Tuesday, November 7, 2017

Last Thoughts on All Saints Sunday 2017

I had been feeling growly about All Saints Sunday. You might protest.  You might say, "It's not that offensive a Sunday, is it?"  You might sigh and wonder why I can't just relax and let people find comfort where they can.
 
I have been increasingly growly about the ways that we view Heaven, especially when that translates to viewing this life as a holding pattern, a waiting room for Heaven.  All Saints Sunday can feed that dynamic, if we're not careful.
 
As I've lost people, particularly people my own age, our platitudes around death are not working for me.  I don't find it a comfort to think about how we'll all be reunited in Heaven--not when lives have been ripped apart now.  I also know how our visions of the afterlife have changed through the centuries, and that our view of Heaven may not be right.  It may be billions of years before we're reunited in Heaven.  It may not happen that big family reunion way.  Maybe we'll be reunited as planets in some distant galaxy. 
 
My Create in Me friend, Mitzie Spencer Schafer, has written a wonderful blog post that reminds me of the importance of this Sunday, of what an impact it can have if done well.  She also connects All Saints Sunday with essential questions for artists: "I guess it is only natural, but I couldn’t help thinking, 'What if I could learn from this? How might I apply this slowing down and intentionality to my own art and creativity?' What would I be making? What would I be designing? How much time would I really want to spend on it? What would it do for my emotional health?
Would it even matter?"
Read the whole post here

1 comment:

Mitzie said...

Glad you found some connection to my post! Lets stay connected.