Lessons from the wilderness, Volume 50 - When Words are not Enough; I celebrate three who have gone on before...

 

Lessons from the Wilderness, Volume 50: Part Three, a Celebration for three hearts, and then comfort for all. 

©2022, David E. Robinson: At the Gates of Yerushalayim Ministries

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 Lessons from the Wilderness, Volume 50

When Words are not Enough  ^{[i] [ii] [iii] [iv]}

Comfort, comfort all who are my people

    

Figure 1. 1st picture: At Aster's grave, my wife holds Sandárina’s ashes.

Picture 2: My brother Homopher's wreath.

Picture 3: Sandárina and Aster spend a moment together; a picture locked in time.

Final note to my readers: This is Part Three of the tribute to my brother, Homopher Reselap. Let there be no mistake though; it is also one for all my family, we who have all suffered the great losses of sisters Aster, Sandárina, and now brother Homopher. While these words I spoke at Homopher’s home-going, they could, and do reflect how I felt for them all, and for all my family’s loss. They were more than sisters and brother; they were wives and husband, mothers and father, grandparents all. But these are and were my sisters and brother; though I joined the family through marriage, they are my family, as real to me as my own my natural family. There are not enough words: may what is here today be comfort for ALL who mourn now and always.  In the future, I will post a special tribute for all three of the special souls I still mourn, but today, let their memories remain in God's hands. Amein and Shalom.

To my family, to Hermina, to my nephews and nieces, I offer you all humble thanks for allowing me to speak today. I would like to recite a prayer, one that is over two thousand years old, and one that is on one level, an attempt by those who have suffered loss to remind God of the brokenness of the world around us, and the brokenness we all feel this day…

It is simply entitled “Kaddish”.

 Magnified and sanctified be God’s great name throughout the world which He has created according to His will. 

May He establish His kingdom in your lifetime and during your days, and within the life of the entire House of Israel, speedily and soon; 

and say, Amen.

May His great name be blessed forever and to all eternity.  Blessed and praised, magnified and exalted, extolled and honored, adored and lauded, be the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, beyond all the blessings and hymns, praises and consolations that are ever spoken in the world; 

and say, Amen.

 May there be abundant peace from heaven, and life, for us, and for all Israel; 

and say, Amen.

 He who creates peace in His celestial heights, may He create peace for us and for all Israel;

and say, Amen. [v]

 

I was asked to say words of comfort today. I wondered “What can I say that will ease the burden of this loss?” I then understood, in light of this ancient prayer, I have no words. This is one of those times when words are not enough. This prayer acknowledges for us, that there is a reality we all must face in this fallen world in which we live. We live in a world where God’s own name is diminished. For I realized this one truth: God is not yet King over all the earth. We do not all recognize that we have limited God. Until every knee bows, and every tongue confesses that “He is LORD!” our God is not fully worshipped, and His kingdom has not yet arrived.

 O how we want it to be so though. We want God to hurry, to put an end to death, to sickness, to pain, to hurt, to war; we want Him to haste the day when Messiah returns and puts His Father’s enemies under His feet. We ask in this prayer for God to take up His throne, where His Holiness is complete and, in His holiness, we fear and tremble in His presence.

We want that better world. The world in which our loved one is with us forever.  

So then, words are not enough. I look upon this sea of faces, some of you I know, so I do not. But you are all here, to honor and respect our brother Homopher, and to love on his family. Thank you. But could words help you? All share this pain differently. Words that can help one, may not do anything for another. We are all unique individuals, and as such, our pain is greater or lesser than another’s – for it all depends upon the relationship one had with Homopher.  

I want to say the right things, I want so much to do the right thing – because I see your hurt but try as I might, I do not know what to say or do. Have I let my grief get in the way of easing yours? I have heard many words spoken today – some I understand, others I cannot because I do not speak Chuukese. I hope those words comforted all who hurt, because I just do not have the words I want to say. What can I do?  

Then I remembered Elijah. He had defeated the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel, but at one threat to him from the lips of Jezebel, he went into hiding. And the Lord spoke to Elijah:  

1Ki 19:9-13

He went into a cave there and spent the night. All of a sudden, the LORD spoke to him, "Why are you here, Elijah?" He answered, "I have been absolutely loyal to the LORD, the sovereign God, even though the Israelites have abandoned the agreement they made with you, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left and now they want to take my life."

The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Look, the LORD is ready to pass by."

A very powerful wind went before the LORD, digging into the mountain and causing landslides, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the windstorm there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake, there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire, there was a soft whisper.  When Elijah heard it, he covered his face with his robe and went out and stood at the entrance to the cave.

All of a sudden, a voice asked him, "Why are you here, Elijah?"  

A soft whisper. Not a powerful wind. Not in an earthquake. Not in the fire. But a whisper, and the repeat of the question:

“…Why are you here…”  

Why are we here? 

Jesus gave us the answer to this on the Sermon on the Mount: 

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” 

You and I, all of us here, are the soft whisper. The death of our brother was the whirlwind, the earthquake that broke our hearts. But God was not in those. It was the fire that seared our souls and blackened the sky with ashes; but God was not there. It was a powerful wind that wanted to drive us to our knees, and again, God was not there. But here, after the storm, after the wind, after the fire came the soft whisper. God came, and He was there. The soft voice, the quiet one, is God. Today, I say we all represent His soft whisper.

