How well the seasons of Nature capture the seasons of our lives. How often are we trapped in a Winter of near despair, our hearts frozen tundras of grieving. Yet always, in spite of being emotionally enveloped in snow, our souls still hope, catching a glimpse of the coming of Spring, a hope for eternal life. Under the thick ice coating lakes and streams, the water of life triumphantly still runs. Even the glory of dying embraced by Autumn leaves tells us that Death is not the end; in Spring the skeletal branches will break out in a riot of new blossoms. Our hope for Spring and the Summer of eternal life keeps our soul-work in perspective and allows us to celebrate a life well lived, even after life on earth has ended.
St. Peter reminds us of this when he says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials." We mourn, we wail, we reach out for someone who is no longer there - and yet we are anchored in the storm by our faith that through the resurrection of Jesus, Heaven waits for us and our loved one is there.
Grieving and Celebration can live simultaneously in our hearts because of Hope. Even as we grieve the loss of someone who seems so much a part of us that our bodies are in torture with their death, we can be so thankful that our loved one was born and lived in relationship with us. Even as we grieve because there will be no new memories, our hearts can quietly celebrate the memories already made that no one can ever take from us. And death can forcibly remind us that we are still alive - for a reason. We are here to celebrate every moment of existence on this earth even as our loved one is celebrating his or her new existence in Heaven.
Yesterday, I wrote a Facebook post that captures celebration and grieving going hand in hand as I remembered our son Peter, who died five and a half years ago. October 18 is his birthday.
Birthdays are always auspicious, but perhaps most auspicious are the ones of those we love who are no longer with us. Our forty year old son Peter died five and a half years ago, and today he was born. Today, he would have been forty-six. Grief has a way of becoming calmer as time goes by, though there are still times of violent upsurges of tears. Today, instead of falling apart, I am celebrating him, thanking God for giving him to us, trying to remember that life is eternal.
I celebrate the beautiful Autumn day with a walk outside, touching the turning leaves, for he was born in my favorite season. I smile at an intricate bass line in a jazz piece on the car radio, celebrating how music was his soul. I treat people with courtesy, because he was loving and gentle. I chuckle at a joke because he was also an actor, and, in addition to scenes of great drama, he could be such a comedian. All his goodness seems to be distilled into me, as if in a paradoxical moment, the child became father of his mother.
Peter's death reminds me that I still have the gift of life - HERE - NOW - and I must pledge myself to live life to its heights and depths. Happy Birthday, Peter, - with my smiles and tears. Your life has given my life such joy and beauty. Thank you.
The hopeful joy of a Christian can always exist, as the water of life still runs triumphantly under the thick coat of icy grief. The joy of a Christian proclaims to the world that our Hope is not rooted in houses, salaries, beautiful bodies, or fast cars. Our Hope is rooted in the Life to Come, which begins here, even as Spring subtly begins to melt the ice and peek out in new blossoms. The Life to Come begins in our undying love for one another, eternal love. As St. Paul tells us, Faith and Hope do not exist in Heaven - only Love does. We no longer need Faith and Hope - they are fulfilled in God and in eternal life with God and our loved ones.
Reach out for those you love who have died - they are a breath away, in God, as we are in God. God is holding us all close in His arms, waiting for eternal Summer to envelop us all - unless you're a skier. Then, I guess, it will be Eternal, Beautiful Winter for you! I'm hanging on, Petey. Keep singing.