The sting of death

Mark 15:37

     Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last

     I have grown accustomed to certain aspects about death and having to say goodbye to people I know and love. They have a marked propensity for departing during Lent or right near, if not on, my birthday. Weird I know and it has happened again on Maundy Thursday.
I hope that is not a problem because the person who passed yesterday was Jewish, my mother-in-law, a saint. It will give a new meaning for me to the word 'passover'. I hope that is not sacrilegious.

     Once again faced with a portion of the ache that Mary, the Apostles and the faithful felt when Jesus was put to death. The loss is no less to our human hearts when a person is 87 and has been released from earthly shackles and the torment of dealing with a traumatic injury. Death's sting is universal. We still have to say good bye, our hearts wrenched from someone we love and who loved us.

       In the case of our Lord, He really did love us didn't he?  It was well within His power to stop the scenario that unfolded. He did not even have to become human and share in all that we live every day. But alas, He did. The torture , literal and figurative, of His death only highlights how much He loved each and every one us. He willingly submitted and as a human had the same feelings of separation that we all feel.

     Hopefully we all can see how much God loves us. While the emotion of Good Friday always tends to haunt in it's special way, I am comforted by that knowledge that God loves us and I will have an extra portion of consolation knowing that my Mother-in-law also loved me dearly and is looking down on us as well. She too loved me dearly, and so many others as well. A sad but solemn gift of comfort.