God's Will or My Will

What is The Will Of God?

It’s a question most of us have asked at some point in life. Searching for the answer can be overwhelming and even confusing. But for Jesus, the will of God is clear: to do “the will of the one who sent me.”

Jesus came not to do His own will, but that of the Father who sent Him.

Our Gospel Reading today, All Soul's Day, (John 6:37–40), helps us understand what that will is. This chapter begins with the multiplication of the loaves and continues with the Bread of Life discourse, ending with Jesus’ teaching on eternal life.

God's Will Revealed in Christ

Jesus is the Bread of Life, and no one comes to the Father except through Him. The passage is short but profound — a beautiful example of the perfect unity between the Father and the Son. Here Jesus tells the crowds that He has not come to do His own will, but the Father’s will. In doing so, He reveals the heart of God — a heart full of mercy and unconditional love.

Jesus says, “I will not reject anyone who comes to me.” And He promises that He will “raise them up on the last day.”

So, again: what is the will of God? Simply this:

“That everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have eternal life.”

The Faithfully Departed

All Souls’ Day, traditionally celebrated on November 2nd, invites us to remember those who have gone before us.

On the walls of the Roman catacombs are carved the words:“Remember us who have gone before you in your prayers.” It is a simple plea that we must not forget them or their memory, a reminder that love does not end at death.

The loss of a loved one — a friend, a partner, a child, or even a pet, can be deeply painful. Words rarely take away the hurt. Yet, we find comfort in Scripture. The prophet Isaiah says, “The Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces.”

At many funerals I have presided over, one of the most powerful Gospel readings is the story of Lazarus. When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days, and his sisters were grieving. Jesus told them, “Your brother will rise.” And then Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live.”

These words may not take away the pain of loss, but they fill us with hope, hope that Jesus will never reject those who come to Him, hope that through faith in Him, we will have eternal life.

Understanding death is never easy. As a theologian and pastor, I often stand with families who are mourning. I struggle to find words to ease their pain.

Sometimes, the best I can do is simply to share their grief in silence.

Explaining death to a child or even to an adult can be especially difficult.

They Live on Within Us

If we look within our hearts, we can ask ourselves: where do I still feel the presence of those, who I have loved and lost. In what ways am I still connected with them, even in ways I cannot see?

45 years ago, I lost my grandmother and I still feel her caring closeness today. I look forward with great joy to join her in heaven, God willing.

Eight years ago, on March 22, my father passed away. I can still feel his strong, loving embraces, the ones only he could give. My siblings and I, we still miss those very much.

Together with my grandmother and my father, I believe that the will and the love of God make all things possible and that we will one day be together with Him forever, for all eternity.

Friends, as we come to receive the Bread of Life in the Eucharist, let us remember those who have gone before us, the forgotten and the unforgotten, the loved and unloved, and those who have died alone.

In praying for them, we keep their memory alive and share in the will of God: that all who believe in His Son may have eternal life.

May they rest in peace. Amen.