Sara,
I'm thinking of you all in your desperately sad situation. I think it is very
important to think of the positive aspects of a person's life even if it
doesn't seem to have been completed. In my genealogical research I have come
across many family members who died in earlier times in infancy, and I feel
that just by naming them I have been able to give them a sense of identity and
they are not forgotten.
On the surface there must be a lot of unfinished business behind a sudden
death, but we are never adequately able to say goodbye when a loved one dies.
However, we have to realise that our relationships carry on after death. My
father died this year on May 8th aged 104, but although I was present when he
died I had not been able to have a proper conversation with him due to the 10
months when I was not able to visit him because of the pandemic and the fact
that he had lost his speech for the last year or so. But only a few days after
he died, he came to me in a dream, or perhaps I went to him because I was in a
very bright place with a deep blue sea and a brilliant golden beach, and he
told me to keep myself fit. and look after myself. At last he could talk
again, and he looked half his age! Forget about spiritual mediums- we can all
contact those who have passed over, because they want to contact us and look
out for us. I recommend a book I read recently which was recommended to me-
The Last Frontier, exploring the afterlife and transforming our fear of death,
by Julia Assante, PhD (2012), New World Library, California. ISBN
978-1-60868-160-0, a mystic, mdeium and scholar.
Regarding John 14, 'mansion' is of course the correct translation, but I would
prefer to think of it as a 'station' where we can stay for a while before
moving on. John's Gospel has much hidden teaching on resurrection, and we can
think of the stations as rungs on a ladder of ascent, or alternatively as
stopping places within a labyrinth journey. This is a kind of initiation, and
the stations on our way can be described as gates, as in Mithraic rituals.
There is a point at the end of John 14 when Jesus says "Rise, let us be on our
way." Does he mean to finish his discourse then, or is he encouraging his
disciples to climb the ladder of ascent... like Nathanael seeing heaven opened
(John 1.51) where the angels ascending and descending refer back to Jacob's
vision at Bethel? Love is the centre of the labyrinth.
My father always used to say that he was born on Magna Carta Day, just a
fortnight before the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The tension between these two
dates was resolved by the date on which he died- yes, it was VE Day, but it was
also the feast of Julian of Norwich, who wrote about the divine love which
enfolds us all, and gives us true victory.
By the way, July 16th is the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (which means 'a
Garden') occupying the ancient Roman festival of Rosalia and Rosa Mundi the
Heart of Creation, Mother of all. And it is the anniversary of the launch of
Apollo11 on its way to the Moon. So it's about love, and beginning a journey,
and knowing the Way.
Your dream is certainly symbolic. The sudden death of a loved one means that
everything has to change- all your plans and hopes. But the fact that your
room was taken by the florists may point to the garden that awaits us when we
pass over, the garden of love. So death is not an ending, but a change of
state. Keep dreaming!
May love rebound,
Raymond Garfoot.
-----Original Message-----
From: Sara Cliff <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: methmins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <methmins@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sat, 31 Jul 2021 10:23
Subject: [methmins] Friends & colleagues a prayer support request
Morning
On Monday 2/8 we are celebrating my little brother’s life 1115 Church 1330 Crem
Please can I ask for a blanket of prayer support around Mum Pam, older brother
Martin, children Jonny & Melissa and all who will gather plus me and Revd Peter
of St Anne’s Turton who are leading the service
Ants (51) died suddenly and nunexpectedly on the 16/7.. we’re still waiting for
the Coroner to decide... but we have interim death certificates ... query
cardiac episode underlined by Diabetes Type 1
Also a practical request I am preaching on John 14, love, not knowing the way,
and places for everyone ‘many rooms’... any suggestions re this sermon would be
appreciated... I have written it but my dream was last night was quite funny in
the circumstances.... Mum & I had turned up at a Hotel and we had to change
rooms as Margaret & Peter had taken ours !! Margaret & Peter are the florists
...
Thank you
love and prayers
Sara
Revd Sara Cliff
Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone
