Yesterday I was asked how it is that I can take funerals, his first concern was that I had to stand in front of all of those people and speak, his second concern was the words that I was using. There were a lot of people yesterday, standing room only in the Chapel, and more folk outside. The funeral was for their friend, he had died following a battle with cancer at the young age of 42.
There were a lot of people, but whether there are few or many most of the words in the funeral service are the same ( there are choices in the liturgy). My response is this, I can do it because I believe it, I believe passionately in the words of resurrection hope that I proclaim, and I believe passionately that, that hope is open to all.
I believe that Jesus was fully human and fully divine and as such he came, dwelt amongst us, was crucified, died on the cross and was then raised to life through the power of the Holy Spirit. I believe it and I believe that others need to hear of the gift of life, fullness of life that God has for them...
To be able to hold out hope to the hopeless, and the grieving is an enormous privilege and for me to have integrity it must be sure proclamation. Yes there are times when I have questions especially when faced with the suffering of others, but my hope is secure, if vulnerable at times. The young man whose funeral I conducted yesterday and his family were/ are not regular church goers, but they are believers, and cancer did not have the last word...
"I am the resurrection and the life" says the Lord "those who believe in me, even though they die will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die."
