Not Even Death

Romans 8:31-39
Tuesday, 8 July 2008

There is a poignant and pivotal scene in the movie The Color Purple, when Celie and her sister Nettie are being forcibly separated because of the evil heart of Celie's husband Mister. As Nettie is dragged away, Celie yells, "Write." Nettie stands up straight and looks past Mister into her sister's eyes, "Nothing but death will keep me from it."

I think of this scene because the issue of disconnection is also at the heart of today's lesson, one of the most famous passages in all of Scripture. The passage is a declaration of love and victory. It reminds us as believers that God has cast the decisive vote in our favor, and because God is for us no one and nothing can succeed against us. Then Paul encourages us to imagine a list of everything that might arise to challenge the God who is on our side. Hardship and distress rear their heads, but fall quickly in a battle against God. Those foes are followed by every other category of challenge that might arise to defeat us by separating us from the love of Christ. The conclusion: Nothing in creation can separate us from Christ's love.

The sisterly love that Celie and Nettie share in Alice Walker's novel transverses a lifetime without contact, the machinations of Mister who withholds Nettie's letters, and even the Atlantic Ocean, joining their hearts even while their bodies are separated. It is a great love, but God's love is greater. And as believers we give thanks for the love of Jesus that has defeated death - a love so strong that not even death can keep us from it.

Sing, "Jesus Loves Me"

Let us pray:
Almighty God, in whom we live and love, we are awestruck by the depth and consistency of your love for us in Christ Jesus. Yet despite our inability to understand it, we rejoice in its certainty. We thank you for the way that living in your love intensifies our ability to love. But most of all, we thank you for your victory over our greatest enemy death and for the eternal love we share because of you. Amen