I hate that part the most of all

'Cause I was built for glory, I was made to last
God formed these feet to walk golden streets when this hard life is passed
Say, "He's doing well on the other side" if anybody asks
Say I was built for glory, I was made to last.  Built for Glory, Made to Last - The Lost Dogs

I have been to my share of funerals and some rather significant ones of late. Out of everything that is presented at the ones I have attended there is nothing I hate more than the grave site. In fact, I would rather carry 100 caskets 100 miles than spend a single minute staring at one perched a top the hole left by freshly dug ground.

Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing comforting seeing the body during the calling hours as it lies unzipped from the soul. But somehow it seems less jarring than the grave. At least I can see it. At least it us "up here". At least it is not in darkness disintegrating and dissolving to dust. It never looks perfect, natural, or even close to alive, but it has not been neglected. In fact, it has been cared for rather well hasn't it?

But the grave, the place where Jesus wept in the Gospel of John, the grave is the coldest place. The dark, wet earth that has been disturbed only to devour another dead one; the row of chairs set in place for contemplation of the way of all flesh; the tent to imperfectly shield me from the elements that the deceased will no longer feel. You can have all of it. I will have none of it.

Thanks be to the God and Father of my Lord Jesus Christ the grave is not my destiny. Not now and since the foundation of the world not ever. He never wished me there. His kind eyes have seen something much greater for me. This cold earth nor hellfire has claim on me. Only he does. And when his claim is made more evident to all than it is now I will be stilled. But only for a time. Such a short time. Then I will know as I am known. Partially, yes, but more completely than ever. 

God? Why do you love me so? Why have I been given share in your Son's reward?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

tightvnc keyboard mapping problem in Ubuntu 9.04

Image
I have been, off and on, having an issue with the keys on my keyboard mapping to the correct values when using the tightvnc client when paired with the vncserver vino in Ubuntu 9.04. I am not exactly sure what keyboard layout the client and server was expecting, but it seemed like every time I restarted the OS the keyboard mapping problem would come back and I would be at square one again. Well, I think I have found the workaround I was looking for . Hopefully this will help anyone else that is having this issue.
Read more

The manifestation of the "I" and the gift of self - Part 1

I am continuing my journey through Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body and I had never realized how body-focused the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Genesis truly are.  But then it all makes so much more sense when it was brought to my attention that the body we have been given in a manifestation of me, or to put it another way, the "I". And it goes beyond that still. Not only does it reveal me, but my body also reveals, in no small measure, the image of God. That is not to say that God is made of flesh like me as is depicted in so many Renaissance paintings. The old man in the sky is nothing like the God as revealed in the Bible. However, the love that God is, the holiness that he is, the justice he is, the righteousness that he is...all of it is shown to the world through my body. In a very real way, my body allows for others, and for me, to participate in the mystery (the hiddenness) of the image of God. That is by design; from the beginning.  If God is revealed in nature...
Read more

Let me learn what I need to learn

In the “I don’t know what God is trying to produce in me…” portion of the blog: I work across (not with) an incredibly loud person. We are in cubes and he refuses to use a handset when he is in a conference call…or headphones. Everything is done via speaker phone. Maybe his handset is broken? I don’t know and am too timid (read “interested in keeping the peace”) to ask him. Of course he shouts into his speaker phone as well when he talks. Now he even refuses to use a keyboard. He has a speech recognition program that allows him to speak to the computer rather than type. Good for him! Now we can all hear “Comma…open parenthesis…close parenthesis…tab…tab...tab…” Was it my sin or my parents sin that relegated me to this placement in the office. We all know the answer to that but man…it sure feels like I am getting punished for something.
Read more