Death Walked In...
A difficult week...there's no other way to put it. Beginning with a memorial service for the son of a dear woman in my congregation -the third son this woman has lost- just after returning from a restful but emotional retreat in the NC mountains...followed by a Tuesday e-mail from a dear high school friend, telling me of the accidental death of the husband of another classmate (A freak accident, actually- he was felling a tree and it hit him, killing him instantly)...to Thursday evening's totally unexpected death due to a massive stroke of a precious friend and fellow pilgrim, Suzanne Goddard... to yesterday's arrival of her lovely and very personal Christmas card (she had been at the post office doing her Christmas mailing when the symptoms began). And today, I am wrung out...physically, emotionally, and, yes, spiritually. On Sunday, for the memorial service, I used at the text for my brief homily, Psalm 22, which begins, My God, my God, why have you forsa...