It was Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead. What is striking about that episode from Saint John's Gospel is how sad the Lord was that his friend was dead. He wept. Death is sad. While especially now this view no doubt seems eccentric to many, I don't agree that death is natural. We weren't born to die. This is why Christ came. To redeem us from the power of death.
Standing before the grave of her brother, Jesus tells a grieving Martha "I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die." These are bold words. These are the kind of things Jesus says that caused C.S. Lewis to insist that you can't really just accept Jesus as a great moral teacher. Something like what Jesus says to Martha is true or he is delusional, perhaps even a religious charlatan. Jesus poses the same question to us he posed to Martha: "Do you believe this?" (See John 11:1-44)
I can say, with Martha, "Yes Lord, I believe." Believing something does not make it true. I'll venture to say most of us hold false beliefs about any number of things. I believe what Jesus says about himself and about life after death. You know, I could be wrong.
Instead of Evening Prayer, I prayed Night Prayer last night. To kick it off, I sang my favorite Night Prayer hymn: "Now Fades All Earthly Splendor." The last verse moves me deeply:
So will the new creationI did a committal service today. It was one of those where I did not know the person who died and had never met his family. It's always a little weird to enter these kinds of situations. It is a great privilege and a holy honor to share this vulnerable moment with a grieving family. At least for me, the key is to tread lightly.
Rise from the old reborn
To splendor in Christ's glory
And evelasting morn All darkness will be ended
As faith gives place to sight
Neither the deceased nor any of his surviving family members were Catholic. But after the graveside eulogies, they wanted to commend the soul of their beloved brother and uncle to God.
In my very brief remarks, which come at the very beginning of the Rite of Committal, I mentioned that standing at the graveside of a loved one is a little like standing at the end of the world. From that vantage point, we can look back and have something like a panoramic view, even if for a brief time, of the life of the deceased, which is now all too evidently over. But it's a good perspective from which to take a good look at ourselves, at our lives.
As impossible as such a reunion may seem at that moment, virtually everyone deeply longs to see their loved one again. To meet them somewhere beyond the end of the world, in a better place. A place free from illness and strife. Somewhere there is no death. This desire, it seems to me, is shared even by those who don't believe, especially by those who, for many reasons, often valid, are unable to believe.
Getting back to Martha- she believed, as I believe, that Jesus is "the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” Could I be wrong? Sure. But you know what, even if I am wrong, I can't think of a better way to live life than trying to follow Jesus, stumbling disciple I am. At the end of the day, it isn't about vindicating my belief. It isn't even about indulging in wishful fantasies. It's about believing in Jesus Christ. I have no desire to look at anyone and brag, "I told you so!" Rather, having encountered Jesus, as Philip said to Nathanael, I want to say, "Come and see" (See John 1:35-51).
While I could not find a very good recording of it, "Now Fades All Earthly Splendor" is our Friday traditio.
No comments:
Post a Comment