Today I went to Dr. Foster’s funeral. Afterwards I made my way to Kyle’s gravesite. On my way there I realized that two of my soon to be three trips followed funerals. I guess that is because they get me thinking about death, and up to this point in my life Kyle’s may be the most poignantly felt death that I’ve experienced.
Julie Pennington Russell did the funeral and she did a wonderful job. Her message was “The Death of Death.” She pointed out a strange sort of juxtaposition that crossed my mind when Kyle died. In 1 Cor. 15 Paul quoting Hosea asks of death where is it’s victory where is it’s sting. I suppose that, that is a comforting passage and there are times when death is not so immediate, that this is exactly what we celebrate as Christians. We can in a cocky fashion taunt the very thing Christ has defeated.
But as Julie pointed out we cannot lie to ourselves because we know that death indeed has a sting. The day Kyle died, two very dear couple friends of Lindsay and I came over to pray with us. Probably because of disbelief and hurt I didn’t have anything to add to the prayer. I simply needed to hear from God. My one friend opened up the prayer very prophetically and therapeutically with, “Father we confess that death does have a sting.”
These are two tensions and/or perspectives we live with. Dietrich Bonhoeffer is helpful on this point. He had two categories for understanding dialectic truths like this. He referred to those truths that belong to the ultimate and the pen-ultimate. Julie eloquently brought those both together for us today.
So today when I took my trip to see Kyle I did so celebrating the pen-ultimate for the first time. This is the reality to which Kyle and Dr. Foster now belong. So to celebrate with Kyle, I stopped at Common Grounds and purchased a cup of Cowboy Coffee on ice and pulled into the graveyard not with the somber notes of Simon and Garfunkel, but rather with the celebration of Coldplay. I thought about how well I lived my life this last year and thanked Kyle for all the growth he’s help foster in both Lindsay and my lives.
Psalm 30:11
You have turned for me my mourning into dancing
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2 comments:
thanks. i just finished watching kyle's film for the first time and this post just put the perfect cap on it.
i love you both and am joyful we are friends.
Josh,
You, my friend, are simply amazing. The richness of this post, though I know neither of the two of whom you speak personally, creates a bond that can only be described as in Christ. I have been thinking about doing a Ph.D. in Practical Theology, and this is simply a brilliant display of such. Your eloquence and insight, coupled with devotion, takes theology and puts it into contact with the concrete situation of life right now. This is something you will offer to a congregation someday, and so they will write about your influence as you have done of Kyle's. I miss talking and hanging out with you, but pray for you consistently. This post reminds me why I consider you such a dear friend. Your witness my life is second to none. Thank you friend for being you.
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