I’m a Hospice Chaplain. 100% of my patients are dying. 100% of my families are grieving, some to a lesser, some to a greater extent. But all are about to be affected by a great loss…a “Good Friday” kind of loss; the kind of loss that makes you question your faith, again, some to a lesser, some to a greater extent.

This is part of what it means to be human. Death.

But it was also part of what it meant to be Divine. Good Friday, again. The pain and sorrow of a life unexpectedly ending, and not in a “hospice” kind a way, with a patient surrounded by loved ones (hopefully) and words of comfort and medicines to assist. This was the violent end of a relatively young man. (At least, on Friday, we think it’s the end.)

It was a “Good Friday” kind of day. Interesting choice of words…”Good” Friday. But some days are like that, even in the life of the most fervent God-lover. I’m sure that hospice patients and their families can relate to Good Friday.

Then there’s Saturday…the day after the good day, but before the “Sunday’s a comin’” day…before they even knew there was the possibility of an Easter, a life after death. When the shock of the Good Friday event began to wear off, Saturday must have been filled with sorrow, confusion, doubt and maybe some anger, and even some fear.

I’ve been in the homes of my patients when they have just passed and it feels like the day after Good Friday…it feels like Saturday, before…well, you know. And those same emotions are right there.

In the grand scheme of things, some days feel like Saturday. A little boy says goodbye to his grandpa… A husband of 62 years says goodbye to his wife. A son strokes the cooling brow of his mom and fights back the tears. Yep, definitely Saturday.

I wonder if, post Easter, the disciples and followers of Jesus ever reminisced about that Friday and Saturday, or did the glory of Easter wipe away even the memory of their Friday and Saturday?

For those patient’s and families who are open to hearing the message, I remind them that although we pass through Friday and Saturday, we live for Sunday. And as the famous old preacher once said, “Sunday’s a-comin’,” and the stone will be rolled away, and as John Donne once wrote, “Death shall be no more. Death, thou shalt die.”

That’s what I tell them.

 

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Kim Chafee

I am a lover of the God who sings! I am a Christ-follower and an ordained minister married to the other Rev. Chafee (Scott), with two grown children and a multitude of pets. And, I love chocolate. Read more about me and the reason for this blog on my ABOUT page.

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