Tonight we gathered here to remember and give thanks for the lives of
our loved ones who have departed this earthly life and now rest in
peace with God. We aren’t here to be morbid or over sentimental but to
acknowledge that space which now exists in our lives. I expect you have
all been told at some time that time is a great healer; well I’m not
too sure about actual healing but I know that in time we do learn to
manage our grief and see our precious memories as gifts to be
treasured.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, was a great Christian theologian who was executed
by the Nazis, had plenty of time to think about death in his prison
cell and in one of his famous letters he wrote, “Nothing can make up
for the absence of someone we love .... it is nonsense to say
that God fills the gap; God doesn’t fill it but on the contrary, God
keeps it empty and so helps us keep alive our former communion with
each other, even at the cost of pain ..... the dearer and richer
the memories, the more difficult the separation. But gratitude changes
the pangs of memory into tranquil joy. The beauties of the past are
borne, not as a thorn in the flesh, but as a precious gift in
themselves.”
Of course it goes without saying that we will always miss our loved
ones more than words can ever express and some of the pain never really
goes away; our grief is the price we pay for love.... and to feel
and express sorrow at a time of grief is perfectly normal and natural.
We read in the Gospels how Jesus wept when he heard the news of the
death of his friend Lazarus. If it was alright for Jesus to weep in the
presence of death, then it is certainly alright for us to do so.
So as we treasure our precious gifts we can be so grateful that our
loved ones are part of the Communion of Saints, fellow members of the
holy family of God who now enjoy their place with all the saints and
angels in the heavenly kingdom. Some of my favourite words of
reassurance come from the Book of Wisdom which say, “The souls of the
righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch
them.”
God assures us that we will never die and never be ultimately defeated
and this has only been made possible by Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
Jesus died so that we might all have eternal life, He showed His love
for His Father by giving up His life totally. Jesus knew that he was
destined to die and rise again three days later, and so made the way
clear for all to rise to eternal life with God; Jesus’
resurrection from the dead is the foundation of our Christian faith.
How that hope is reinforced in tonight’s Old Testament reading from
Isaiah, The Lord will destroy death forever and the Lord will wipe away
the tears from every cheek. For the faithful, yes life is changed
by death but not ended and the bond of union in the Body of Christ
continues to unites us.
Tonight as we remember those who hold such a special place in our
hearts and who now share their heavenly life with God let us also
remember the life they shared with us here on earth. That very special
person whose love and example influenced us in such a massive way and
made us the people we are today.
I hope we can remember them with thankful and joyful hearts. Jewish
advice on death suggests that we do not ‘say in grief that he is no
more but in thankfulness that he was.’ How privileged we have all been
to share our lives with those whose memories we treasure, those we
still love dearly but no longer see and may we also give thanks for
God’s goodness, God gave us the love, laughter and the tears of those
who have died and in some way left their indelible mark on us. Those
who hold such a special place in our hearts loved probably weren’t
famous celebrities or people who made headline news but they did leave
us with a great legacy to sustain us in years to come. I’m sure we will
continue to pass on their countless stories with pride, their good
deeds, their faux pars, their successes and their disappointments;
their aims and their mission in life.
Soon we will be invited to light a candle as a sign of prayer for those
in our hearts. Let those lights also radiate the hope and God’s
infinite love and be our sign of hope for the future. May we be assured
that Christian hope will turn our pain into thankfulness and joy.
Through our prayers I ask that we are filled with fresh hope and a
hunger to be led into a deeper union with God through our loved ones.
So yesterday as churches the world over celebrated ‘All Saint’s Day, to
remember Holy people who have inspired us over the centuries, tonight
we bring before God the saints from our own circle of family and
friends. They are Holy Souls who have already travelled their earthly
journey and who are now at peace and part of the Communion of Saints in
the heavenly kingdom. We remember especially our own dear brothers and
sisters in Christ from the family of St. Faith’s who served you and us
so faithfully and have died during the last 12 months. They along with
all whose memories we treasure form a part of our spiritual backup, to
still help us by their example, encouragement and love.
We know they are now in good hands and our personal experiences tell us
that death need not isolate us, it need not make us inaccessible to
each other.
We will always share that same bond of love, which as we know can and
does continue after death because spiritual love does not recognise
separation. How often have we felt the presence our loved ones among
us, or that they are somehow still influencing us when we have choices
or important decisions to make? How often have you experienced a very
real feeling that they are close to you? Perhaps because of a certain
smell, a song, a particular piece of music or a treasured memory, these
experiences come back to remind us of a love that was so special. They
help to create wonderful images in our minds.
I think the words of the prophet Gibran help conjure up a lovely
picture when he says, ‘And when earth shall claim your limbs, then
shall you truly dance.’ I find it very comforting to think of our loved
ones dancing in joy and total happiness and finding true fulfilment.
This presence we so often feel is a living intercourse between people,
past, present and future made possible to us by the presence of God.
The mystery of death points to a possibility of joy and glory so
immense, so exciting and so infinitely beyond anything we can ever
imagine or dream of.
None of us will ever reach perfection in this world and neither did
anyone who has gone before us but we can pray for guidance and courage
to live more like those saints in heaven and pray that the light of
Christ does radiate through so we can reflect the glory of God in our
lives today.
This evening we all face the same task and that is to continue loving
and praying for those already in the heavenly kingdom, just as they
still love and pray for us. Through prayer we can take up the offer to
deepen our relationship with Christ and look forward to enjoying a
state of deep peace and greater love and union with God and with our
departed loved ones.
Our prayers both private and public enable us to open ourselves
completely to God’s infinite love as men, women and young people moving
towards our own final destinations. The Communion of Saints is the true
life of the church and in this life and the next we can be secure in
the knowledge that God’s love is unconditional and when we enter his
loving presence everything is restored and made holy.
With all the saints and angels we pray that we too may lead faithful
and Godly lives in this world and finally share everlasting joy with
them in the next.
Amen