Pastor Sid's Journal

About Understanding Death

I have a number of blogs that I check regularly, some becuase they give me insights into ministry that come from experiences I can't relate to. An old college aquaintance of mine lost his wife in a car accident last year. It's an experience I hope I never fully understand or relate to. This morning I read his blog and he posted the following and I thought that I would pass it on because I think it's helpful.

Theodicy

At church on Sunday we sang Luther's classic hymn A Mighty Fortress is our God and it really struck me how death is described as a great evil, but yet ultimately is defeated through Christ's death and resurrection. The song is fittingly sombre, and very powerful. I was really moved to anger at death, at the evil of Paula's death. The good kind of anger. Then we sang Blessed be Your Name a contemporary worship song. The lyrics aren't really all that bad (I had a look at them again today), but it is sung in such a way-too-happy sort of way. "You give and take away/ My heart will choose to say/ Lord, blessed be Your name" I couldn't sing it, at least not like that, with everyone else so seemingly happy. Do they know what it means for the Lord to "take away?"

Here is what makes more sense to me, something written by Nicholas Wolterstorff that I recently shared with my friend Mendelt:(who lost his wife to cancer last year)

"The Bible speaks of God's over-coming death. Paul calls it the last great enemy to be overcome. God is appalled by death... Seeing God as the agent of death is one way of fitting together into a rational pattern God, ourselves, and death. There are other ways: ...God too is pained by death much even more than you and I are; but there's nothing much he can do about it. I cannot fit it all together by saying 'He did it' but neither can I do so by saying 'There was nothing he could do about it.' I cannot fit it together at all. I can only, with Job, endure. I do not know why God did not prevent Eric's [Paula's, Marisa's] death. To live without the answer is precarious. It is hard to keep one's footing... I have no explanation. I can do nothing else than endure in the face of this deepest and most painful of mysteries. I believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth and resurrecter of Jesus Christ. I also believe that my son's [wife's] life was cut off in its prime. I cannot fit these pieces together. I am at a loss... To the most agonizing question I have ever asked I do not know the answer. I do not know why God would watch him [her] die. I do not know why God would watch me wounded. I cannot even guess... I am not angry, but baffled and hurt. My wound is an unanswered question. The wounds of all humanity are an unanswered question."