June 19, 2024
As I said in worship on June 9th, we have suffered a number of losses in our community lately, deaths of people who made a positive difference in the lives of their families, their homes, and Church of the Holy Cross. I have had to say the names with tears prickling at the corners of my eyes.
That is as it should be.
I wish that these friends now departed could have been with us longer with all the health, wisdom, talent, humor, and affection that we’ve known. I wish we could all have grown older together, and that includes those who died in their forties as well as those who died in their eighties. When I say “that is as it should be,” I’m not referring to the time of their passing.
I’m talking about our sadness.
Many times I’ve heard someone say to friends or family, “I don’t want anyone crying for me.” It’s a loving thing to say. A kind person doesn’t want their loved ones to be sad.
But the loss of a loving person will make us sad, no matter what they hope we’ll feel. We will remember the joys, yes, and tell the funny stories for certain, and we will do so with tears on our cheeks. Grief follows from love. When we love and lose, we mourn.
If you really don’t want anyone to weep for you, act badly. Be harsh. Be somebody nobody will miss.
Or be the kind and loving person that God called you to be, the one you’ve been for a lifetime. And accept that, for a time, we will honor your love with our tears.
In peace,
Pastor Eric
The image is of Mary Magdalene crying in a statue of Jesus laid in the sepulchre, 17th cent. Photo by User:Vassil – File:Sépulcre_Arc-en-Barrois_111008_12.jpg, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16942922.
