Tuesday, November 08, 2005

presuming there is a tomorrow...

Sunday's Common Lectionary reading was from 1 Thessalonians where Paul wants to comfort the church by telling them their future. You remember the bit about Jesus coming out of the sky and the graves of those who have died trusting Christ open up and their spirits return to their new bodies, then to Christ to be with him forever.


Hmm, sounds like a movie...


Yeah, actually millions of dollars have been made off this passage in 1 Thessalonians, and I suspect Paul didn't see any of it.


Anyway, on Sunday it struck me anew. We come and go making our choices and decisions having really no idea when it will be all over for us. It seems to take a lot of nerve to do that. To presume upon tomorrow when it's not really ours to presume upon.


Oh yes I understand planning and moving ahead, but at some point you just have to recognize that tomorrow is inaccessible to you, and that today is all you've got. So make decisions today that will make tomorrow better, if it comes.


Anyway, a couple of hours after we got home from church the phone rang.


Seems a friend had gone to church, and returned home for lunch, where he had had a massive heart attack. Her voice on the phone said the words that kept on repeating through my head, "He's dead."


And I couldn't believe he was gone, just like that.


A gentle man who loved and cared for his wife who struggled long with illness. He was one of the ones who wanted to plant a church in the south end of Winnipeg, and he stepped out in faith and risk to do it. He was one of the ones who risked a lot on this young pastor guy and invited him and his family into their lives, with grace and warmth.


Sigh. He's done. His journey complete.


I've been thinking about getting there for the funeral, but auto's and meetings have so far kept me here.


But then again, he would probably be the guy who would understand.


 


Peace this day, to the memory of Ike Dyck.

1 comment:



Play nice - I will delete anything I don't want associated with this blog and I will delete anonymous comments.