Read: 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord
I recently saw the new movie version of Little Women (Greta deserved a best directory nomination!), and I was once again struck by how, until very recently, people you loved who were traveling (for war, schooling, or work as characters all do in the film) were so totally absent from your life. Aside from very occasional letters people who were gone were gone. In the present, we can very nearly track the people we love minute by minute and talk to them whenever we want. Of course, we still miss people that are far away, but it is harder and harder to imagine the feeling of distance one would have 200 years ago, much less 2000.
We are so connected that our formal greetings have shortened. If you read the letters of Paul he often spends several verses greeting the community, as was the custom of letter writing when a letter was a very special thing. I often wonder about how Paul felt writing these greetings. In addition to worrying about the people he missed he surely had questions about the churches he’d planted. How were the people growing in Christ? How was the community faring? What conflicts were arising that he may not have even heard about? Yet Paul seems assured about the love in the community and sure of the Gospel. He knows that he and the Corinthians are connected and guided by Christ, who brings them closer even than physical proximity. Even across huge distances they are still truly united in Christ.
We may have lost some of how Paul felt for the Corinthians, but we certainly know what it means to miss people. Indeed, we know the distance of those saints who have passed on before us who we long to see. Together as a body, I hope we can remind each other of what Paul is sure, which is that Christ unites us with these people across any distance we can fathom. The tomb is empty and we are indeed united in Christ.
Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours,
and grant that we may serve Christ in them,
and love one another as Christ loves us.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
We commend to your mercy all who have died,
that your will for them may be fulfilled;
and we pray that we may share with all your saints
in your eternal kingdom
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
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