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Worship and Prayer

We of Messiah Lutheran Value Worship that Nurtures People’s Faith, the Incorporation of New Members into the Congregation and the Deepening of People’s Relationship with God and addressing Social Concerns (Helping Those in Need).

NOVEMBER MESSAGE: GRIEF UNBOUND

We get so much emotive action in this All Saints gospel! There is weeping and
more weeping. There is deep regret, “what ifs,” and “if onlys.” We hear how
deeply loved Lazarus was, and even Jesus is moved in body and spirit.
Grief is a full-body experience, and it is comforting to know that our God, in
the form of Jesus—completely human and completely divine—fully
understands this. Death stinks—there is no getting around it. Death stinks for
the loved ones left behind, and decay (“Lord, already there is a stench”) signals
a finality to all living things.
And yet . . . All Saints Day is a time when we celebrate the finite human
existence and how resurrection shows up beyond this. Jesus declares to
Lazarus’s loved ones, “Unbind him and let him go,” resurrecting Lazarus back
to life. During All Saints worship, we remember our loved ones who have died,
and we hold fast to Jesus’ proclamation of resurrection for them. Death is no
longer the end of their story, or ours. Jesus has promised eternal life and a love
that goes beyond any tomb we find ourselves trapped in.
All Saints Day is a time when you do not have to pretend that everything is
okay. Grief is a part of the human experience, and it is a messy, smelly, loud,
and overwhelming ride. May you know that no matter where you are on this
day, God shows up next to you, weeping and disturbed. There is no stench that
keeps God away.
May you know that your grief is holy. May you also know that this grief is not
the end of your loved one’s story or yours. Someday we shall be unbound.
Someday we shall be whole. Someday all shall be well.gs.