No End But Change
It’s alright to admit that as we intercede in prayer for those we love who have already died, that we consider also the fact that we will die. So, at the end of our All Hallows tide, it is fair to ask, not just for those who’ve gone before us but for ourselves: What happens when we die?
When, as a priest, I’ve been privileged to be with someone in that moment, I pray in the name of the Church, “Depart, O Christian soul, out of this world; In the name of God the Father Almighty who created you; In the name of Jesus Christ who redeemed you; In the name of the Holy Spirit who sanctifies you. May your rest be this day in peace, and your dwelling place in the Paradise of God.” A human being in all its fullness is a body and a soul. And the time always comes when the soul that God first breathed into our bodies must return to its Creator and the body must let it go. So as we hear in Holy Scripture this evening, “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God.”
And in that hand there is rest: “Very truly, I tell you, the hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God.” The Word made flesh can be heard even in that place where the dead find rest from their earthly labors. So, in death there is sleep when sleep is needed.
But in death there is also perfection. In the Burial liturgy, we pray that those who have died “may go from strength to strength in the life of perfect service in God’s kingdom.” So, in death, there is fruitful labor for those who have been perfected in God’s service and continue to serve God by their prayers for us in this world. But there is also perfection for those whose lives in this world was imperfect. “Then [one of the crucified criminals] said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ He answered him, ‘Amen I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.’ The criminal — not a thief, more likely a murderer — doesn’t even dare to ask forgiveness, just to not be forgotten. Whatever work of repentance he still needed to do, Jesus promised would be completed. And even that criminal’s soul would find his dwelling place in the Paradise of God. So, we may hope, will all those we love who in this world were imperfect.
And finally in death, there will be resurrection: “For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed… When this perishable body puts on imperishability and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?’” Jesus’s victory over death will also be ours.
In death there is rest. In death there is perfection. In death, there will be resurrection. For me personally, the most comforting words about death in our Book of Common Prayer, so imbued with Holy Scripture, you will hear shortly in the Eucharistic Prayer: “For to your faithful people, O Lord, life is changed, not ended.” That particular preface between the Sursum Corda and the Sanctus is used only at burials and this feast of All Souls. I think we need to hear these words more often, because in death there is no end, there is only change, Thanks be to God.
November 2nd, 2026
All Souls Day
The Rev. David Kendrick