Autumn leaves must fall

They say that all good things must end some day
Autumn leaves must fall
But don't you know that it hurts me so
To say goodbye to you
Wish you didn't have to go
No, no, no, no

       This is a part of the lyrics for "A Summer Song" by Chad and Jeremy.  I don't actually recall noticing them until my Dad died many years ago. It seemed to appear out of nowhere on the radio after he died and played numerous times over a span of months. I was always brought to tears. My dad left our home when I was 5 years old and over the years we had  a tenuous relationship, theer was disappointment and in those last ten years of his life, a real friendship had developed between us. We spoke virtually every day and when he died, after my failed attempt at CPR, there was a gaping hole in my heart and in my life. Wish you didn't have to go. No, no, no, no.

        When I began to read the Scripture reading from Acts this morning, Paul is saying good bye to the communities of Asia that he loved so much. He gave some detailed advice and instructions and noted straight forwardly that this would be it. He would not be seen again, likely to be placed in prison (again) or killed when he returned to Jerusalem.  I can easily imagine the torment and mental anguish both Paul and his communities of believers must have felt.  So close and now to be separated forever. This is a way of life of course. Autumn leaves must fall.

          Yesterday we found out that a former coworkers son had died as he walked home from work. An addict had driven his car onto the sidewalk in a suburban community and killed the young man of 26.  As if it wasn't  sad enough, we were all painfully aware that this coworker had lost another son in a car accident several years before.  Quite a heavy burden to carry for anyone. 

           What are we to do?  Without faith this is a task of great enormity. It is not something that can be justified or rationalized. It makes no sense.  We can only note that we are all going to die but that does not make it easier. Even with faith, knowing a person is in heaven or is no longer feeling any pain, does not seem to be a great reliever of grief. We must 'simply' work through the pain and grief and try to remember the best of times, the joy and gift we had been graced with by their presence.

        For those of us that are not drowning in the immediate grief of the situation, there is something that we can take away.  It may be a message that the intimately grief stricken may have difficulty grasping if they ever do. We see so many people pass in our lives, no one is immune from the loss of loved ones, but Autumn leaves must fall. Can we come to know how graced our lives are by the presence of others? Can we see each day as a new beginning to live and appreciate life? After all, there are no guarantees, are there?  Sometimes we need to strike a balance between living life like a moth burning in a flame and putting life on hold planning for the future. But we are not guaranteed that future. Today is all we have. We must graciously accept it, appreciate it and live it to the full.  That is especially true of relationships because that is the essence of life, the playing field of love and the essence of the Trinity.

      Live life to the full, appreciate everyone.

Acts 20:17-38

 From Miletus he sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him. When they came to him, he said to them:

‘You yourselves know how I lived among you the entire time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house, as I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance towards God and faith towards our Lord Jesus. And now, as a captive to the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me. But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.

 ‘And now I know that none of you, among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom, will ever see my face again. Therefore I declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. I know that after I have gone, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Some even from your own group will come distorting the truth in order to entice the disciples to follow them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to warn everyone with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the message of his grace, a message that is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who are sanctified.I coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothing. You know for yourselves that I worked with my own hands to support myself and my companions. In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” ’

 When he had finished speaking, he knelt down with them all and prayed.There was much weeping among them all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, grieving especially because of what he had said, that they would not see him again. Then they brought him to the ship.