Somewhere over the rainbow

Robin William's death by his own hand has proved a great sadness for me, and from what I hear, so many others as well.  This man who could make you laugh exuberantly could not see a way to the next dawn.  The sadness in not just that his amazing talent is gone, but an even greater sorrow for the darkness which must have enveloped him and held him prisoner.  For him there was no hope that somewhere over the rainbow, the light would shine again. Or perhaps, that was his only hope, to let go of now and count on tomorrow.

Most of us think of death as the great ending - the final darkness, the fearful unknown.  For those who take their own lives, death is a release from a world of pain, and when that pain is depression, from the emptiness of nothingness that is at the same time an enormous weight.

 For Jesus, death was the doorway to God's great revelation: the power of love will win. This is our hope - that in the great eternal, love wins.

At worship this past Wednesday evening we listened to Mark's telling of Jesus' final hour, when darkness covered the sun and the hopes and dreams of many were crushed, when it appeared that darkness had the last word. We read no further because for many this night the followers and friends cannot see to the next dawn, or even further to that morning 3 days hence when God's love triumphs.

We stopped at the darkness trusting that Jesus would carry us on into a new light.  That is our hope, and there was a beautiful, crystal clear rainbow waiting for us as we left worship.  This is the Jesus story I want to share with people - the Jesus who stands with us in the deep darkness and then carries us into a new light.

For all who suffer this day we pray, Lord have mercy.