#SV – Dear Death! (30 June 2024)

Dear death? No, you are not a friend, and so addressing you with ‘dear’ is only a sign of pity. The finality of your physical injury is what pains us most when you take away from us, in the flesh, the presence of the beloved without a bit of care about how we feel. Your cruelty is manifested when you fail to discriminate the time and age – and so you hit the very young and at unexpected times, and we are left broken. But you know what, you are only an intruder who crept into the world through “the envy of the devil” for “God did not make [you] death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living”. In fact, God originally created us to be indestructible until he meddled with your joy (Wis 1:13-15; 2:23-24). But, to prove once again your lack of substance, our Saviour Jesus Christ went about raising the dead, restoring people to wholeness (Mk.5:21-43), and through his resurrection ultimately destroyed you and brought eternal life to us through the Gospel (2Tm1:10). So, you can take away our flesh but will never have any power over our souls. You can make us mourn but can never dim our joy in the risen Lord. Poor death, your power ends here!