Love is stronger than death (Henri Nouwen)

  The resurrection does not solve our problems about dying and death.  It is not the happy ending to our life’s struggle, nor is it the big surprise that God has kept in store for us.

 No, the resurrection is the expression of God’s faithfulness to Jesus and to all God’s children.  Through the resurrection, God has said to Jesus, You are indeed my beloved Son, and my love is everlasting, and to us God has said, You indeed are my beloved children, and my love is everlasting.  The resurrection is God’s way of revealing to us that nothing that belongs to God will ever go to waste.  What belongs to God will never get lost – not even our mortal bodies. 

  The resurrection doesn’t answer any of our curious questions about life after death, such as How will it be?  How will it look?  But it does reveal to us that, indeed, love is stronger than death.  After that revelation, we must remain silent, leave the whys, wheres, hows, and whens behind, and simply trust.

--Henri Nouwen, Our Greatest Gift

Image source: Fr Angelico, The Resurrection of Christ and the Women at the Tomb, Convent of San Marco, Florence (1436-1446),  http://www.jesus-story.net/painting_resurrection.htm