Weekly Thoughts

Last week I had to go to a funeral. My cousin , Audrey, had died at the age of 91 and a half (as she proudly told everyone) and this was our opportunity, as family and

friends, to mark the ending of her life. I have deliberately used that very neutral term because a funeral has in practice a number of purposes. The most practical of these is the need to dispose of the mortal remains of the deceased in a manner which befits what was the physical part of a human being. But that is to tell only part of the story: we shall also want to mark the significance of the deceased held for us, the part they played in our lives including perhaps actions for which we are deeply grateful. By the same token it may also include actions which we found deeply hurtful and even may have been objectively wrong. To call a funeral service “a celebration of the life of” or “a service of thanksgiving for the life of” may make it impossible to

include those negative elements. Not every person who lived was a wonderful human being most indeed will be less than perfect and somehow this has to be

recognized.

This can be very difficult to do in a secular setting. No-one likes to “speak ill of the dead” and so the funeral becomes very much a white wash, the deceased becomes the most wonderful person who ever lived. This is one of great advantages of a Christian funeral. This starts by recognizing that we are all less than perfect and

goes on to commend the person who has died to the mercy of Almighty God. We believe that in the Resurrection to eternal life, into which we have to let the deceased go, that there will be an opportunity for sin to be forgiven and for the soul of the deceased to grow in the love of God to attain the perfection that God intended for it when God created it. If we offer a funeral Eucharist then we can apply the power of Christ’s victory over sin and death for the healing and forgiveness of the soul of the deceased.

My cousin’s funeral which was a secular event was very unsatisfactory as far as I was concerned for those very reasons. By contrast many of those there found it a

“lovely service” although by any standard the content was minimal. All of us there will have a lot of work to do to say goodbye to Audrey properly. To say goodbye in a way that recognizes her strengths and weakness and all that she brought into our lives as a unique human being.

READINGS AND PRAYERS

19 JULY – SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY – Matthew 13.24-30, 36-43 – the

parable of the wheat and the tares – that we may be faithful to Christ

20 JULY –Monday - Micah 6.1-4,6-8 – do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God – all Christians in public life

21 JULY – Tuesday - Micah 7.14-15,18-20 – God does not retain his anger for ever – for all spiritual directors and confessors

22 JULY – MARY MAGDALENE, APOSTLE TO THE APOSTLES -John 20,1,2,11-18 – Mary Magdalene witnesses the Resurrection – for our Resurrection faith

23 JULY – Bridget of Sweden, Abbess of Vadstena, 1373 – John 15.1-8 – I am the true vine – the European Community

24 JULY – Friday – Jeremiah 3.14-17 – all nations shall gather to Jerusalem – the peace of the world

25 JULY - JAMES THE APOSTLE – Matthew 20.20-28 – whoever wishes to be great among you must be your slave – the appointment of a new Bishop of Southwark