Minggu, 22 Januari 2012
WHOSE FUNERAL IS IT ANYWAY...By Alan Kennedy
In the midst of life we are in death: of whom may we seek for succour, but of thee, O Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased?
Probably not the cheeriest way to start this extended thought bubble but it came to me the other day while at the funeral of a dear union colleague with whom I had stood shoulder to shoulder in many a battle.
His burning compassion, his desire to fight injustice, to bring dignity to the workplace and try to make people's lives better was what made him such a wonderful man. He loved life, a beer, a cigarette and his family. And he was piss-funny.
But he was not a believer. His funeral was presided over by his cousin, a Catholic priest, who made it clear he was really trying to intercede on his cousin's behalf, no doubt hoping if he put in a good word, then maybe he would be allowed into heaven.
If there were a heaven and it were up to me, my friend would have been first in.
Never did a man live more by the virtues espoused by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount − virtues which are often conveniently overlooked.
The sermon is an inspiring speech about compassion, empathy and the need for a society to reach down and give the less fortunate a hand up to the next level. Not too kind about the rich and famous either. Which maybe explains why it doesn't get much of a run these days. It doesn't sit well with most of the hearty-chested Christians who seem to have read a different book to the one I had driven into my skull during many years of church schooling.
Anyway, there we were in a church saying goodbye to a man who hadn't been in a church, as far I know, for years.
From the opening − Paul Robeson singing the classic trade union anthem, Joe Hill − to the last − The Pogues singing A Fairytale of New York − the service was a tribute to a good bloke. The tributes from people who worked with him and the beautiful speech by his daughter were wonderful.
His was a life that had been lived for others.
I sat and wondered what he would have thought. Was it right to wheel in this atheist?
Would it have offended him? Should the family have put together a secular ceremony that was more in keeping with his beliefs?
Source: http://id.she.yahoo.com/new/http://thehoopla.com.au/funeral-anyway//
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