life questions 301...
Who will care for me as I age and eventually die?
You might be thinking that Advent is not the time to consider such a question, but to me it seems the perfect time.
Every birth brings with it eventual death and disappearance from this place we call home. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, doesn’t it always bring to mind that we will soon enter the Lenten season remembering His sacrifice?
We are finishing up reflecting on a series of questions posed over dinner this past October in our living room. A group of celibate, single people of various ages gathered for pastoral care and for community.
Were the two previous questions that we considered. These questions alne brought a seriousness to the conversation.
But when this last question arose, it brought with it a spirit of humility and of quiet. Many around the table with me do not plan to marry. They do not plan to have their own children.
And they wonder about the future.
We are the church. You, me, those believers around us. We are intended to be the answer.
We celebrate with each other.
We mourn together.
We care for each other until our eventual end.
That is His plan in the church.
And through this love and sacrifice- the mysterious unity that Christ prays for, we witness to the world around us in a way that words fall short.
Jesus’ birth and the eventual giving of the Holy Spirit united His followers together in a way that marriage vows, sex, and children could not.
At least it seems to me that is the intention.
I long to see this lived out in my church, in all our churches.
I’ve had the incredible privilege of sitting by the bedside of several people as they have died and been ushered into the presence of Jesus. It is a humbling, awe inspiring moment.
But it’s almost always preceded by days, months, and sometimes years of hard decisions, care taking, and real life mess.
I believe the Father has created a body through His Spirit and wants us to be in relationships like this with each other. Intentional, long term, relationship.
We will always have non-married people in our bodies, but we should not have solitary, alone people. Jesus’ kingdom forges a bond.
As you ponder the meaning and the symbolism of Advent, consider this also (and we are coming back to it in January)- in what ways are you sacrificing to “be family” to someone in your circle? Where are you committing to a long term relationship outside of your ‘blood family’?
This is a holy pondering- lean in.