Reflections on funerals

I have been the officiating pastor for 12 funerals in the past three months. Nearly one a week. From the young life cut short by an overdose to the older woman who radiated joy, all have shared a common theme. Life, whether nine minutes or 99 years, is too short. I pen these words with a dual purpose. First, to purge my thoughts and to appeal you to take the brevity of your life seriously.

James, the brother of Jesus, writes of the uncertainty and shortness of life, "13 Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit' -- 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.'" In these verses, James presents a way to live while we do live.

First, he humbles us. Being human is accompanied with zealous optimism. Like James' hypothetical circumstances, we plan to go from place to place and thrive. While we may fail to plan, we never plan to fail. We are humbled and shocked by the idea that all touched will not succeed. James humbles us that while we may dream of a greater tomorrow, we have no control over future outcomes nor events.

Second, he challenges us with our brevity. Your life is a vapor. A mist.

One of the funeral secrets is that everyone is uncomfortable. Very few want to be there. However, funerals are the one time -- if not the only time -- when everyone is confronted with the brevity of their own existence. Religious and non-religious alike must embrace the reality that everyone will, in one way or another, be the center of attention at their funeral. Your life is too short.

Thirdly, after humbling us, James implores us to humble ourselves. The ego and its certainty are humbled by surrender to the Lord, who today knows tomorrow's outcome. There is much out of your control in this life.

In your life, much begins too late and ends too soon. You will grow old much too fast. Your children will grow up too quickly. You will see your Pilot face to face when you cross the bar. The crossing is sooner than you know.