Should we be sad or rejoice when someone close to us dies?
* I just told our church secretary never to expect me to select the Hymn “Nearer My God to Thee” for a divine worship service. Why not, if it is such a beautiful hymn? Let me give you a link to the hymn. Listen to this beautiful rendition: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwLl5nY5WPI.
* I told our secretary that our church can and should have this beautiful hymn when we have a guest pastor… when I am on vacation. But why will I not select this hymn? Let me explain… My dad was also a pastor & missionary. He had six small congregations… there were a lot of funerals, and we as kids had to attend pretty much every single one of them… even be present at the cemetery for the interment. At the end of the ceremony, as the coffin was lowered to the ground, “Nearer My God to Thee” would always… and I mean ALWAYS be sung. So this hymn, even though beautiful, brings sad memories to me since I was a little kid… since I can remember.
* You might be saying, “Oh, come on, why are you bringing this up now?” Or, “If you have this ‘trauma’, get over it.” I have to admit that you are right if you think that, but it is hard to hear this hymn… and just by “happenstance” I ran into it on youtube today. I was not looking for it… it suddenly was just there… just 4 days after my dear mother left this world… (She died close to midnight between July 1 and July 2.
* She was 103 years old + 28 days. Long life… but having to say goodbye to someone, especially one’s mother is difficult, but we know that her faith in Christ she is where all believers in the Savior belong… IN THE PRESENCE OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER! (By the way, I was relieved that this hymn was not sung at her funeral!)
* Neither I nor any of you like this “dying business”, right? It was not in God’s original plan for humanity, but it is our reality because of happened with Adam and Eve. I believe that God is our loving Father, but dying is still a harsh fact before we enter into our God’s eternal presence. So… should we be sad or rejoice when someone close to us dies? Is it right to grieve?
* I believe the answer is yes! In my mind it is right to grieve! God has made us with very strong natural affection for our families, and our friends. We cannot help but feel terrible pain when we lose them. The Psalms for example are full of expressions of pain and grief. Here is an example: “I flood my bed with tears” Psalm 6:6. Jesus himself prayed with loud cries and tears according to Hebrews 5:7. Please, never feel that you are doing the wrong thing by experiencing terrible sadness at having lost someone close to you!
* “Oh, but doesn’t the Bible tell us not to grieve?” NO! That is not correct! What the Bible says is: “dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve LIKE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO HOPE.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13. Grieving is very much so OK. Grieving without hope is not ok. Jesus has risen from the dead and gives hope to all who believe in Him that we will rise with him. So although we cannot help feeling terrible sadness when someone dies, we also have the knowledge that God’s ultimate purposes are good, and he has shown his great love for us in the death of his own son for us. So here we have the apparent contradictory dichotomy: Grieving and Rejoicing! Crying and laughing! Sadness and joy! All because we have the two realities of life and death… actual death, then LIFE! We are blessed to have that new reality through Christ available, otherwise we would grieve without hope and funerals would be terrible… but they are and then they ARE NOT!
* I know that there is an unhealthy way to grieve, if for example we refuse to accept what has happened and refuse to believe that God loves us and is not doing what is best for us. But… you and I are not wrong to feel pain at what has happened. That pain will become less with time, but I am sure it will never fully go away until God “wipes away every tear from our eyes” Revelations 21:4. So here goes a tear and a shout of joy for Ilse Rennecke Sonntag – who is now with God forever.
* God bless us all! Your pastor, Rev. Don Sonntag
* I just told our church secretary never to expect me to select the Hymn “Nearer My God to Thee” for a divine worship service. Why not, if it is such a beautiful hymn? Let me give you a link to the hymn. Listen to this beautiful rendition: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwLl5nY5WPI.
* I told our secretary that our church can and should have this beautiful hymn when we have a guest pastor… when I am on vacation. But why will I not select this hymn? Let me explain… My dad was also a pastor & missionary. He had six small congregations… there were a lot of funerals, and we as kids had to attend pretty much every single one of them… even be present at the cemetery for the interment. At the end of the ceremony, as the coffin was lowered to the ground, “Nearer My God to Thee” would always… and I mean ALWAYS be sung. So this hymn, even though beautiful, brings sad memories to me since I was a little kid… since I can remember.
* You might be saying, “Oh, come on, why are you bringing this up now?” Or, “If you have this ‘trauma’, get over it.” I have to admit that you are right if you think that, but it is hard to hear this hymn… and just by “happenstance” I ran into it on youtube today. I was not looking for it… it suddenly was just there… just 4 days after my dear mother left this world… (She died close to midnight between July 1 and July 2.
* She was 103 years old + 28 days. Long life… but having to say goodbye to someone, especially one’s mother is difficult, but we know that her faith in Christ she is where all believers in the Savior belong… IN THE PRESENCE OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER! (By the way, I was relieved that this hymn was not sung at her funeral!)
* Neither I nor any of you like this “dying business”, right? It was not in God’s original plan for humanity, but it is our reality because of happened with Adam and Eve. I believe that God is our loving Father, but dying is still a harsh fact before we enter into our God’s eternal presence. So… should we be sad or rejoice when someone close to us dies? Is it right to grieve?
* I believe the answer is yes! In my mind it is right to grieve! God has made us with very strong natural affection for our families, and our friends. We cannot help but feel terrible pain when we lose them. The Psalms for example are full of expressions of pain and grief. Here is an example: “I flood my bed with tears” Psalm 6:6. Jesus himself prayed with loud cries and tears according to Hebrews 5:7. Please, never feel that you are doing the wrong thing by experiencing terrible sadness at having lost someone close to you!
* “Oh, but doesn’t the Bible tell us not to grieve?” NO! That is not correct! What the Bible says is: “dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve LIKE PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO HOPE.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13. Grieving is very much so OK. Grieving without hope is not ok. Jesus has risen from the dead and gives hope to all who believe in Him that we will rise with him. So although we cannot help feeling terrible sadness when someone dies, we also have the knowledge that God’s ultimate purposes are good, and he has shown his great love for us in the death of his own son for us. So here we have the apparent contradictory dichotomy: Grieving and Rejoicing! Crying and laughing! Sadness and joy! All because we have the two realities of life and death… actual death, then LIFE! We are blessed to have that new reality through Christ available, otherwise we would grieve without hope and funerals would be terrible… but they are and then they ARE NOT!
* I know that there is an unhealthy way to grieve, if for example we refuse to accept what has happened and refuse to believe that God loves us and is not doing what is best for us. But… you and I are not wrong to feel pain at what has happened. That pain will become less with time, but I am sure it will never fully go away until God “wipes away every tear from our eyes” Revelations 21:4. So here goes a tear and a shout of joy for Ilse Rennecke Sonntag – who is now with God forever.
* God bless us all! Your pastor, Rev. Don Sonntag