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Theological Reflection |
Uprooting oneself and one’s family is a difficult and sometimes necessary thing. Aside from the physical work of packing up belongings, marshalling movers or friends, and unpacking, there’s the mental and emotional strain of starting over, of finding new habits, of making new friends, of discarding things that are no longer useful. It can be a great act of faith, even today, to start over.
Our God is alpha and omega, a god not only of endings, but of beginnings. God is present in the stressfulness and pain of endings, promising us blessings even as we feel overwhelmed, hopeless, and tired. Will we receive those blessings of new beginnings?
- What beginnings and endings are you anticipating in the months ahead? Will they be stressful, exciting, challenging, hopeful?
- How can you remember God’s faithfulness in the midst of struggle? How will you praise him even times of great upheaval?
Our faith is reckoned to us as righteousness, just as was true with Abraham and Sarah, who had every possible reason to distrust God’s promises. It is no small thing for us to say the creeds aloud together for this reason – while we too have any number of reasons to disbelieve in God’s power loving-kindness, we commit to belief still. Where we fall short in belief, we lift each other up and pray for correction. Where we are strong in belief, we buoy our neighbors. When we disbelieve the promises God has made to us, we remember that he is giving life to the dead and calling into existence things that do not exist.
- What does it mean for God to be father of all of us?
- Where have you seen God give life to the dead?
Published by the Office of Communication of The Episcopal Church, 815 Second Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017 © 2023 The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. All rights reserved.
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