(Wis.3:1-9; Ps.23:1-6; 1Cor.15:51-57; Jn.6:37-40 Note: there are any number of readings possible for this day) "The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them." Is this not what it means to be a Christian? To have faith in the resurrection from the dead. To believe that after our time of trial there shall be peace, that we shall be refined by the hand of God to stand in His presence, to share in His kingship. "Grace and mercy are with His holy ones, and His care is with His elect." This is our faith. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." And so we have no fear. The Lord watches over us and guides our path, and in His blessing we take refuge, knowing we shall come to be with Him, knowing He is with us even this day, knowing even death we shall conquer in His Name. "I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come." Nothing shall remove us from His presence. "We shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed." Indeed, though all die, all shall come to life. None can remain as they are; all must be changed. All that is mortal must take on immortality, and in this immortality, in this incorruptibility we gain, death is swallowed up – it is no more. "Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." It is an eternal victory. "Everything that the Father gives me will come to me." It cannot be that the Father's will not be done. Jesus awaits us with open arms. He has gone before us, He has prepared a place for us, and we must but come to Him as drawn by the will of the Father. "Everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life, and I shall raise Him up on the last day." Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ! Death is not our realm, brothers and sisters. Though it comes to us all, it is but a passageway into Heaven, it is but the Lord's means of preparing us for the kingdom. And so, whether we experience it today or tomorrow or yesterday is of no consequence. It is there. It shall come to us all. But all who believe are preserved from its clutches and drawn into the life the Father offers. Let us pray this day for all holy souls to come by the Son into the hands of the Father. Written, read & chanted by James Kurt; produced by Carie Fortney. Music by Carie Fortney; used by permission. ******* O LORD, help us find victory over death in Jesus, your Son, and so come to dwell with you forever. YHWH, though we walk through the dark valley, we fear no evil – for you are at our side. Though death close its mouth upon us, we remain courageous, for your Son has given us victory over sin and death by His sacrifice on the Cross; and as we take refuge in Him, we are raised to dwell with you in eternal life. Let all souls be raised to your side with Him! Where in this world can we turn where there is not sin, where there is not darkness, where there is not death? O LORD, it is so, that this world is clothed with corruption, with mortality. All is now doomed to die for the sin that besets Creation. But where does the grace of your Son not penetrate? To whom would He not bring new life? And what need we but faith in Him to find that life dwelling in us even this day? Soon the end will come – the end of sin and the end of death. Let us not die with death, LORD, but find the victory you desire to impart to all souls through your Son. May your goodness and kindness follow us all our days and lead us to your eternal kingdom. May all who have died be at your side.