Our Nearest Neighbors

Our Nearest Neighbors Luke 6:20-31 Father Mark’s sermon reflects on Jesus’ teachings in Luke 6:20–31, where Christ presents the upside-down values of the Kingdom of God. The world often prizes wealth, power, and success, yet Jesus blesses the poor, the hungry, and those who weep. He calls his followers to love their enemies, to bless those who curse them, and to live by the Golden Rule. Father Mark contrasts this divine value system with the world’s obsession with status and material gain, reminding us that when we become consumed by the “kingdom of this world,” we risk losing touch with our very soul—the sacred depth of our being. He then turns to the central question for All Souls’ Day: What is the soul, and where does it go when we die? Drawing on Tom Stella’s reflection, Father Mark describes the soul as the sacred depth within us—the dimension where we find meaning, connection, passion, and compassion. Yet, he warns, we often live disconnected from that depth, caught in the surface busyness of modern life. To reconnect, he offers a simple practice from Brother David Steindl-Rast: “Stop, Look, Go.” Stop the endless inner chatter, look with gratitude at the present moment, and then go—acting from a place of awareness and love. This practice, along with prayer and meditation, brings us back into union with our soul. Finally, Father Mark explores the mystery of the soul after death. Quoting John O’Donohue and Meister Eckhart, he shares the belief that the soul does not go “somewhere else” but enters a freer, invisible state of being still close to us. “The dead are our nearest neighbors,” he says, their souls interwoven with ours in the communion of saints. Through the refinement of our own souls—our deepening connection with the sacred within—we can sense the presence of those who have gone before us. Thus, All Souls’ Day becomes not only a remembrance but a living communion: soul recognizing soul, here and now, in the eternal presence of God. Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.