Journal entry by Joanne Negstad — 22 hours ago
"After one of my classmates dropped in is tracks for a heart attack at his church in Portland, Oregon, another classmate wrote me of the funeral. He said 'They told me it was a triumphant service, but I only wanted to cry.'
In the last decade or two the churches have had a veritable epidemic of 'celebrating' every life event with joy and triumph, as if grief does not belong in the repertoire of the Christian. The disposition to emphasize victory may be a subtle compensation for the pessimism that infects our age. But grief, remorse, fear, and even anger are marks of our humanity. To celebrate when we should grieve is a denial of being human. The writer in Ecclesiastes says, 'For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven...a time to weep, a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.'" Alvin Rogness The Word For every Day This is an excerpt of a longer article I received from a friend today. Rogness was president of the seminary while I was a student and preached at my ordination 50 years ago. He goes on to tell about his family's grief when his son Paul, was killed as a pedestrian ten minutes from home after two years of study in as a Rhodes Scholar in England. Paul and Joanne were good friends and Joanne remembered distinctly where she was when she received word of Paul's death.
Rogness words ring true to my experience with Joanne's death. Grief, yes...triumph? not so much.
Blessings,
Al
In the last decade or two the churches have had a veritable epidemic of 'celebrating' every life event with joy and triumph, as if grief does not belong in the repertoire of the Christian. The disposition to emphasize victory may be a subtle compensation for the pessimism that infects our age. But grief, remorse, fear, and even anger are marks of our humanity. To celebrate when we should grieve is a denial of being human. The writer in Ecclesiastes says, 'For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven...a time to weep, a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance.'" Alvin Rogness The Word For every Day This is an excerpt of a longer article I received from a friend today. Rogness was president of the seminary while I was a student and preached at my ordination 50 years ago. He goes on to tell about his family's grief when his son Paul, was killed as a pedestrian ten minutes from home after two years of study in as a Rhodes Scholar in England. Paul and Joanne were good friends and Joanne remembered distinctly where she was when she received word of Paul's death.
Rogness words ring true to my experience with Joanne's death. Grief, yes...triumph? not so much.
Blessings,
Al
No comments:
Post a Comment