Well, this is kind of interesting. As I read today's reading, Isaiah 66, I thought it looked real familiar. Today is the 7th Sunday after Pentecost and this morning verses 10-14 of chapter 66 will be read aloud around the world, as they just happen to be our Old Testament reading for today.
“Rejoice with Jerusalem and be glad for her,
all you who love her;
rejoice greatly with her,
all you who mourn over her.
For you will nurse and be satisfied
at her comforting breasts;
you will drink deeply
and delight in her overflowing abundance.”
For this is what the Lord says:
“I will extend peace to her like a river,
and the wealth of nations like a flooding stream;
you will nurse and be carried on her arm
and dandled on her knees.
As a mother comforts her child,
so will I comfort you;
and you will be comforted over Jerusalem.”
When you see this, your heart will rejoice
and you will flourish like grass;
the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants,
but his fury will be shown to his foes." (Isa 66:10-14 NIV)
This morning, I am, again, reminded of that beautiful hymn "All Is Well With My Soul," written by Horatio Spafford after the tragic loss of his daughters as the ship they were traveling in across the ocean collided with another. He penned:
"When Peace like a river attendeth my way... when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. Though Satan should
buffet, through trials should come – It is well with my soul."
It is well! It is well! It is well with my soul. I remember sitting in a workshop on grief years ago and hearing that assuring those who are grief stricken of the kingdom promised to all believers brings no comfort to the person grieving. This workshop was being led by a Pastor and she was speaking from her experience. She had resented the Pastor who had preached a Gospel Sermon at one of her loved one's funerals. She said it brought her no comfort and it brings no one else comfort. We need, she said, to grasp reality at a time like that and the reality according to her is that when you are dead, you are dead. Period. The resurrection should not be included! It kind of blew me away and I had a hard time hearing anything else she had to say.
I did not comprehend her line of thinking then and I still don't understand it. The good news of the kingdom through Jesus Christ is the only thing that I know that can possibly bring comfort in a time of such great loss. The reassurance that Christ is with you at such a time is the only thing I know that will bring even a semblance of peace to the grieving soul.
Quite a few years ago, I had agreed to officiate at the funeral of a man who I did not know well. We are a very rural community and clergy often get asked to bury those whom we do not know, so that's actually quite common. In this case, I knew the man's son and mother. I knew his mother well. She was a very faithful Christian. I did not hesitate to agree to commend her son for her. However, a day before the funeral, I received a call to let me know that the man was not Christian and that his son had requested that there be no mention of Jesus at the funeral. The man had been an atheist. Yet, his family wanted me there. His family and his mother, especially, needed to hear the Gospel. Tricky one - that funeral was! How to bring comfort to a family when there was no hope in the resurrection - no hope in the Kingdom of God? It's like saying "Peace, Peace, when there is no peace." (Jer 6:14, 8:11, Ezek 13:10, 16)
Following that funeral, I advised the funeral directors in the area, that if there was even a hint that I would be asked not to proclaim the Good News at a funeral let me know so that I could refuse with enough time for the family to find someone else; because, I can bring no one comfort. It is not I, nor my words, nor my presence that brings comfort to anyone. It is the Word of God, His presence, His promises, that brings peace to the soul of those who are afflicted, no matter what the affliction might be.
"When Peace like a river attendeth my way... when sorrows like sea billows roll; whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul."
God's Peace be with you - Pr. J
P.S. For more the proclamation of the Gospel and peace like a river, see you at worship today!
