Death is the destiny of everyone;
the living should take this to heart. --Ecclesiastes 7:2
The first time I heard God tugging at my heart to become a minister, I was watching the 1991 movie My Girl. I still can't get through that movie without crying. I love the fact that at the saddest point, when family gathered around and faced the reality of death, God's family shared Scripture with them to help them process the meaning of it all.
Ecclesiastes is too dark for a funeral sermon, but its message resonates with me. The gravestone casts a long shadow on everything that we think matters. When you realize that everyone will die, there's something pathetic about the way we waste our lives on petty resentments and ambitions, lusts and addictions.
Jesus makes the same point in the parable of the "Rich Fool" (Luke 12:13-21). He tells the story of a man who doesn't seem very foolish; he's the Bill Gates or Elon Musk of his day, the one who seems to be winning this game of life. But Jesus reminds us that death makes fools of us all, unless we are rich toward God. Presumably this doesn't just mean being generous to a church or charity, but investing our lives in the eternal values that God cares about--our love for one another and for God himself.
And that's why I secretly love funerals. Yes, it's sad to say goodbye to someone we love. But at the end of a life, we have the perspective to see the true value of a life well lived. True fulfillment comes from pursuing things that shine all the brighter in the long shadow of the grave.
True fulfillment comes from pursuing things that shine all the brighter in the long shadow of the grave.
For those who knew Ethel Plummer, her service is Saturday (February 8) at 3 p.m. For those who are attending our worship this Sunday (at 10 a.m.), come early for our monthly breakfast (at 9 a.m.). Bring your joys and your sorrows, your fears and your hopes. God's house is truly a place to process what really matters, and find meaning in a faith that outlasts our short lives.
--Jonathan
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