Sermon

As to the first, the experiences of those who have had near-death experiences reinforce the message of our theology. For the vast majority, death has been the most beautiful time of their lives. It has had a profound effect on their sense of values. Their lives have taken on new meaning. For a while, it seemed as though people who believed in life after death were suspected of wishful thinking. Now, as the evidence mounts, it takes an act of faith not to believe.

As to the second, the effects on those left behind, these may vary tremendously. The closer we have been to the deceased, the bigger is the empty place in our lives. We now have to do for ourselves, or for each other, what the departed one had done for us. We have advanced one step toward becoming the senior generation, and the inexorable passage of time becomes a little more evident to us.

In one respect, though, the two sides are alike. When someone near us dies, we too find ourselves rethinking our values. So many of the little things that bothered us seem trivial now. So many of the little things that were easy to put off seem more important. We look at a completed life, and it begins to make a kind of sense we could not see until it was over.

[Brief bio]

Our theology tells us that the purpose of creation is a heaven from the human race, and heaven is a community. We are created to live together, to care for each other. We are created for relationship. We are created for all the things that never make the headlines. It is more than sad, it is tragic when homemaking and parenthood are regarded as second class tasks, as holding us back from our full potential. Since the goal of parenting is that one¡¯s children become independent, clearly parenthood is not supposed to be a lifetime calling, but as long as it does last, it calls upon the essence of our humanity. It calls for change and growth, for holding and for letting go. Parenting ¡°grows us up¡± as nothing else can.

As we look back on Alice¡¯s life, as we sense the fabric of relationships of family, friends, and church that was so essential to it, may we see more clearly what truly matters in our own lives. As we glimpse the hand of providence in her story, may our trust grow that the same loving hand is involved in our own lives. For ¡°the Lord God is a sun and a shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly.¡±

Amen.