When words are not enough, God speaks in and from the silence of our heart. He pours out oils of gladness from the middle of His throne; He trades for us those ashes of the fire for garments of praise. He asks us why we are here, and we all know why. In our quiet, in our silence, in a soft whisper, we tell those others who mourn with us, we are here to comfort them. Let your eyes speak to them, not your words. Look upon their pain, their sorrow, make it your own also. Let it be your hearts that collect the oil from the throne and give it to them. Words are never enough; a touch, a soft whisper is what God wants us to bring. The reason we are here, why I am here is to comfort all who mourn by being the vessel that God uses to bring His comfort to them. 

On the cross, Jesus was the soft whisper of God. Through His stripes, through His pain, He was able to defeat the powerful wind, the whirlwind, the earthquake and the fire. By His blood, he was the oil that flowed from the throne of Grace. By his cry of “It is finished!” He became the garment of praise, traded for the spirit of heaviness. In us, He comes to live, so we can be His soft whisper to those who hurt.  

I said I do not know what to say. I can barely think about what to do. Words are not enough. But all praise to God, today, for a time, we all can be the prayer to heal this broken world. We join together our broken hearts with a soft whisper that is God, that is Christ, and comfort those who mourn. 

For us, the kingdom of God is not yet realized. For Homopher, he is already there. O how we wish that he was still with us in the flesh, but to be honest, I do not know how I could ask him to trade the garments of praise that he now wears for a small time with us today. We hear a soft whisper; he hears the shouts of the Seraphim crying without ceasing “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty! Glory, honor and power to His name!” 

I miss him. We all do. None more than his blessed wife and children though. So today, when words are not enough, join with me and let us write another page of his story for them, by being those who comfort they who mourn. Be the soft whisper of God; let Him flow through you and reveal His heart to them. Let the tears from your eyes be counted by God, and let their tears be wiped away by our love.  

I wish I had better words to say, but it is not my words any needs to hear.

 It is only the soft whisper that mends the broken and humble heart. 

May God help me to be that today when words are not enough. 

May the ashes of sadness be exchanged this day for the peace and comfort of God, 

Amein.

 

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Endnotes:

[i]NOTICE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS: Unless otherwise cited, all material found on this blogsite (original text, opinions, conclusions, and other material not related to cited sources remains the collected intellectual property of the author of this site, David E. Robinson, Elder, Teacher, and are owned and controlled by myself and are protected by copyright and trademark laws and various other intellectual property rights and unfair competition laws of the United States, foreign jurisdictions, and international conventions. Any errors found within, rest solely upon me; please do not blame the Father for my mistakes. I am teachable and correctable, also fallible. 😊 

[ii] FAIR USE DISCLAIMER: This blog site may contain content that is not authorized for use by its owner. All such material will be cited back to its original source. According to Section 107 of the Copyright Act: “…the fair use of a copyrighted work […] for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright…” I have made and will continue to make every effort to stay within all ethical and moral guidelines in the use of material presented here, and the use of these materials is solely intended for educational purposes only, and all efforts to obtain or sustain fair use of non-owned material will be made. 

[iii] Author’s note: This site is for education only and is not affiliated with any institution, organization, or religious group. It is the sole production of its editor. Use of information from Jewish-themed websites (or any other source material) should not be construed as these sites endorsing or confirming any thesis introduced by the author of this epistle. I present the information from their respective sites for instructional purposes only and/or to aid in the readers understanding of the subjects discussed. 

[iv] Author’s note:  Throughout this study I may be using the NET Bible® and the NET Notes®: within the notes you will see symbols like this: (א B Ψ 892* 2427 sys). These are abbreviations used by the NET Bible® for identifying the principal manuscript evidence that they (authors and translators of the NET Bible®) used in translating the New Testament. Please go to https://bible.org/netbible/ and see their section labeled “NET Bible Principals of Translation” for a more complete explanation on these symbols and other items pertinent to the way the NET Bible uses them. 

[v] Though I have used these words in a non-Jewish setting, I mean no disrespect to the Jewish traditions. What I believe lines up with the Jewish traditions, as outlined here from Chabad.org: “…The Kaddish is a vigorous declaration of faith. It is one of the most beautiful, deeply-significant and spiritually moving prayers in the Jewish liturgy. It is an ancient Aramaic prose-poem, a litany whose word-music, strong rhythms, stirring sounds, and alternating responses of leader and congregation, cast sheer hypnotic power over the listeners. It has well been noted that the Kaddish is the echo of Job in the prayerbook : "Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." It is a call to God from the depths of catastrophe, exalting His name and praising Him, despite the realization that He has just wrenched a human being from life. Like the Kol Nidre prayer of the Day of Atonement, the significance of Kaddish is usually taken for granted. It is a response from the sub-vaults of the soul almost a primitive, mesmerized response to the sacred demand to sanctify Almighty God…” from the article entitled: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/281617/jewish/The-History-Significance-and-Meaning-of-Kaddish.htm I pray I offend no one; this is not a misappropriation, but an application of Godly comfort in the light of sorrow; I can think of no greater honor than to give glory to God and the Jewish people for this prayer.