Funeral sermon: Studying the Sky
Ha Na
Park
I
have two sons; one is eight years old and the other is four. Like most
children, they’re quite imaginative. They see what adults often fail to see
through their creative imagination. For example, my boys’ favourite thing to do
on car rides is study the sky, finding spectacular scenes, which are always
different and unique each time they look up. One day, they found a beaming ray
of sunlight that cut open the clouds, and they shouted, “Mom, Dad, I just saw
Heaven - I’m sure that’s Heaven over there!’ My family used to live on
Vancouver Island, before we moved to Winnipeg last July. My older son liked to
study the sky back then, too, and I noticed that he especially liked to see the
clouds that ran as if they were a river running over the shoulders of the
mountains. In the moist, chilly air of a Vancouver Island winter, mountain tops
are often draped in the embrace of clouds. My son, seeing it, would say, “Mom,
I just saw the stairs that lead up to heaven. I am sure that it is the
staircase to Heaven!”
One
of the gifts that children often share with us is that they make the unknown,
the great mysteries of life and faith, known to us in a very simple, loving and
appreciative way.
This
week I tried to do the same ‘study’ as I prayed and prepared for our memorial
service for Bob, just like my sons study the skies. I sat at my desk, prayed in
silent meditation, opened the Bible, and read the passage we’ve just heard,
“What does the Lord require of us? Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly
with your God.” Then I picked up the bulletin our church administrator had left
on my desk. I gave myself a moment’s pause. I was living through a very busy
week, yet I didn’t want to rush through my reflective time. I gave myself time
to wonder: how a person can be a holy mystery to me, and yet can tell me about
life as an irreducible, precious treasure. How this person can teach me and us
about how we all have in our being and becoming, in our growing, dying and
living, a small seed of Heaven.
I
imagine Heaven as a seed - a seed that keeps its being self-contained, that
protects its core, its energy and essence, from outside attacks or threats,
until it senses the signs of good nurture - the right soil, enough water,
plenty of essential minerals. Only then will it carefully open to its
surroundings and start its growth. I imagine that the seed of Heaven is something
that has been given to us at birth and has been the most beautiful part of us
through our life, yet it is so small and secret, so hidden in the depths of our
being that it can be very elusive to us to notice, find, treasure, love and
grow. Yet, it is so real and true, so solid, and foundational, it can bring
about a kind of homesickness. We long for true belonging and loving home-coming
to a safe and sacred place where we can be who we are called to be. The
playfulness that we can find with this image of Heaven is that this seed of
heaven is also like a marble that children like to play with. Children like to
play with it, staring into its entrancing depths, but then the marble can
easily fall from a child’s small hand. It rolls away, and is hidden in a small
dark corner. It is elusive. Children think that they have lost it forever, but
it’s really just waiting to be found again, patient in its corner.
This
afternoon, we gather together for an hour not just to commemorate and recognize
the end of N's life; we are here to honour and affirm the beauty and the
strength of a life of a human being. As many faults and mistakes we make in our
lives, we know that life itself is a marvel, and our souls possess an
unquenchable dignity. As Bob was wonderfully and beautifully made by our God’s
hands, now he returns to the embracing home of eternity. The love of Christ in
our faith affirms that we are created in the beautiful image of Heaven, the
dense cloud of God’s love, “in God’s image.” On Ash Wednesday, which was just
yesterday in the Christian calendar, the congregation are called to reflect in
a ritual, “Mortals, You are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Dust. I
imagine that the seed of Heaven may be the smallest, the least, the most
elusive treasure we may find, like dust. The closest analogy to describe Heaven
may be to speak of how small dust can be, yet, it is the most basic element
that creates and sustains the earth. Dear Bob, a child of God, as you have come
from creation, so shall you return to your home - the vast, wide territory of
the creation of God, of the marvelous earth, of the illimitable Universe. May
the love of Christ be your staircase, resurrection and hope that safely lead
you to where you belong, truly and blessedly.
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