Loss that turns into glory
Loss and Find- Lost and found Luke 15
Today's well-known story is so well-known that it can be too familiar in the sense that people think there is nothing more to be gained from it. But lthe word of God is "living and active" ; there is always something to be gleaned from it. It may be compared to listening to a choral piece from choral evensong in Oxford, England. You listen and listen and listen again for it is so moving in its beauty with the young and older voices together. Feeding the birds is such a hobby for me that I often am so amazed at their beauty. The cardinals are the prettiest. A priest friend of mine told me that cardinals it is rumored by ancient tradition are your family that you have lost coming to visit you . I know that is not true, but every time I look at them I think of those I too have lost and miss.
Have you ever thought of the parable of the Forgiving father or the Prodigal Son from the side of the human loss in it? I saw the news while I was writing this and apparently they think they have found pieces of the Malaysian airline that went missing last year. Imagine the loss of those families, not to know or to have any closure. We pray they may have some now.
Recently I saw the movie , " The woman in Gold" which is the story of the lady who lost her family in Austria during the Nazi invasion. The story revolves around a painting of her aunt that hangs in the Austrian museum dressed in gold. It became a symbol of the people. But they did not want to return the painting to its owner, the niece of the "woman in gold" even though it was stolen from the Jewish family by the Nazis. I will not tell you the ending but the niece lost her family and her country and it took a good deal of courage for her to return and fight for the painting that was now hers.
The son and the father in this story both experienced loss. Of course the son did not know what he was doing to himself wasting his living with riotous living. He was lost and experiencing loss as well. He had lost his home, his security and his mind apparently too. How do we think the father was doing? We are not really told that side of the story in the parable but in the absence of his son he experienced an extreme sense of loss and emotion.
What do we do with our losses?
One article I looked up said this:"
Grief is a natural response to loss. It’s the emotional suffering you feel when something or someone you love is taken away. The more significant the loss, the more intense the grief will be. You may associate grief with the death of a loved one—which is often the cause of the most intense type of grief—but any loss can cause grief, including:
Divorce or relationship breakup
Loss of health
Losing a job
Loss of financial stability
A miscarriage
Retirement Death of a pet
Loss of a cherished dream
A loved one’s serious illness
Loss of a friendship
Loss of safety after a trauma
Selling the family home
The more significant the loss, the more intense the grief. However, even subtle losses can lead to grief. For example, you might experience grief after moving away from home, graduating from college, changing jobs, selling your family home, or retiring from a career you loved. "
Grief has its stages they say....denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. There are good and bad ways to deal with loss. We know the bad ways....but the good ways may be less known to us: no. 1 is to take care of yourself. Listen to your faith, your family and your friends. Give yourself time to heal. I think these are good positive things to know and to remember. We all go thru many changes and sometimes we find it difficult to accept them.
What happened to the younger son? " He came to his senses" as the New English Bible says or " he came to himself". The father we are not told about too much in this time of loss...but I am sure he missed his son. He had given him his inheritance, and knew he was losing his son, perhaps he would never ever see him again.
As Christians we are encouraged by the brighter side of God's direction in our lives. He provides us encouragement in so many ways that we often forget to remember them and His loving kindness to us.
God our Father receives his repentant children. The younger son came to himself, and said, "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants." This was the beginning of hope.
In our losses too we have hope as we realize we are still with our loved ones every day that have gone before us. They are so much a part of us as we think about the things that they did to make us who we are today. We have all had sad moments and yet even in those moments of tears and sadness we knew there was love present. I know in my hospital visits with my own family and this family of faith there is much concern, love and support. I enjoy such visits because before surgery, a painful time we pray for healing and in God's time it comes in His way.
I know you have such memories as well as I do of loved ones and good moments of encouragement and love . Just as the father in today's parable received his son with running to him and kissing him, we too can see the brightness of hope in the losses we have had in our lives.
That is why we continue to come to worship to acknowledge our shortcomings, fears, and apprehension of pain . We seek healing. We want to know that love of the Father too that the younger son experienced . We want to have the best robe, the fatted calf dinner, the shoes, and laugh again with merriment.
Yes we do. Yes we can. Yes we will, for God's compassion and love for us is very near even today in our sadness at saying farewell to our friends and to our families.
