Our readings today reinforce the message that we’re all in this together.
It’s a particularly counter-cultural thought, because our country does its best to celebrate individual accomplishment, independence, and self-sufficiency. Which is all good, I suppose, but the fact is that God created us as society, not just a billion random beings on a planet.
I was talking with a guy recently who is writing a book about becoming an elder. Not old, not senior, but … post-adulthood. His observation is that people at this stage are growing to recognize that their individual role is becoming second to the health of society as a whole.
We are here to help each other. Plain and simple. Our families, sure, but also community, social groups, church, and however else we can support and nurture.
And when we talk about the communion of saints, we realize that it’s not just about people for whom we interact here and now. It’s also about souls in the past, in the future, and off someplace where there’s never a chance we’ll have any interaction.
What can we do to help them? Pray. Our God transcends time and space, with infinite love and power, and is just waiting for us to ask for his help.
Today, I’ll pray for a whole bunch of people I’ll never meet. Well, maybe in heaven….