees..... it is essential for Christian leaders to speak and act with humility in the wider society in which we live, for we are in need of the same forgiveness, mercy, and grace that we are called by God to embody for others. If the continued response to the sermon I preached on January 21st has revealed anything, it is that simply professing a faith rooted in mercy, dignity, honesty, and humility is like water in the desert for parched souls.... We’d be made of stone if we didn’t feel discouraged some days and deeply saddened by what we see around us. But remember that hope isn’t something we need to conjure on our own. It is a grace that God gives, allowing us to face evil and death, yet still believe that the life-affirming Spirit is always at work within and around us, bringing about good.... This is a time for us as Christians to be present in as many places as we can and offer what we have to give.... For Christians, hopelessness is not an option — not because of us, but because of Christ’s dwelling in us and our ultimate hope in our true home in the love of God. We have our north star. In that faith, we go on. We are the ones now. For this hour, we are here."