Today be patient with yourself, with your family, with God. Know that the tears you have shed for losses are being changed into hearts of compassion for others . Know that light and love of God forever here and forever in the eternal life we all have present forever with God where there will be no more " hunger, no more thirst, for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Rev.7:16-17
Today's well-known story is so well-known that it can be too familiar in the sense that people think there is nothing more to be gained from it. But lthe word of God is "living and active" ; there is always something to be gleaned from it. It may be compared to listening to a choral piece from choral evensong in Oxford, England. You listen and listen and listen again for it is so moving in its beauty with the young and older voices together. Feeding the birds is such a hobby for me that I often am so amazed at their beauty. The cardinals are the prettiest. A priest friend of mine told me that cardinals it is rumored by ancient tradition are your family that you have lost coming to visit you . I know that is not true, but every time I look at them I think of those I too have lost and miss.
Have you ever thought of the parable of the Forgiving father or the Prodigal Son from the side of the human loss in it? I saw the news while I was writing this and apparently they think they have found pieces of the Malaysian airline that went missing last year. Imagine the loss of those families, not to know or to have any closure. We pray they may have some now.
Recently I saw the movie , " The woman in Gold" which is the story of the lady who lost her family in Austria during the Nazi invasion. The story revolves around a painting of her aunt that hangs in the Austrian museum dressed in gold. It became a symbol of the people. But they did not want to return the painting to its owner, the niece of the "woman in gold" even though it was stolen from the Jewish family by the Nazis. I will not tell you the ending but the niece lost her family and her country and it took a good deal of courage for her to return and fight for the painting that was now hers.
The son and the father in this story both experienced loss. Of course the son did not know what he was doing to himself wasting his living with riotous living. He was lost and experiencing loss as well. He had lost his home, his security and his mind apparently too. How do we think the father was doing? We are not really told that side of the story in the parable but in the absence of his son he experienced an extreme sense of loss and emotion.
What do we do with our losses?
One article I looked up said this:"
Grief is a natural response to loss. It’s the emotional suffering you feel when something or someone you love is taken away. The more significant the loss, the more intense the grief will be. You may associate grief with the death of a loved one—which is often the cause of the most intense type of grief—but any loss can cause grief, including:
Divorce or relationship breakup
Loss of health
Losing a job
Loss of financial stability
A miscarriage
Retirement Death of a pet
Loss of a cherished dream
A loved one’s serious illness
Loss of a friendship
Loss of safety after a trauma
Selling the family home
The more significant the loss, the more intense the grief. However, even subtle losses can lead to grief. For example, you might experience grief after moving away from home, graduating from college, changing jobs, selling your family home, or retiring from a career you loved. "
Grief has its stages they say....denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. There are good and bad ways to deal with loss. We know the bad ways....but the good ways may be less known to us: no. 1 is to take care of yourself. Listen to your faith, your family and your friends. Give yourself time to heal. I think these are good positive things to know and to remember. We all go thru many changes and sometimes we find it difficult to accept them.
What happened to the younger son? " He came to his senses" as the New English Bible says or " he came to himself". The father we are not told about too much in this time of loss...but I am sure he missed his son. He had given him his inheritance, and knew he was losing his son, perhaps he would never ever see him again.
As Christians we are encouraged by the brighter side of God's direction in our lives. He provides us encouragement in so many ways that we often forget to remember them and His loving kindness to us.
God our Father receives his repentant children. The younger son came to himself, and said, "I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants." This was the beginning of hope.
In our losses too we have hope as we realize we are still with our loved ones every day that have gone before us. They are so much a part of us as we think about the things that they did to make us who we are today. We have all had sad moments and yet even in those moments of tears and sadness we knew there was love present. I know in my hospital visits with my own family and this family of faith there is much concern, love and support. I enjoy such visits because before surgery, a painful time we pray for healing and in God's time it comes in His way.
I know you have such memories as well as I do of loved ones and good moments of encouragement and love . Just as the father in today's parable received his son with running to him and kissing him, we too can see the brightness of hope in the losses we have had in our lives.
That is why we continue to come to worship to acknowledge our shortcomings, fears, and apprehension of pain . We seek healing. We want to know that love of the Father too that the younger son experienced . We want to have the best robe, the fatted calf dinner, the shoes, and laugh again with merriment.
Yes we do. Yes we can. Yes we will, for God's compassion and love for us is very near even today in our sadness at saying farewell to our friends and to our families.
Today be patient with yourself, with your family, with God. Know that the tears you have shed for losses are being changed into hearts of compassion for others . Know that light and love of God forever here and forever in the eternal life we all have present forever with God where there will be no more " hunger, no more thirst, for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." Rev.7:16-17
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