Remembering is about Love!

All Soul’s Day John 6:37-40 Jesus said to the crowds: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”

Death, it is one of the hardest things to accept in our lives. Death, it is one of the most wonderful things to accept in our lives. Death is hard the finality of it all. I will never forget my dad dying at home, they came and picked him up and put him in a plastic bag. Zipped it shut and put him in the back of the van. As the van pulled away, I thought, “it’s over. Good-bye Dad.” Death seems to be the end, but in the depth of each and every one of us there dwells the source of life, the place of home where God resides. So, how could my dad, how could anyone who has died be filled with the spark of life and then have it suddenly go out? Because after they die, they are welcomed directly into the arms of God even as Jesus himself was when he died. God brings us to full, complete readiness as he takes us into his arms. My dad was surrounded by my mom and my brothers and sisters when he died, those who loved him most. He was taken from our arms into the one who loved him more. He was taken to the arms of Jesus. Today’s Gospel is from the middle of the bread of life discourse. John’s wonderful teaching on the Eucharist. For those of us Catholic believers the Eucharist is what makes the reality of death meaningful. It is never the end. Jesus promises us, “if we eat the bread of life… we will never die.” In the Eucharist Jesus is welcoming us into eternal life. By sharing in this banquet here we are being prepared for eternal life. This meal that what we share is not physical food, no it is spiritual food that lasts forever. We last forever. That is the promise that we hear in this very short part of the gospel for today’s celebration. “Everyone who sees the son and believes will have eternal life. Today is about remembering those who have died. That is the beautiful meaning of the day of the dead. The Day of Dead is not Mexican Halloween. It isn’t about dressing up as a goblin and scaring one another, sharing treats so we don’t get tricked by the spooks. No, day of the dead is All Souls’ Day, it is remembering. We remember those who have died. What a beautiful custom the day of the dead is. My sister Eileen lost her husband a few years ago. When she learned about the day of the dead she made an altar in her home. Candles and flowers, pictures of her husband and others who had died to “remember” Them. She placed on the Altar those things that were important to her husband, not in some macabre memorial, but a joyful celebration of life. The very best way to remember those who have died is to gather to celebrate this eucharist. We come together to remember everyone who has died, just as Jesus said in the Gospel for today. They are all here as we gather around this table. No one is lost, no one is forgotten. In day’s past today was about praying people out of purgatory. But if the faithful departed are leaving purgatory at the same time there are entering into eternal life. So let us celebrate their lives today. Let us celebrate that those we love and have gone before us are now in the loving embrace of the one who never forgets. To say it simply, “life after death” is nothing less and nothing more than love. And God is love.