I wanted to stay up until 2am last night for the Pope's funeral, but couldn't, just too much. But reading the Pope's journal, watching video clips of the Funeral and seeing the pictures of millions perhaps billions of mourners just impacts me. A simple cypress coffin for one the world's greatest leaders. Just like Jesus, King of Kings, born in a manger and dying on a cross. Great men, humble endings, a glorious eternity.
"I Leave No Property Behind Me", said the Pope. We want to take all our stuff with us it seems. How many DVD's, iTunes downloads do you and I own or have rented through the years?
I read recently, that the Pope considered his "suffering a gift to the world". Amazing, death and suffering as a gift. I see it more as a loss, yet the way of Jesus is as Paul said, "to live is Christ, to die is gain."
How far are we from this way of living? Perhaps we're not to live quite that way. Perhaps we are. Perhaps we are confused on where our treasures lie.
Isabela (4)'s daily kindess to her older sister, Shannon who wants to go deeper and join a Monday night study, Denise who awaits test results today, Julie who today tells her children their dad is divorcing them. This is life. This is pain, sorrow and love flow mingled down. What better life is there?
Yet Melanie struggles to leave her pot smoking friends. Jake struggles to leave alcohol as his medication for his pain. We make bad choices. We struggle.
The Pope said, "my suffering is a gift to the world." Perhaps my gift to you is my grieving of abuelita, the loss of my father 4 years ago, the daily struggles to raise three small children, of ministering to broken people every day at Bethany Church in Long Beach, CA, and my mistakes, my failures and short comings together with the longing, the pursuit and hunger for the Way of Jesus. And yet the burden is light, the yoke is easy for "where does my help come from? (Psalm 121), "my help comes from you, Maker of Heaven, Creator of the earth. He will not let your foot slip. He who watches over you will not slumber."
I am so proud of the people I work with every day in the Arts. Of their struggles, their journey, their victories, their broken marriages, their children who deal with illness, of their incredible gifts and talents, of their pain from parents who divorced when they were young, of broken dreams and broken marriages. Yet in the middle of it all, they seek after God, after Jesus the Savior, there lies our hope, "where does my help come from?", "my help comes from You, Maker of Heaven, Creator of the earth."
Let's remember the spirit and life of the Pope. Let's remember his life and most of all his finishing. Let us be more like the Pope, more like Paul and Peter, more like Jesus.
Millions Bid Farewell at Pope John Paul II's Funeral.
