today my boss and i took the funeral of the husband of one of our dear old ladies from church. they had been married 60 years, and zoe attended their 60th wedding anniversary party last year.
the local paper did a story on them here. below is something i wrote...
Funerals are one of the few events we attend where we give serious time and attention to death. In spite of all our knowledge, it still remains the greatest of mysteries, and most feared of human experiences. Strange that we should fear death, when it is the common experience for all of humanity, and has been for all of time. And the fact is, that fear in itself can rob us of the beauty of the present.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-14 forms part of the Wisdom literature of the Bible. It talks about there being a time for everything, and that everything is not apart from God. There is a rhythm and a depth to all of life that is found in the rhythm and depths of God. Trying to hide or ignore the realities of the rhythms of life is like trying to hide or ignore the fact of life itself. And so to be afraid of death is also to be afraid of life; which robs us of the beauty of the present. There is deep wisdom in this.
I suspect Ron (real name, Horace) intuitively understood this, as he took hold of life and engaged with it so that he enjoyed life. The writer of Ecclesiastes said, “I know that there is nothing better for anyone than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil – this is the gift of God”. Ron was a man who had found contentedness in life, and so he did not allow fear to rob him of the beauty of the present while he lived it.
The Christian hope of the resurrection for all who put their faith in Jesus enables us to live fully now, to die well, and to expect to be re-born into a new life that is found in the eternal rhythms and depths of God himself.
This dear man’s life showed us something of what that is about. May we honour his memory by how we live our own lives. Amen.
Tags:
1 comment:
This is not a genuine “comment”, just a bit of self-expression. But self-expression is similar to a “comment”.
I had prepared my "comment" before I read your words on Ron. And I felt a bit of sadness as I read it. And as in Ecclesiastes, there is always a time for sadness. But I liked the version of this biblical passage by the 1960's pop group the Byrds, which ends the standard passage with the words
"Turn, Turn, Turn
There is a time for peace
I swear it is not too late"
So thank you for telling me about Ron.
I have not yet repaired the internet connection I lost ten days ago. Symbolically, therefore, because of this cut-offness, I did not manage to complete my Lenten intention of commenting on your blogs. But what I did manage was fun. And it was serious. And Life giving. And now it is coming to an end, so I shall “comment” at great length! And, again symbolically, for my final comment I am in the company of my fellow humans in my local internet café as I am about to enter cyberspace.
I trust (totally) that my constant description of myself as an atheist was not seen by you as in any way being anti the Islamic/Judaic/Christian tradition of monotheism. We are all part of “mystery”. I feel all humans are fellow travellers, at times experiencing the same “natural” (as opposed to “normal”) Life. I feel our only difference is in our interpretation of our similar experiences, and our view of human nature. And Ron did sound like a human being.
In one sense Lent is almost over, and I would like to thank you for giving me the bond of “someone out there” sharing my belief in the “vital” (i.e. life giving) human activity I am happy to call “contemplative prayer”. I shall continue with the Wednesday evening “Soul Space” in St Mary’s. I like the symbolism of it not taking place during the first and final week of Lent. It shows that ultimately we do not need a building for soul space. We have to find it both within ourselves and in the much wider world. But having a concrete building where we can “touch base” certainly helps.
But the final few days of Lent are still to be re-enacted in Christian Churches throughout the world. Liturgically, only a few days after being greeted by the cheering crowds, the same people are calling for the death of Jesus. As someone once said, a week is a long time in politics. And that is not a disrespectful or flippant remark. The historical events are understandable, for Jesus was preaching a dreadful and an awful message. “Dreadful” and “awful” are words with very different meanings. Dreadful = full of fear. Awful = full of awe. But both words are combined in the book title “Fear of Freedom” by Erich Fromm.
I myself can honestly admit I am in no way ready to face Freedom - I am still on my Lenten Journey. But I shall pay lip service to the final days with my visit to my local Mosque today, Bach’s Matthew Passion tonight, Steiner’s Crucifixion in St Mary’s tomorrow night, and join part of the local Christian community in St Mary’s on Sunday. And now I sign off from cyberspace for what may be a long period, (but hopefully not forever). Any more words at the moment would not have the necessary emotional depth behind them. But genuine thanks for being around, “mate”.
Post a Comment