Chapter 15: Myth—God Heals Everyone

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Myth—God Heals Everyone

“My child, let your tears fall for the dead, and as one in

great pain begin the lament. Lay out the body with due ceremony, and do not neglect the burial. Let your weeping be bitter and your wailing fervent; make your mourning worthy of the departed, for one day, or two, to avoid

criticism; then be comforted for your grief.

For grief may result in death, and a sorrowful heart saps one’s strength. When a person is taken away, sorrow is over; but the life of the poor weighs down the heart. Do not

give your heart to grief; drive it away, and remember your own end.

Do not forget, there is no coming back; you do the dead no

good, and you injure yourself. Remember his fate, for yours is like it; yesterday it was his, and today it is yours.

When the dead is at rest, let his remembrance rest too, and

be comforted for him when his spirit has departed.” Sirach 38:16-23 NRSV

Be Comforted For Them When Their Spirit Departs!

It is clear that we should rejoice and be comforted at the death of our loved ones when we know they are in the hands of our God. I can tell you that I am not done with suffering over Jackie’s loss. Even so, life gives no

respite from further heartache. Connie’s son’s death was also close to my heart. She is almost like another daughter having been raised with my kids in the neighborhood and my having known her thirty-years. To see her and her family suffer in such pain is almost unbearable. Yet I am getting close

to “letting Jackie’s remembrance rest” as Sirach teaches. What does Sirach mean? He means that I should stop constantly thinking about her during my daily life. It means that I put Jackie out of my mind. That has happened when everyone close has died. After a period of grieving, I realized that I had to move on mentally. God and time will heal our broken hearts; I know!