Interfaith Journeys
  • Home
  • Interfaith Journeys
  • Stella Reekie

Death and Life - an eternal embrace

20/4/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Holy Saturday as the Christian Churches that follow the Julian calendar wait to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus is traditionally a quiet day.  It is a time of waiting, a time to reflect on the loss that death can bring, on the fragility of life, on  how easily dreams can be shattered and broken.  But it is also a time of hope and calls us to trust that in the darkness there is another life to be had, to trust that tomorrow can be better in  spite of all appearances to the contrary.
This year my Holy Saturday was spent traveling to Iona. I was going to meet with two friends to scatter the ashes of a mutual friend of ours. It was a real pilgrimage - three hours on a train, forty-five minutes on a ferry, over an hour on a bus, another ten minute ferry ride before arriving at the beautiful island of Iona, once described as the jewel of the Atlantic.  The journey was worth it.  At every stage I could feel myself leaving behind work and obligations to relax and enjoy the beauty of it all.  Spring was everywhere - the fresh green of the trees just beginning to blossom, masses of primroses all along the railway track, rabbits and pheasants in the fields and even the cry of a corncrake on Iona itself.  It was quite perfect and so appropriate for the task ahead.

The scattering of our friend's ashes took place with very little ceremony.  We had remembered and talked about her over lunch and on the walk to the beautiful north shore. We read a psalm used at her funeral in London and then let her go gently into the sea using these words:
                Out of our sorrow and our love -  we let you go
                Out of the distractions, demands, distress, delights of daily life - now you are set free

                Out of anxiety, ambition, anger, attachment - now you are set free
                Out of sorrow and our love - we let you go
We then  wished her the deep peace of the running wave, the deep peace of the flowing air, the deep peace of the shining stars and the deep  peace of the Son of Peace.

It was very
simple and very moving. I felt more intimately connected to her at this moment than I had in life. It was a moment for me to understand that love, friendship, relationships transcend death, that each of us is more than our individual life, that our influence and connectedness is greater than we can ever imagine.  It was a moment to face death and its loss but also a moment to see something of what the resurrection is about - a real Easter experience.

I then had to make the long return journey and decided to go to the Vigil service on my way.  This was so disappointing compared to where I had been and what I had done.
For me it was more style than substance.  The choir were in good voice, the ceremonies were carried out with precision but it did not speak to my heart.  It was not a 'thin' experience. It did not help me enter into the reality of what the resurrection might mean.  Perhaps I had been  spoiled by my experience on Iona so couldn't really appreciate it.  I was left me thinking that religion is like a wrapped gift which contains a nugget of gold, an experience of meaning and value, a story to live by  but sometimes it's difficult to get to the gift because of the wrapping.  All religions, at least in the western world, are concerned about low attendance at places of worship, a falling away of commitment but perhaps the people who are rejecting the wrapping are doing religion a good

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    I am  a Catholic nun, involved in interfaith relations for many decades.  For me this has been an exciting and sacred journey which I would like to share with others.

    Picture

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    RSS Feed

    Categories
    Religious Performances
    ​​

    All

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.