By Rev. Robert Shearer
My beloved friends. When last we spoke on Ash Wednesday, I left you with two certainties on which to stand relative to death.
The first certainty on which to stand is the certainty that at death our bodies and all the functions that have an electro-chemical basis will dissolve into their original state. Or, as the Ash Wednesday liturgy states, “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” This is the first certainty, solid and sure, a certainty that we can stand on.
My mind puts colors on such certainties, and this certainty is, for me, the color of dust, the color of earth.
The second certainty is hope. As the Burial Office declares, “In the sure and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life.”
So we need to talk about hope, and especially about what we call hope but in fact is the exact opposite.
Back in the 80s when I was working for the Bishop of Rhode Island, I was driving home after a late meeting in East Greenwich, a town about 45 minutes from home. It was a dark and rainy night; autumn leaves scattered on the road, making it slick and visibility was poor. Driving along at 45 or 50, these words floated across my mind—“I sure hope no one steps out in front of me. There’s no way I can stop.”
This is not hope. This is “wishful thinking.” It is a close cousin to resignation, a submission to the way things are.
On that dark and deserted road, hope returned and I slowed down. Where there is hope, there is action to allow that which is hoped for to flower. I think of hope as a sort of anchor, a golden anchor, that we throw into the future. The anchor has a tether they we keep taut. “I hope that my child will turn out!” “I hope that I’ll get a promotion in the next round.” “I hope to get over this sickness.”
These are not wishful thinking. Successful child, job advancement, getting well—these are anchors in the future to which we hold fast, upon which we stand. They are sure and certain.
So, when it comes to death, one certainty is ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The other certainty is hope—the hope of the resurrection to eternal life. Just as the certainty of hope is our anchor in this life, so our hope for life eternal is our anchor in the next. Amen. Sent from my