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Eternal Life for the Faithful Departed

February 23, 2020
in Feature Articles, The Word
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This Sunday is the Sunday that we call for all the faithful departed. Next Sunday is going to be the first Sunday of the Holy Lent. And after that, we begin a beautiful and Holy journey to the crucifixion and resurrection.

The departed were once among us, and we now believe they are up in a very good place. We know, most importantly they are with Jesus Christ and He is the life. Jesus says I am the life and the way and the resurrection. When we move from this earth, He will give us His light, the eternal light.

At the altar, we honor the people that were among us, and we have faith in our heart that they did not end when they departed – they are up there with the true light.

The message of the church on this day, and mission of Christianity, is to give life rather than talk about death. So why do we mention the departed? As we do every Sunday during liturgy, we sing “Lord, we are remembering your dead, but we are proclaiming your resurrection.”

So, in Christianity, our real mission is to proclaim the good news. That Jesus was raised from the dead. The resurrection and the life are our mission. We should remember always the departed ones, but our goal in life is to live according to our faith in Jesus Christ, that He is the resurrection and the life. And we make our faith shine on everyone on this earth around us.

In Luke 12:37, it says “Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when he cometh shall find watching.” Watching means something different here, it means be awake. The Bible says we don’t know when Jesus is coming so we must be awake for it.

The Bible says, be ready for you don’t know when the master will be like a thief. Because He wants us to have discipline, and always be living according to His word.

At home, you keep your things valuable. And Jesus, similarly, says keep your soul safe, keep it away from the evil one. Try to always keep your soul in a safe place, which is only in the hand of the almighty one. And when we entrust our soul in His hand, we know we are in a good place.

And in Revelation 16:12-16, it says “Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.” The word “clothed” in the Bible means the righteousness, but who else is the only righteous one, but Jesus himself. Everything we have done in our earthly life will be exposed.

If we don’t continue that faith, we will be naked among Him when He comes, which is why we must always be ready.

We don’t know when our hour will come, but we know when we believe in Him, we know we will be ready. And we will be clothed in His righteousness and be with Him all the days of our life.

If you don’t know where you will end up, God is calling you this Sunday, the Sunday of all the faithful departed. To be the one who will inherit the kingdom of God.

Have strong faith that no matter how much you are a sinner, believe that His righteousness is more than enough to cover you and to make you the son of our heavenly father. Today God is calling you through the cross and having faith in His only begotten son – if you accept Him – you will also be the beloved son and daughter and you will be His chosen one. Don’t hesitate to tell him “I am a sinner.” Because His door is big enough for everyone, He will accept you and make you His beloved one.

Learn more in Father Andrew’s sermon video.

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