The own search for the secrets of the heart, which are unfathomable-“for God knows the secrets of our heart.” When the confusion of reproaches and excuses, of wishes and fears makes everything in us opaque, God sees in all clarity right through to the bottom. There, however, God finds the very name that He Himself has inscribed: Jesus Christ. – Dr. Dietrich Bonhoeffer-
Reading this profound discourse of inner reflection, I am reminded that not long ago I found myself standing in the deeply painful and precarious place of eulogizing a new born baby before her young, grieving, and confused parents who couldn’t (understandably) make sense of the deep tragic loss they were experiencing for the very first time in their young lives. I knew at the outset that there were no words, apologies, sentiments, etc. that would heal such a deeply broken place of personal loss. That my eulogizing this young precious life was more of a matter of deep respect for the sanctity of life than a balm of healing for her heart broken young grieving parents. It would take a lifetime to only begin the healing process this young couple would so desperately need to undergo. The eulogy, succeeding processional to the grave site, and subsequent grave site burial served, in many respects, as a deep humbling agent and reminder of just how precious and fleeting life is and can be. In the final analysis, grace and faith could not remove the deep sense of pain, grief, and personal loss experienced by all present and involved. However, because the Lord knows the depth of every human heart and its present condition, grace and faith could provide a powerful dignity to live through such an overwhelming and insurmountable experience. (Just reflecting in the early morning hours)
-Bishop Dr. Guy A. Cox
Add Comment