Five Funerals and No Weddings
They pressed into service a passer-by, Simon, a Cyrenian, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry His cross. (Mk 15:21)
They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” (Jn 11:56)
But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father. (Jn 10:38)
Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. (Jn 11:45)
This past Friday was a whirlwind. I started my day traveling to Chicago for the funeral of Uncle Jim (my fifth funeral this year) and finished my day leading a retreat at church on The Stations of the Cross. Heading into prayer these next two mornings, Holy Spirit converges the two. During the retreat, the above passage regarding Simon of Cyrene is part of the fifth station (the Stations of the Cross are a walk through Christ’s passion and death broken up into 14 “stops” of reflection). For our retreat we reflected on the witness that Simon was to his sons in this moment and then invited the participants to “Pause for a moment, and think of who is observing you- who is close enough to you to see if following Christ has changed you for the better?”
These days when you attend a funeral in church it is sadly apparent that there is a large percentage of people who find themselves in unfamiliar territory (at church). I imagine that there are those in the “crowd” who stand in church witnessing this funeral wondering where Jesus is. “Will He show up?” As I sat in church my attention was drawn again and again to the front pews of church where Uncle Jim’s five children sat (4 daughters, one son). Their grief was apparent but in the midst of that grief, Jesus was present as well. During the Mass at one time or another each of my cousins had that moment of grief, the one that breaks through the surface of their heart and presents for all to witness. And each time a sibling was ready with a hug and encouraging word helping their family member through grief. Jesus was in those hugs, hand holds, and whispers. Jesus is always present in love, and my Uncle Jim taught each of those kids what love means. In his fatherhood, Uncle Jim witnessed Christ. Each time I had the honor of watching Uncle Jim with his kids it was evident that he was a good, good father. Uncle Jim worked until he was at least 80! He did this not simply out of love of work (which he had) but necessity. He sacrificed his life for his kids; helping to put them through college and seeing them off into their own families through weddings. Five children in and of itself is a sign of God’s love! When you really think about it, the sacrifice that children call upon the lives of the parents only makes sense in the context of our God: The Father’s sacrifice of His only Son, and the Son’s sacrifice of His earthly life, not for themselves but for us, their adopted sons and daughters. My Uncle Jim’s last stand on earth came in his last Rite of Christian Burial. In the context of the Mass, Uncle Jim pointed to Jesus upon the cross as each of his children greeted each mourner with gratitude, joy, and love; as each child filled the pews and comforted each other; as each child took turns tending to their mother. There may have been those present who thought that church empty of a Savior, not able to see with the eyes of faith the Savior that makes himself present in the Eucharist. I pray that they were able to see Jesus Christ risen in the love of a good father expressed through the love of his children. We enter Holy Week today. Where is the Lord asking us to be Simon of Cyrene? Where can we take up the Lord’s cross and witness Him to others?
