JASON'S REFLECTIONS
What a week it has been; at times peaceful, at times stressful; most of the time exhausting.
No doubt, the source of my exhaustion this week has been the drama of the election and from the amount of news that I have consumed over the last 72 hour-- all with the intent of "staying informed."
Although I could probably have functioned just fine--arguably even better-- without having a steady stream of political information flowing as I worked on my various weekly tasks, it mattered to me for some reason to know in real time what was going on.
In today's section of St. Paul's letter to the Thessalonians, St. Paul wants them to not to "be uninformed" about what happens to someone who has died before the parousia (that is, the awaited return of Jesus). Not because he felt it necessary to feed them all of the latest happenings of the world (something virtually impossible 2,000 years ago) but because he wanted them to have some perspective that would give them the ability to process daily events (like the recent death of their loved ones) within a proper framework of Christian hope and understanding.
Last Sunday was All Saints day, and Monday was the Commemoration of All Faithful Departed, also known as All Souls Day, which was a time for all of us to not only remember all that have died before the parousia; but also a time to put our own lives in perspective. A time to think about what how our faith and our identity as Christians informs and affects our own daily lives.
Sisters and brothers, stay informed! And know what it means to be a people of faith, hope, and love.
Amen.
