When I was doing my hospital chaplaincy training, the Presbyterian minister who directed it mentioned that he had only one sermon for funerals, although he adapted it to every situation, of course. It was based on John 14:2.
He said, "We don't know anything about what lies on the other side of the universal human experience of death except what the one person who had been there and came back told us. 'In my Father's house there are many dwelling places; otherwise, how could I have told you that I was going to prepare a place for you?' In other words, in God, there is lots of room, more than we can imagine."
In life as much as on the other side there is lots of room in God. It is sad to see how often in American today those who consider themselves most godly try to make that space smaller, pushing out gays and lesbians and their families, Muslims, Jews, racial and ethnic minorities -- you name it.
The Old West movie cliche -- "There's not enough room in this town for the two of us" -- seems to have become a religious and political cliche today.
It reminds me of Ghandi's response when asked what he thought of Western civilization.
"Western civilization? It sounds like a good idea to me."
No comments:
Post a Comment