Meditation: Psalm 23: (0) A psalm of David:
I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come. (Psalm 23:6)
Created in the 1940s, Candy Land still ranks as one of the most popular children’s games in the United States. The goal of the game is to make it to the end of a winding route and reach King Kandy—but the path is always unpredictable. When you pick a card, you might have to jump ahead or go all the way back to the beginning. Or you might get stuck in Molasses Swamp, where you have to stay until the right card turns up. The randomness of the cards adds to the adventure: you can be very close to the end, but you still have to draw just the right card in order to reach your destination.
It seems odd that kids would enjoy a board game that has such an unpredictable cycle of joy and disappointment. Perhaps the reason is that the reward of reaching King Kandy is worth all the ups and downs of the journey.
As we celebrate All Souls Day today, this sense of anticipating a great reward despite unforeseeable pitfalls is especially appropriate. Most of us have the experience of life cycling back and forth between being stuck in the Molasses Swamp and getting the exact card that we need to move us forward in joy and eager expectation.
Sometimes, as we contemplate our path, we might wonder if life isn’t just as random as a shuffled pack of cards. But our faith tells us that there is more to it than that. Jesus, our Redeemer, is walking the path with us. He never promised a clear, unobstructed road, but he did promise to be with us, even to the end of the earth (Matthew 28:20). All the faithful who have gone before us, marked with the sign of faith, tell us that God is committed to bringing us into his heavenly home. There will be surprises along the way—some sweet and others not so sweet—but at every twist and turn, we will find Jesus waiting for us, ready to shower us with his grace.
“Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness! Jesus, I trust that you will bring me home to be with you.” Amen!
Wisdom 3:Reward and punishment after death
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(1) Adonai is my shepherd; I lack nothing.
2 He has me lie down in grassy pastures,
he leads me by quiet water,
3 he restores my inner person.
He guides me in right paths
for the sake of his own name.
4 Even if I pass through death-dark ravines,
I will fear no disaster; for you are with me;
your rod and staff reassure me.
5 You prepare a table for me,
even as my enemies watch;
you anoint my head with oil
from an overflowing cup.
6 Goodness and grace will pursue me
every day of my life;
and I will live in the house of Adonai
for years and years to come.
The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls’ Day)I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come. (Psalm 23:6)
Created in the 1940s, Candy Land still ranks as one of the most popular children’s games in the United States. The goal of the game is to make it to the end of a winding route and reach King Kandy—but the path is always unpredictable. When you pick a card, you might have to jump ahead or go all the way back to the beginning. Or you might get stuck in Molasses Swamp, where you have to stay until the right card turns up. The randomness of the cards adds to the adventure: you can be very close to the end, but you still have to draw just the right card in order to reach your destination.
It seems odd that kids would enjoy a board game that has such an unpredictable cycle of joy and disappointment. Perhaps the reason is that the reward of reaching King Kandy is worth all the ups and downs of the journey.
As we celebrate All Souls Day today, this sense of anticipating a great reward despite unforeseeable pitfalls is especially appropriate. Most of us have the experience of life cycling back and forth between being stuck in the Molasses Swamp and getting the exact card that we need to move us forward in joy and eager expectation.
Sometimes, as we contemplate our path, we might wonder if life isn’t just as random as a shuffled pack of cards. But our faith tells us that there is more to it than that. Jesus, our Redeemer, is walking the path with us. He never promised a clear, unobstructed road, but he did promise to be with us, even to the end of the earth (Matthew 28:20). All the faithful who have gone before us, marked with the sign of faith, tell us that God is committed to bringing us into his heavenly home. There will be surprises along the way—some sweet and others not so sweet—but at every twist and turn, we will find Jesus waiting for us, ready to shower us with his grace.
“Thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness! Jesus, I trust that you will bring me home to be with you.” Amen!
Wisdom 3:Reward and punishment after death
The souls of those who do what is right are in God’s hand. They won’t feel the pain of torment. 2 To those who don’t know any better, it seems as if they have died. Their departure from this life was considered their misfortune. 3 Their leaving us seemed to be their destruction, but in reality they are at peace. 4 It may look to others as if they have been punished, but they have the hope of living forever. 5 They were disciplined a little, but they will be rewarded with abundant good things, because God tested them and found that they deserve to be with him. 6 He tested them like gold in the furnace; he accepted them like an entirely burned offering. 7 Then, when the time comes for judgment, the godly will burst forth and run about like fiery sparks among dry straw. 8 The godly will judge nations and hold power over peoples, even as the Lord will rule over them forever. 9 Those who trust in the Lord will know the truth. Those who are faithful will always be with him in love. Favor and mercy belong to the holy ones. God watches over God’s chosen ones.
Romans 5:5 and this hope does not let us down, because God’s love for us has already been poured out in our hearts through the Ruach HaKodesh who has been given to us.
6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time, the Messiah died on behalf of ungodly people. 7 Now it is a rare event when someone gives up his life even for the sake of somebody righteous, although possibly for a truly good person one might have the courage to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in that the Messiah died on our behalf while we were still sinners. 9 Therefore, since we have now come to be considered righteous by means of his bloody sacrificial death, how much more will we be delivered through him from the anger of God’s judgment! 10 For if we were reconciled with God through his Son’s death when we were enemies, how much more will we be delivered by his life, now that we are reconciled! 11 And not only will we be delivered in the future, but we are boasting about God right now, because he has acted through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, through whom we have already received that reconciliation.
John 6:37 Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will certainly not turn away. 38 For I have come down from heaven to do not my own will but the will of the One who sent me. 39 And this is the will of the One who sent me: that I should not lose any of all those he has given me but should raise them up on the Last Day. 40 Yes, this is the will of my Father: that all who see the Son and trust in him should have eternal life, and that I should raise them up on the Last Day.”____________________________
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