And We Fight On

 

The Gospel read at mass this morning was about the wife who had seven husbands (Lk 20:27).  The Sadducees then asked Jesus, when she dies “to which of them will she be wife?”  Jesus answers: “Those who are judged worthy of a place in the other world … do not marry because they can no longer die … He is God not of the dead, but the living.”  Commenting on the reading, the priest offered a pun, that the Sadducees are “sad you see” because they do not believe in life after death, whereas the Resurrection is the cornerstone of the Christian faith.  Death is the door to eternal life, but we on earth must fight on.

I honored the memory of my good friend’s mother by having a mass said for her today; had she still lived on earth, today would have been her 90^th birthday.  The Gospel reminds us, however, that in heaven there will be no marriage, no death, nor will there be birthday celebrations.  There is no passing of time there, but an eternal now, where we shall live with the God of the living.  Each morning I glance at the funeral card of my friend’s mother, and today the words there seemed most appropriate, as a reminder to not worry about this life, nor fear death, or worry about our deceased loved ones whom we will soon join again.

 

When I am gone, release me, let me go,
I have so many things to see and do.
You mustn’t tie yourself to me with tears.
Be happy that we had so many years.
I gave to you my love.  You can only guess
how much you gave to me in happiness.
I thank you for the love you each have shown
But now it’s time I traveled on alone.
So grieve a while for me if grieve you must,
Then let your grief be comforted by trust.
It's only for a while that we must part
So bless with memories within your heart.
I won’t be far away, for life goes on.
So if you need me, call and I will come.
Though you can’t see or touch me.  I’ll be near
And if you listen with your heart, you’ll hear
All of my love around you soft and clear.
And then, when you must come this way alone,
I’ll greet you with a smile, and say “Welcome Home.”

 

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Driving home from church, I listened to Deacon Tome Lowe and Sister Sarah play music which celebrated Memorial Day.  She read the words of the hymn they played, and when I got home, I went online to copy the words and watch that hymn performed by many different choral groups, all of which made me cry with joy.  The hymn was titled “The Mansions of the Lord”, and was written for Mel Gibson’s 2002 movie: We Were Soldiers Once.  And that hymn was sung as the recessional hymn at President Ronald Reagan’s funeral two years later.

 

The Mansions of the Lord

To fallen soldiers let us sing,
Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing,
Our broken brothers let us bring
To the Mansions of the Lord.

No more weeping,
No more fight,
No friends bleeding through the night.
Just Divine embrace,
Eternal light,
In the Mansions of the Lord.

Where no mothers cry
And no children weep,
We shall stand and guard
Though the angels sleep,
Oh, through the ages safely keep
The Mansions of the Lord