Exploring Questions About Life and Death

I don't know what happens when we die. No one really does.

Hi, I'm Ryan, an Episcopal priest in Winchester,

Kentucky, and last

week or two weeks ago, I was sitting with an older congregant,

and that congregant

asked me what happens when we die. I had to look this person in the face,

who was

obviously struggling, and say, "I don't know."

And certainty is so valued in our society

that it doesn't leave room for those types of questions

very often. So I was honored that the question was asked.

I was honored that I got to sit and watch

the wrestling happening inside of this person and offer my presence as

much as I could. But

the reality is there's so much about

the deep spiritual realities of our lives that

the answer is, "I don't know,"

which is where faith comes in, which is such a trope.

And there is a reality that regardless of what happens,

trusting in the God whose love goes before us and is

behind us and all around us

is somehow enough. And so I can't offer anyone on

this page certainty about much, I'll be honest.

I can offer my interpretation.

I can offer my presence. I can offer some of the skills I've

learned along

the way, um, in years of education and

practice of ministry. But

most of the time, the answer is, "That's a really good question,

and I don't know."