God's Got your Number!
Dear Friends,
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As I sat in the church this week and listened to Father Kevin deliver the funeral homily, I was reminded of a promise that I had made to myself years earlier. At seventeen years old I told myself that there were two things that I would never do again. I wasn't going to wear a tie and I'd never attend another funeral.
Two classmates of mine had died in a tragic accident. As I was leaving the church following that service many years ago, I heard the wailing of one of the fathers as he leaned against his car. It was too much to bear. I couldn't help but think of Jesus standing outside the tomb of his friend, Lazarus. In one of the most impactful verses in Scripture (John 11:35) it simply says, "Jesus wept." It says so much about our Lord.
I believe that when it says "he wept" it wasn't a quiet whimpering or soft, choked back cry. It suggests that it was a full out release of his emotions and a cry of deep anguish. It moved him. I believe that we were never meant to experience death. It wasn't part of the original plan. It came about because of our sin and disobedience extending back to the Garden of Eden.
It was the result of our fall from grace. Now it is part of the burden we bear. Jesus understood it as he looked around and felt the full impact that death brings to life. Surrounded by loved ones, Jesus' deep empathy, sorrow and humanity came through. If he didn't know it before, and I am sure he did, he was convinced that there was only one way to reverse the curse.
It was literally his cross to bear. It is good to keep that in mind as we enter the Lenten season. At the Lord's table we often note that Jesus' body was broken and his blood was shed so that we might be made right with God. He was the sacrificial lamb. Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, Isaiah sees the future and explains it all in chapter 53.
The prophet says, "Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering... He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was upon him and by his wounds we are healed..." His sacrifice was the antidote for our sin. We are told that his righteousness was imparted to you and me.
As my colleague expounded on the words of the 23rd Psalm in that funeral this week, I was struck by what he said. He reminded us that Jesus referred to himself as the Good Shepherd. As such, he promised to walk with us in the shadows of life and death as well as in the good times when we were walking in verdant bliss of the delightful pastures.
As Pastors, we are called to be under shepherds, to feed the sheep, even as the apostle Peter was on the shores of Galilee. We are to walk with those who mourn and celebrate with those who rejoice. If it calls for us to wear a tie or a collar, to celebrate a funeral mass or memorial service, then so be it. I abandoned that vow of my youth.
Having said this, I want to remind you that the clergy are not the only ones who have this special calling. In Galatians 6:2 the Apostle Paul tells us that we are to "bear one another's burdens." In other words, we are to help one another. When Jesus says to "love one another" he was calling every believer to come alongside their neighbors as a good shepherd would.
There are over 100 verses in the Scriptures that call on us to care for one another. It is an important aspect of our faith. We should never lose sight of it. In these challenging times, let's make it a point during the Lenten season to live out this principle and let the words of the song, "They will know we are Christians by our love" play out for all to see. Forget the tie. Let that be your accessory of choice.
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See you in church.
Pastor Cal