Readings for the Day:
Reflection:
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Today in the Gospel Jesus says:
Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!
Those words are often hard for some in the church to hear, because it sounds divisive. What those people forget are Jesus’ words in another Gospel, The Gospel according to John:
You are not of this world.
We need to remember these words from time to time because we are not of this world. That is the division Jesus speaks of. We aren’t meant to be one with the powers-that-be. We are not meant to compromise who we are as followers of the Way of Christ Jesus. Instead, we are called to speak truth-to-power as our other readings today remind us, especially from the Prophet Jeremiah.
We represent this truth through the Burial Rite. In the Concerning the Service portion for the service in The Book of Common Prayer, the coffin is to be covered with a pall. The color of the pall is white as a sign of the Resurrection, which is what Burial is really all about.
However, the Prayer Book also makes allowance for another “suitable covering”. Many parishes show this by allowing the American Flag to be draped over the coffin of those who served in the military. While this is very appropriate to have on the coffin coming in and going out of the church, the pall is more proper during the service. Our identity first and foremost is as Christ’s own, and the Burial Rite provides the final opportunity to demonstrate that. It is the last time we can point the way back to Jesus. We ought to do everything in our power to be lights directing others to Christ Jesus, particularly in giving every sign that this service is about the Resurrection and that we all have hope through the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are not to be part of the world. Our division with it lies there. We have to be apart from the world so that we can actually present what God has to say to it. We cannot be part of the powers-that-be because often times they are wrong and need to hear that. God is never wrong though, and we must do all that we can to follow the Lord and no one else.