May the words of my mouth, and the meditation
of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our
redeemer. Amen.
A famous writer once said the following: “If I discover within myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”[1] “If I discover within myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”
It’s the kind of quote you have to hear a few times before it sinks in, but I think what the author’s trying to say is that we all have a deep desire for those things that are good: happiness, health, and love. We all yearn for wholeness, shalom, peace. And yet, these good things are so elusive sometimes. They are difficult to find, and once we’ve found them, they’re even harder to hold on to. They’re like tiny kernels of sand that you grab at a beach: you can hold onto them for a while, but inevitably they slip, they fall out, and the wind takes them away. But because we yearn for such a world, because we long for such peace, it must exist. Somewhere. Somehow.
I know these
thoughts ring true for me in my life, and I wonder if today, a day when we’re
here to remember those who have meant so much to you and to your loved ones, I
wonder if today these sentiments ring true for you also, as you’re gripped by
feelings of loss, grief, fear and longing…
The text for today is from the prophet Isaiah, who wrote to people in similar circumstances to yours. Isaiah was addressing the people of God, who were living in exile. They were defeated by their enemies who not only killed their families, but destroyed their homes too, and to add insult to injury, their enemies chained them up and took them away to live as servants in a foreign country.
To these people of faith, Isaiah wrote, and his message was simple: the pain and suffering that you experience now is temporary; God will make things right; trust in His promises. The fear and loneliness that you feel now will not always consume you; God will set things straight; put your faith in Him.
And so my simple message here today is the same, because even though we live in a different time, our struggles are still the same. And furthermore, God’s faithfulness and goodness are as valid for us today as they were for the people of previous generations: we were made for another world, a world of blessing, a world without sin, and a world full of the presence of God. (25) And this is precisely what God is going to bring about. God will make all things anew.[2] So, take heart.
The “new heavens and the new earth” will be a source of great blessing: full of “joy” and “delight.” Actually, unending joy; and delight without end. (18a) People enjoying that which God has created, rejoicing with one another, and delighting in God. We can think of it as a three-fold peace: peace with God’s created order, peace with our neighbour, and peace with God. Everything will be as it should be.
God’s new creation will be one where the dark stain of sin and death will be no more. No more sounds of weeping, no more cries of distress. (19b) A full and complete life, in every sense, because we will be a people blessed by the Lord: we will no longer hurt one another, and we will no longer experience loss. In fact, “the former things will no more be remembered, nor will they come to mind.” (17)
And God will be among us. This is hard to fathom, hard to imagine, and frankly, I wonder whether at this point words begin to fail us. But the image painted here is that of a relationship: we will be so close to God that in a sense speaking won’t even be necessary: Before we call out, God shall answer; while we are yet speaking, God shall hear our prayer.” (24) Being in the presence of God will be an experience that no other earthly experience can come close to.
Let me
switch gears now for a few moments.
You might ask yourself at this point, ‘Ok, that’s all fine and good, all
of this stuff sounds great, but .. what about now? You’re talking about the future: what do I do now? Am I supposed to ignore my grief’?
The answer to that is no, absolutely not. Do not ignore your grief. We do ourselves great harm when we ignore grief, and we do one another great harm if we tell each other to ignore grief.
My sister’s oldest son, Ralph, 23 years old, was in a tragic car accident just over 3 years ago. It’s a miracle that he’s still with us – and I don’t say that lightly - having been rescued from the car wreckage after being trapped in it, under water, for over 2 minutes; and after being pulled out by a Good Samaritan who witnessed the accident, a nurse who was the second person on scene, performed CPR on him. He was helicoptered to a hospital, where he had 9 hours of surgery performed on his head, his neck, his chest and his arms. Ralph is still with us today, thanks be to God. But he’s very different, particularly because of the severity of the brain injuries incurred in the accident.
But what’s surprised me over the past few years is how much opposition there is towards grieving in our communities. Our family – my sisters’ family in particular – has been told - politely - on a number of occasions that we should just move on, that these things happen: “it is what it is”; or that this was obviously God’s will; some even said it was wrong to grieve this long; and still others became awkward and tense after the accident, not knowing what to talk about with someone experiencing such deep pain. And I confess, that I have sometimes thought it too: “let’s move on already”, as though grief is a switch we can just turn on or off at will.
Recently I was speaking to someone experiencing incredible grief right here at our facility, and she mentioned that people from her faith community have been telling her the same thing too: “stop feeling sorry for yourself and get over it.” So it happens here too…
I think such responses to grief are very unhelpful, to say the least. We need to learn how to grieve, and we need to learn to support those who are grieving, because without grieving, there can be no healing; the longer we avoid grief, the longer the healing process will take.
If you’ve come here today with a heavy heart, you are in the right place. It took great courage for you to come. This is precisely why we hold memorial services: to acknowledge our pain, to come alongside one another on this difficult journey, and to proclaim words of hope and inspiration at a very difficult crossroads in our lives.
And
hopefully you’re also getting support from others whom you trust: friends,
family, or maybe your faith community.
These are all very important sources of support.
Grief is a normal part of this present world that we live in. Jesus grieved greatly during his earthly ministry. When Lazarus died and his sister was grieving, Jesus was deeply moved, and he wept.[3] And on the night before he was arrested and beaten and crucified, the gospel of Luke says that Jesus was in agony, so much so that his sweat became like “great drops of blood.”[4]
But the sorrow that Jesus expressed – and this is what it all comes down to - was always in the context of trust in God, and in a promised future joy. So while Jesus suffers openly in the garden of Gethsemane, carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders, yet he still trusted God, saying ‘not my will, Father, but your will be done.[5]” Jesus’ response to the crushing loneliness was not a result of ‘mind over matter’ or ‘positive thinking’ or ‘sheer optimism’, or ‘self-help’; but rather, Jesus’ response was anchored in faith that the promises of God could be trusted. He knew that the Father’s heart is set on blessing his people; that’s why on a previous occasion, while preaching, Jesus said: “…do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. . . . For…your heavenly Father knows [what your needs are]. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”[6]
Maybe, just maybe – with the support of friends, family, our communities of faith, and with grace - God knows we need lots of grace – these words can serve as a source of encouragement and support for us today. Friends, we were indeed created for another world: a world full of blessings, full of peace – in every sense of that word - and full of the glorious presence of God. And this is precisely what God has in store for his people.
My hope is that these words would be a source of encouragement for you, and for anyone deeply wounded at this point in his/her life. May God grant us the strength to endure these difficult times. May God grant us the courage to put our hope and our trust in Him and His promises. May God heal our broken hearts.
Allow me to close by repeating God’s words to the prophet Isaiah:
“See, I am
about to create new heavens and a new earth;
The former
things will no more be remembered,
Nor will
they come to mind.
Rejoice,
rather, and take delight unending
In what I am
about to create!
…
No more will
the sound of weeping be heard…,
No more the
cry of distress.
…
Like the
life-span of a tree will the life-span of my people be,
My chosen
ones will long enjoy the work of their hands.
…
Before they
call out, I shall answer;
While they
are yet speaking, I shall hear their prayer.
…
No longer will they hurt or
destroy
On all my holy mountain.
This is what the Lord says.”
Amen.
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