In times such as ours, when people shopping, people at yoga, people worshiping are attached, to be reminded of the promised love God is essential for our health. I think God makes this promise to us:
I take you to be my companion,
“to have and to hold from this day forward,
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish -“
forever. We will never be parted, even by death.
With this promise, God calls us to be saints, connected through love.
And there is more. As the story of the raising of Lazarus, found in the gospel according to St. John, informs us – God calls us out of dark places to re-=start our lives, again, and again, and again. God also enlists our community to participate in second chances. The community in Bethany were called to roll away the large stone that sealed the tomb. Then following the call of Lazarus to come out, the community was instrumental to remove the bindings and to set him free.
Our loving God welcomes us with second chances throughout our lives and encourages us to be welcoming communities that extend second chances to others.