Yet I Will Rejoice
Preaching
The Life Of Christ And The Death Of A Loved One
Crafting The Funeral Homily
A Funeral Homily For Thanksgiving
A couple of years ago on a cold, bleak day, I got a phone call from a woman who asked if I was the pastor. ''Yes,'' I said, ''what can I do for you?'' ''Well,'' she said, ''there has been a death.'' She went on to tell me that her dog, Pepper, had accidentally gotten out of the fenced--in back yard and had been killed by a car. Her children were very upset. She was upset for them, because they were foster care children, and losing a dog brought up all those feelings of abandonment that these children had already known all too often. She asked if I could come over and say come prayers.
A day later we met at the pet cemetery. When all the prayers were said, the mom gave each child a rose and one by one they walked up to the edge of the grave and put a rose on top of the blanket wrapped around Pepper's body. When it came time for little Jack's turn, Jack placed the rose on Pepper and then looked up into the sky, and with tears streaming down his sad face, he cried out, ''Thank you, God, for giving us Pepper as long as you did!''
''Thank you, God, for giving us Pepper as long as you did!'' Pure gratitude. Pure thanksgiving.
It is Thanksgiving, and the death of our loved one N. may make us feel not very thankful at all this year, but, I suspect, little Jack said it all for us; for we who knew and loved N. can only cry forth on this day the feeling deep down in our hearts: ''Thank you, God, for giving us N. as long as you did!''
Thank you for N.'s life. Thank you for N.'s love. Thank you for N.'s gifts. Thank you for N.'s ____________. We thank you, God, for giving us N., for as long as you did.
That story reminds me of a passage from Habakkuk, which I think is the ultimate Thanksgiving Week scripture reading. The prophet writes:
Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength. (Habakkuk 3:17--19a)
In other words, though everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong, though the fig tree has not blossomed, even though the olive tree has not produced, and although the crops in the field never developed, even though the flock and the herd have suffered and met tragedy, yet I will rejoice. Yet I will rejoice.
Is there not a word of comfort in that for us also today? Even though everything has gone against us, N. has died, and we can never be the same without him [her], even though the worst has happened, yet we will rejoice ... we will exult in the God of our salvation ... because God, the Lord, is our strength.
In God we find strength to carry on. In God we find courage to face tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. In God we are able to give thanks, although at times it seems like there isn't much to give thanks for. Today we are here to say to God, ''The Lord is our strength, yet we will rejoice; thank you, God, for giving us N. for as long as you did!''
Amen.
A couple of years ago on a cold, bleak day, I got a phone call from a woman who asked if I was the pastor. ''Yes,'' I said, ''what can I do for you?'' ''Well,'' she said, ''there has been a death.'' She went on to tell me that her dog, Pepper, had accidentally gotten out of the fenced--in back yard and had been killed by a car. Her children were very upset. She was upset for them, because they were foster care children, and losing a dog brought up all those feelings of abandonment that these children had already known all too often. She asked if I could come over and say come prayers.
A day later we met at the pet cemetery. When all the prayers were said, the mom gave each child a rose and one by one they walked up to the edge of the grave and put a rose on top of the blanket wrapped around Pepper's body. When it came time for little Jack's turn, Jack placed the rose on Pepper and then looked up into the sky, and with tears streaming down his sad face, he cried out, ''Thank you, God, for giving us Pepper as long as you did!''
''Thank you, God, for giving us Pepper as long as you did!'' Pure gratitude. Pure thanksgiving.
It is Thanksgiving, and the death of our loved one N. may make us feel not very thankful at all this year, but, I suspect, little Jack said it all for us; for we who knew and loved N. can only cry forth on this day the feeling deep down in our hearts: ''Thank you, God, for giving us N. as long as you did!''
Thank you for N.'s life. Thank you for N.'s love. Thank you for N.'s gifts. Thank you for N.'s ____________. We thank you, God, for giving us N., for as long as you did.
That story reminds me of a passage from Habakkuk, which I think is the ultimate Thanksgiving Week scripture reading. The prophet writes:
Though the fig tree does not blossom, and no fruit is on the vines; though the produce of the olive fails and the fields yield no food; though the flock is cut off from the fold and there is no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength. (Habakkuk 3:17--19a)
In other words, though everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong, though the fig tree has not blossomed, even though the olive tree has not produced, and although the crops in the field never developed, even though the flock and the herd have suffered and met tragedy, yet I will rejoice. Yet I will rejoice.
Is there not a word of comfort in that for us also today? Even though everything has gone against us, N. has died, and we can never be the same without him [her], even though the worst has happened, yet we will rejoice ... we will exult in the God of our salvation ... because God, the Lord, is our strength.
In God we find strength to carry on. In God we find courage to face tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. In God we are able to give thanks, although at times it seems like there isn't much to give thanks for. Today we are here to say to God, ''The Lord is our strength, yet we will rejoice; thank you, God, for giving us N. for as long as you did!''
Amen.
