Archives: April 2006

Rector's Reflections - April

Jesus said: “If any man would come after me,
let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.”
Luke 9:23

When I was at St. Luke's in Hot Springs, a man told me that there was a short cut that would save me a lot of time when I was out visiting parishioners. He gave me the directions, but the first time I tried the short cut I became lost. I stopped at a gas station and asked for directions. The clerk looked at me and said, “Preacher, you can't get there from here. You need to forget about that so called 'short cut,' because it doesn't work.”

As we approach Holy Week, I remembered the clerk's words as I reflect upon our journey with Jesus from Palm Sunday to Easter morning. The only way we can really get to Easter morning is through each day of that week including The Cross on Good Friday. While Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ vividly reminded us of parts of that week including Good Friday, he left out Jesus' call to us to walk beside of him each step of the way. We all have a death to die before we have our day of resurrection . There are no short cuts. The church each year gives us an opportunity to walk by Jesus' side and to learn from Him about death, eternal life, AND how to live each day with Him while our hearts still beat.

A discussion about dying is only a “morbid” discussion if there is no belief in the resurrection. I have always encouraged people to openly talk about and seek as much information as is needed to make decisions about medical and legal powers of attorney, living wills, funeral plans, wills and executors of estates, and long lasting gifts, such as endowments to the church. I can think of nothing more loving thing to do for my family than to have taken care of these matters before I die and not just dump it all in their lap. I have known people who twenty years after the death of someone close to them are still wondering if they did “the right thing” according to their loved ones wishes. But how were they to know if the “wishes” were kept secret?

I first began preparing for the death I am going to die when I was thirty-one years old and we had adopted our son. You are never too young to have this discussion.

Without a doubt the all time favorite psalm is the 23rd psalm. But, if you read the psalms in order, you will have to read Psalm 22 first! During Holy week read both of them together as a single psalm and then see where it leads you.

O death where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory?
1 Corinthians 15:55

Fr. Ken †