'Tomorrow Never Comes' - Weekly Reflection 9th February 2025

 “Send me flowers while I can sniff, not when I am stiff.”

For some wee while now the last slide on the screen at St Oswald’s at the conclusion of our Sunday worship is, ‘Who can you encourage today.’

Today we were continuing in our exploration of ‘Practising the Way’ (https://www.practicingtheway.org/course) and this morning we reflected on ‘Community.’

As a runner I think of a passage from Hebrews, ‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.’  Hebrews 12. 1-2.

When running a half-marathon there are moments when there are no people watching and cheering you on. Then you must dig deep and keep on keeping on. And then as you draw near to that final mile, and it begins to drop down and you see the finish line up ahead, and the crowd is cheering and shouting their encouragement enthusiastically, it lifts those tired legs, gives fresh breath into exhausted lungs and spurs you on to complete the race.

And today (Sunday 9^th February) we have just had Plymouth Argyle beat Liverpool with their fans shouting their encouragement to urge Plymouth over the line to an historic win.

 ^‘And let us consider how to spur one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.’   Hebrews 10:24-25

In the past week I attended two funerals, one on-line and the other in person.

A funeral eulogy by a family member is now commonplace, something that gained traction following the funeral of Princess Diana and the ‘tribute’ given by her brother. That was picked up in the ‘Soaps’ and is now almost an essential part of the funeral service.

As I listened to the eulogies I began to reflect on what might be said at my funeral.  I then began to consider, what it might be like if I heard some of those comments before I died.

Not so much the details of what I did and where I went, but on the kind of person I was. In my early ministry when working in just one parish I regularly took funerals.  Occasionally I wouldn’t know very much about the person, particularly if you were on Crem Duty.  Basically, if you were on Crem Duty you might be invited to conduct a funeral service with little or no contact with the family.

I remember taking one such funeral with someone who had one of those names that could be both male or female, something like Charlie. I was desperately searching for clues to try and make sure I had the correct sex of the person.  Very difficult to say your first hello to the family and then say, by the way, was Charlie you Aunt or Uncle!

On such occasions instead of any kind of comment on the deceased I would hold a moments space and invite personal reflections. I also encouraged people to be honest and not to make the person out to be a paragon of all human virtues.  We are all an admixture of everything that makes us human, flaws and failings, fantastic and fabulous.

And if there is one place where we should be able to be honest with each other, where we can encourage each other, and say the things we might want to say at a person’s funeral, then surely that is within the Church Faith Community as we meet together.

‘… not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another,’

Therefore, what might you do in the week to encourage someone? 

Bear in mind that the first funeral I attended (on-line) was of a Church of England Vicar I knew when I was in Stafford. He had died suddenly at the age of 62.

Putting it very bluntly, today I can sniff, tomorrow I might be stiff!