I came across an interesting quotation while reading the Church Times other day. The writer of the article was quoting David Brooks’ book The Road to Character. In his book Brooks is looking at “resume virtues and eulogy virtues”: the former being skills that we have and place in our CV.
“Eulogy virtues, by contrast, are the qualities you would hope people might mention at your funeral – kindness, honesty, compassion, courage, loyalty, and integrity. They bare the qualities we bring to the relationships we form in life. True fulfilment, he concludes, is to be found in the counter-intuitive truth that to fulfil ourselves we must learn to forget ourselves.”
When preparing for a funeral a priest often finds that family and friends will tell about the departed’s good points. There are, of course, the exceptions. I was reminded of the second funeral I took after I came to the parish of Saint Breoke [Wadebridge]. I crossed the main shopping street heading towards the Town Hall and beside this, on a bench, sat an elderly man to whom I wished “good day”. Before I could move on he asked, “Are you taking Georges’ funeral?” “Yes”, I replied, “will you be there?” “No” he responded. So I enquired further, “You knew him though?” The elderly man looked straight at me and with a twinkle in his eye answered, “Oh, yes, he was a miserable old bugger.” No one in the family had mentioned this.
As we draw near to Christmas we recall the coming of Jesus into the world. He came as a vulnerable baby dependent upon the love of his mother Mary and her husband Joseph. He came to enable us to have a better/closer relationship with the living God. He came to show us how life can be lived when surrendered to the Creator of all things.
This he did by not centralizing on himself or his works but upon totally forgetting himself and pointing to the God of love. He did this not only throughout his life, but in his death; sacrificed for others on a cross. No matter how we may wish to do so, we cannot separate his birth from his death. For it is through both that we too have life – life eternal.
So before we celebrate the festival which lies ahead let’s pause a few moments each day and ponder on the great gift that comes to us through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Let our Ho, Ho, Ho turn into Oh, Oh, Oh.
May the child of Bethlehem be with you and yours this Christmastide and be your guide and keeper in the year to come.
Rev Brian Anderson
