Scripture
assures us that,
“it is
appointed unto man once to die, and after this, the judgement.”
And it
occurs to me that the second half of that passage could just as easily refer to
the temporal judgement which man exercises towards the dearly departed.
As a
pastoral counselor and former university professor I have often said, “I have
counseled thousands, taught hundreds and mentored dozens.” And perhaps one who
has impacted as many as I might take comfort in my ‘place’ before God and man.
But I
readily admit that … I do not.
Perhaps this
is the reason I have little or no use for a funeral or memorial service. The
good which I have accomplished, or the evil which I have performed will speak
for itself without the benefit of some small solemnity in which the good which
I have done is wildly, though momentarily exaggerated, and the evil forgotten; if
only for the time required to sing a few hymns, and share a few words.
Remember me as a man who did right
as God gave him to see the light.
And mark the spot where I lay,
with some small token of my having
passed this way.
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