All Souls Day

Today is another of those "lesser well known" days in the Church's calendar. While All Saints Day barely is know, I doubt if most people even know about "All Souls Day". It's obvious that it follows All Saints but the emphasis is not so much on the Saints -- or remarkable people faith -- that the Church recognizes, but rather on the Souls, the people of God's creation...i.e., US. (I said US, not U.S.).
The soul is one of those remarkable things, and I dare say many people probably have a vague but very unrefined idea of what the soul is. But, it is important. I'm not going to claim that I know everything about the soul...but just reflecting upon the soul as the very center of our being...who we really are, and where the conjunction of our physical self and spiritual self come together might be the best way to describe the soul. Reflecting upon the soul biblically leads me to some interesting observations:

• 1. To Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, as well as your mind, includes the need to love him with your soul as well - Deut. 6:5 and 10:12
• 2. The picture accompaning this is a portrayal of Hannah, who in 1 Samuel 1 wept bitterly in her soul before the Lord for a child - 1 Sam. 1:10
• 3. The Psalms are full of references to the soul and include nice positive things like, "Praise the Lord O my soul, and all that is within me.", to the not so positive gut wrenching cry of "Why are you so downcast O my soul...?" -- There are 48 references to the soul in the Psalms alone.
• 4. The Prophet Isaiah speaks what many have felt when he says, "My soul yearns for you in the night..." -- Isaiah 26:9 (I usually yearn for God to help me sleep).
• 5. Jesus' words about the soul are often penetrating... "What shall it profit a person to gain the whole world and lose their soul?" and, "Do not be afraid of those who can kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather be afraid of the one who can destroy the body and the soul..." HMMM!

I could go on. It stretches my mind to think about my soul. I know that I need to take care of it. I once heard a story of an Indian guide who told his Westward bound American scouts that he needed to stop so that his soul could catch up to his body -- I understand that.
We need to care for our souls.
So, perhaps "All Souls Day" is simply a reminder that we need to take care of our souls...not to get too preoccupied with our desire to prove our worth by all of our "human doings" and instead celebrate God's life in us as "human beings". What do you think?
I leave you with he blessing of the little known book 3 John 2: "Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health, and that all may go well with you, even as your SOUL is getting along well." :)