[There is] a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot
Ecclesiastes 3:2
Have you ever celebrated Dia de los Muertos? One of the interesting parts about serving as a chaplain at Good Samaritan Hospital in Downtown Los Angeles is that I get to work with a team of chaplains from a variety of backgrounds. One of our Lead Chaplains is a Latina who wanted to setup an altar for Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). While I’ve always known what Dia de los Muertos was, I’ve never actually commemorated it myself. Interestingly, it was a lot more fun and festive than I imagined it to be. The way that many people approach Dia de los Muertos is not one of melancholy, sadness, or grief but they approach it with joy, celebration, and gratitude. In many ways it is because they didn’t view death as an “end” but rather as a transition.
The hope that we have as POG (people of God) is that death is not the end for us but rather a transition. Yet, as long as we are here on earth death is an undeniable reality. Why does it even need to exist? Would death even be around if it weren’t for the Fall of Adam and Eve? While some questions may never be fully answered, we do know that sometimes death exists so that new life may begin.
I ask you: What needs to die so that something new can be born? What needs to be uprooted for something new to be planted?
