Today I give thanks for love – and for loss

 

Today I give thanks for love – and for loss

Today I give thanks for love – and for loss.  They go hand-in-hand.  We cannot love deeply without knowing that the physical body of the one we love will, at some point, leave us, or that we will leave them.  The body dies, but the spirit lives on within us, who continue with our lives.

 

The Japanese have a term for this bittersweet poignancy, the transience, of all living things: mono-no-aware.  Our gardens bloom for a time, then the flowers fade, and the leaves fall.  And in the same way, we are born, we grow and struggle, laugh and love, and then we, too, fade and die.

 

Would we, could we love as deeply without the shadow of death lingering constantly behind us?  I doubt it.  We are simply left with the spirit, the love, that remains with us, even after death. 

 

Yesterday evening our church came together to celebrate the life and spirit of our priest Father Jim Callan, whose physical life is coming to an end.  Numerous ministry groups and individuals shared Fr. Jim’s influence on their lives – and on the work they have been able to do in Jesus’ name.  The deep love our community has for him is amazing.  His influence in our parish, overwhelming.  His spirit will go on, even after his body has left us.

 

At the end of our evening together, Rev. Celie Katovitch shared a poem that captures this beautifully.  Here is the final stanza:

 

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

 

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

 

-          e. e. cummings, “i carry your heart with me”