A Family Funeral

My dad's brother--my Uncle Cooke--died late last week. Though he lived in Macon, he died while visiting his daughter, son-in-law, and grandchildren out in California. Uncle Cooke was 82 years old but had been in good health. He would not have been the next "expected" death in the family. (My dad was the last of nine children; there are now five left--three "boys," including my dad, and the two sisters.)

Uncle Cooke was a fun man and full of life. My dad says he had more "life" than anybody else in the family. He was kind and generous, checking on his sisters every day by phone and bringing some kind of gift to those he visited, even if nothing more than an apple. His three granddaughters spoke at the funeral, and they gave a wonderful glimpse of his life.

Uncle Cooke was in WWII, and he once was hit by a ricochet. The bullet entered through his face and lodged in his brain. Being a ricochet, it went in straight up and down rather than nose first. That likely saved him. They tried on an occasion or two to remove the bullet, but they were unsuccessful. He would not let them try again. That bullet was in his brain for over 60 years!

This interesting story becomes more interesting. My granny was sleeping one night while she had sons serving in the armed forced during the war when she awakened suddenly. She said she knew that Cooke had been shot. My granny was as devout a believer as I have ever known, but she was not given to visions and dreams and the like. Yet, on this occasion, she was sure that Cooke had been shot. And he had been! How or why this occurred is a mystery, but it resulted in many more prayers being sent up in his behalf.

However, I really didn't write this to reminisce about Uncle Cooke. I wrote to think about family. My wife Cindy and I went to my home town for the funeral, and it was nice to see this family reunion. It is amazing how reconizable most people still are, even if you haven't seen them for twenty or thirty years. It is also amazing the way the family resemblances seem to become more pronounced as time goes by. You can see a feature from Granny or Papa in this person or that, and resemblances among cousins, never noted before, stand out in a startling fashion.

The generation ahead--my dad and his siblings and spouses--look so much like they did before, but there is a change. Where there once was great strength, there is now the hint of frailty. Their faces now have added lines and creases. Of course, they range is age from 78 to 90, so you would expect this. But seeing them all together on an occasion like this at once gives a greater appreciation for family and reminds us of the mortality of us all. We all will go the way of Uncle Cooke. More funerals will follow.

Many Christians today focus more on what Jesus can do for us here on earth than what happens after. Part of this is the result of the pendulum swing to the opposite extreme from what use to be a promise to low wage workers of "pie in the sky by and by" for being taken advantage of by unscrupulous and harsh bosses in years gone by; there was a correction to more of an emphasis on the abundant life here. Like many corrections, it has gone too far. No matter how great life in Christ is here, heaven will be better. Another reason, perhaps, we don't focus on heaven anymore: We are afraid of death. Might that be because we aren't as sure in our faith as we ought to be?

Death was once seen as natural and inevitable; medical advances have led us to the illusion that eternal life is nothing more than longer, healthier lives here. But though we may delay it, we cannot prevent it. Death is coming. But we no longer need to fear it. We can, with Paul, mock death: "O Death, where is thy sting?" At least, those who know Jesus can. As Paul goes on: "Thanks be to God! We have the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

I will see Uncle Cooke again. I will see Granny and Papa again. I will be reunited one day with all who share faith in Jesus. This isn't merely wishful thinking. It is an assured hope, proven to those who seek by much evidence, the greatest of which is the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.