June 9, 2016 (Thursday)
Baltimore, Maryland is a historic city. Any study of the American Revolution will take you to Baltimore. It has been in the news lately, and the publicity has been bad. Like all cities in our country, it has its share of problems.
Wanda and I visited Baltimore briefly when we went to New England in the fall of 1997 to view the beautiful, breath-taking foliage of that part of our wonderful country. We had driven through parts of Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York and Maryland in a rental car. We spent our last night in a nice motel in Baltimore without any problems. We had dinner in a restaurant featuring delicious seafood straight from Chesapeake Bay, and flew out of a beautiful modern airport. Our visit was brief, but pleasant.
This week in Baltimore there was a funeral for a young man who was murdered. During the memorial service, the grieving father’s 26-year-old son pulled out a gun and shot his father, evidently over a disagreement involving the obituary. How very sad. Although we do not know the family, it behooves us as Christians to pray for that family.
A funeral is never a joyous occasion, even when it is considered a “celebration of life.” By its nature, it is a time for sorrow. For this Baltimore family, the sorrow has been compounded.
I have conducted almost 1,000 funerals during my ministry, and have detected instances when there was tension among family members. When that has been the case, it has been more of an undercurrent of emotions rather than an open conflict, although I have seen that take place. Most of the time, however, families are drawn together in their common loss, and experience anew their interdependence and love for each other.
Charlie Marshall. my dear friend and funeral director in this area for many years, conducted about 500 funerals each year, and shared with me that Christian families seemed to be much better equipped emotionally to deal with their loss. He could see the difference, and it was the presence of hope among the survivors.
I remember a line from a sermon by George W. Truett, prince of preachers and Dallas pastor for 50 years: “Our people die well.” Christ conquered death by leaving the tomb, but he left a light burning there for us.
