Mondays are for homecoming ramblings…

It was a crazy 48 hours, heading back home to go to a memorial service, seeing 200 people, telling 200 people what life is like in Indiana, and squeezing in some brief but cherished moments with family. Well I woke up today and I was still Monday, so back to work and back to blogging.

Funerals are the best things we do

The memorial service I attended was for a the husband of a former colleague. His death was very sad. He was way too young,  too wonderful, and surrounded by too many people praying for him to have lost his battle with cancer. But, all those things are exactly why his service was so beautiful.

There is nothing more Christian than a funeral. A Christian funeral is the perhaps the most beautiful moment we know in the church. Why? I was sitting there looking at this church filled with hundreds and hundreds of Christians worshiping on Saturday. We were there for an event that we could not explain. We were there because of a painful reminder of the brokeness of this world. We were there because of a moment that many could point to as an example of God’s indifference to our pain or lack of existence. Yet, it was the most poignantly Christian moment I can imagine.

To be able to gather, with joy and celebration, at a moment such as that and to boldly proclaim that not even this, not even the death of someone who should not have died, not even this moment of pain can separate us from God’s love or from the body of Christ, that is the most powerful moment of the church’s life. We are most fully the church when we gather and proclaim even in the face of death that nothing shall defeat the love of God and his kingdom shall prevail.

What a wonderful moment gathered there with people I love to praise God because he has defeated death. Andrew Peterson has a great line in a song off of his Far Country album that says, “Remember that when you lay me down to die, you down me to live.” That is what that service felt like, it was a celebration of having laid Rick down to live in Christ. There is nothing more Christian than that.

Homecoming

This weekend was also the first time I had seen most of the people from my old church since I left in October. This led to a somewhat awkward dynamic of me greeting and hugging almost as many people at the service as the family did. But it was really joyful. I have no idea how many people I saw, 100, 150, 200, who knows. I hugged them all and told them about life in Indiana. I talked about the weather there and my church and my kids. By the end of two hours filling everyone in on my life I was exhausted.

But it reminded me of one of the great gifts we give to people. That is the simple gift of presence and touch. There wasn’t time for meaningful interaction with more than a handful of people in 48 hours, but being able to touch and express my love to so many people was a massive gift to me and to them. Those people simply wanted to know that I was well, my family was doing well and that God has put us where we are supposed to be. That was enough. I am glad that gift was able to be offered to us both. There are so many people in our lives that float in and out and we never know what happens next for them. It is a gift to just be able to give people we are connected to a hug and to let them know life is good.

Ain’t no party like a big Draft Party

I didn’t get a chance to watch much of any of the NFL draft, one of my favorite yearly events, but I have caught up enough that I have some thoughts to offer.

I love DHB from MD, but the 7th overall pick, before Crabtree? The Corpse of Al Davis has outdone himself this time

I am once again glad the Skins were saved from themselves, missed out on Sanchez and got the best pass rusher in the draft. That is why we spent half of the bailout money on Haynesworth isn’t it;to free up people to get to the QB.

If Zombie Al Davis hadn’t stolen the show everyone would be mocking Jerry Jones today. There is probably room to do both. A kicker in the 5th round? Don’t they already have one of the best kickers in the league? A backup QB in the 4th round. Not an NFL backup, a guy who was a back up his senior of college. Three picks traded away for Roy Williams who has exactly one 1000 yard season. Jerry is awesome. The Cowboys are probably the worst team in the NFC Beast now. Sweet.

How about 4 players drafted in the first two rounds from UCONN (in football, not basketball, seriously!) and Miami with one player drafted period.

Systems can make you a Heisman candidate QB (see Harrell and Daniels) but they can’t get you drafted

Matthew Stafford ended up with a good/news bad news weekend. Good news, over 40 million in guaranteed money. Good news, he will help the economy in Detroit. Good news, if he wants to in two years he can probably buy the Ford Motor Company. Bad news, he will suffer through a miserable five years in Detroit, get beaten to a pulp, get cut, and try to resurrect his career as a backup on another team. Good News, he will have a career as an auto executive to fall back on.

Finally, the Skins drafted a guy from MD I really like. He had the highest score on the Wonderlic test this year, and on this play he hit a running back so hard he made him throw up, on the field. What is not to like.