Granite Flats2013

Pastor Todd:
[At funeral for slim] . Comforting words from Paul to be sure, but at times last like these we know that true comfort takes more than words, even from the good book. So what do we do? What do we say, to each other, to ourselves? Is there anything we can say? Is there any way to overcome this feeling of powerlessness. No doubt some of us are asking ourselves, could I have done something to prevent this tragedy. As if we possess the almighty's power to stop an accident. Such is the nature of loss, it causes us to careen from utter helplessness to extreme arrogance. And surely if a life as robust as Major Kirkpatrick's can be ended so abruptly, it reminds us of the unavoidable truth - that all life is tenuous. So how is it that this, this universal truth leads us to feel so alone. We can deny the feeling all we want, we may even try to hide away from our feelings. Like a wounded animal we separate ourselves from the pack, go off, lick our wounds, alone. Not a bad instinct perhaps, but let me suggest an alternative. If this life is a - -- precious, and if anything good can be found in a tragic circumstance like this, it's that death exposes the lie. The lie that we are separate, that we are not one. Christ prayed that his disciples might find the unity that he had with his father. That we might be one. Where if we are not one we are not his. Here we are, a community come together to say goodbye to one of our own. We are one.