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Wailing sirens greeted me as I left United Hospital on Sunday night, late. My mind was on other things, I barely registered the shrill noise. Until the next morning when I was reminded of that sound as I heard the story on the news and the small paragraph in the paper. "What a tragedy". I thought, and moved on... It was then only a distant reminder of the frailty of human life and of how quickly things can change... But then suddenly, it comes close, and the story becomes reality. This is someone I know, the father of a child I have baptized. No longer a faceless name in a newspaper story, this is a young man - a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a friend dying tragically out of season. What words can we use on such a day as this that can bring any measure of comfort into this far too personal tragedy? On Tuesday, I met with Craig's family - Kimberly and Max, Craig's mother and older brother and sister, Ann. Shock registered on their faces... these dear people trying to make some sense out of what had happened, trying to do the last things right for someone they have loved and lost. "Tell me about Craig", I asked, and the words were slowly coaxed out of them amid the stories their memories could recover. "He was someone who always liked to live on the edge", I was told - always "pushing the envelope. Iiving the extreme". His older brother agreed - remembering that Craig learned to ride a bike even before he did. "He was a thoughtful son, a good friend to many", and ..."his family meant a lot to him". Those are the descriptions of Craig that began to emerge as the people around the table shared their memories of him. Eventually Kimberly asked Max what he thought I should know about his Dad. His words were simply these, "He was a good Dad... And he cared for us a lot". (A direct quote) Now when you get right down to it, Max's words are important for all of us to hear today. He reminds of what is basic and what truly lasts beyond the moments we have here on this earth - he reminds us about the simple and essential importance of caring. Craig Murphy was known to his son - and to others as well, I'm sure - as someone who cared about and for others. In the context of faith, caring becomes an outward sign of our connection to something or someone greater than ourselves. It is one of the most important ways that faith in a loving God is translated into everyday living. By caring for others, we place ourselves with one another and establish relationships that allow us to taste the richness of life. And our presence with others becomes a sign of our caring. In the most basic understanding of what faith is all about, presence becomes a defining word. It describes the relationship God chooses to have with us - being present in our lives, promising a continuing presence that will never leave us abandoned. Simply translated, the message is "You are loved" no matter what you might say you believe - or don't believe, no matter what you have done or where you have been, the presence of God's love will always accompany you. And that presence is the sign of how deeply God cares for us. And in that kind of everlasting caring there is reason for hope. Hope that dares to go into the darkness of even this tragedy to shed its light. Hope that can open up for Max a very real picture of his Dad in a new life now surrounded by Basil and Pfeiffer, former family pets who Max can just see accompanying him into this new place In this understanding of God deeply caring for each of us, there is room for comfort and strength to emerge out of us today. In the promise of a loving presence that tends and cares for us in all circumstances, there is light for the darkness you may be feeling. In the loneliness of your grief, there is One who walks with you even as the road bends and turns. For the power of God is at work here. Something or someone greater that ourselves is announcing to us today that death is not the final word. For God has cared for us so well that God's promise will carry Craig and all of us beyond the grave into a new life, a new adventure - more on the edge than we could ever imagine. No wonder the 23rd Psalm is such a comfort in the midst of grief and pain. It describes this very nature of God - the One who travels with us wherever we go and into whatever comes to us. In the valleys and on the mountain-tops, God is with us. I believe that Craig, whether he consciously knew it or not, has aIways been and still is accompanied by the God of his life. And that is the only truth that can comfort us today. For it is outrageous that someone so young, so vital, so filled with life should have all of that cut short. It is outrageous that Max and Zoey must grow up without their father to care for them. It's outrageous that a mother should have to bury her son. But into that terrible reality, God brings the gift of a love that cares for us and embraces us in our sorrow. A love the carries us in our grief and brings Craig beyond death and into a new life. Now the comforting words of your hearts - your memories of this young man, your hopes, your courage to care for others - these are the things that will make for healing this hurt that is in you. Surely a young man who was so filled with an enthusiasm for life would want all of you - family, friends and colleagues to live life to its fullest. And according to Max, who has a pretty good handle on some of the basics - living life to its fullest means caring for others a lot ... just like his Dad did. And so reluctantly we relinguish Craig Murphy into the next adventure. And we thank God for the blessings of his presence, for the challenges of his life on the edge and the for gift of his caring heart. May God bless his memory among us and welcome him into the kingdom that is yet to come!
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