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The courage to teach—and to grieve

Funeral, Sacrament-based, Holy Day, Holiday, Special Occasion - Sample homilies to be adapted for your use

Funeral: Death of a teacher Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, "To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived . . . this is to have succeeded." Here, before this altar, we gather to mourn the death and celebrate the success of N., who, as a teacher, has most certainly given innumerable lives the ability to breathe easier—not only his/her students but all those who have been touched by his/her presence. Teaching is no easy job. It is a work of sacrifice and of love. It was the work of our Lord, Jesus, whose title, rabbi, fell from the lips of all who followed him. The life of Jesus, our Rabbi and our Lord, holds many powerful lessons. Today, as we celebrate the life of N., one lesson stands out: Being a teacher takes courage. "The courage to teach," wrote renowned teacher Parker Palmer, "is the courage to keep one's heart open in those very moments when the heart is asked to hold more than it is able so that teacher and students and subject can be woven into the fabric of community that learning, and living, require." Today, as we come together—a community of family and friends of N.—it seems our hearts, too, are being asked to hold more than they are able—so much pain, so much emptiness, so many memories all pressed together into moments already filled to the brim with grief. When we lose someone we love, grief moves us almost as if in a dream. We walk in shadows doing what needs to be done while part of us wonders when we will wake up from the nightmare. We grieve with the psalmist who said, "How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day?" We grieve with the apostles, who, with the death of Jesus, their friend and teacher, knew what it was like to lose someone they loved so much; someone who had loved them in return beyond measure. Their grief drove them to the upper room, fearful, distraught, doubtful of their ability to go on without him. Surely they wondered, as we will wonder, "How does one live without the teacher who taught, not only with words, but through a life of love and affirmation?" We grieve with Jesus, who understood all too well the pain of abandonment, of loss and of death. Isaiah describes Jesus as "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" (53:3). Even as Lord, Jesus wept openly at the death of Lazarus, his friend, and in empathy for the pain of Lazarus' sisters, Martha and Mary. He cried to his Father from the cross, "Why have you abandoned me?" We, like him, may feel abandoned and cry to our God with anger or fear born of this new and abiding emptiness. Surely, N. would understand. N. was a teacher and hers/his a vocation of the heart. Listen to Parker Palmer's beautiful words: "As good teachers weave the fabric that joins them with students and subjects, the heart is the loom on which the threads are tried, the tension is held, the shuttle flies, and the fabric is stretched tight. Small wonder, then, that teaching tugs at the heart, opens the heart, even breaks the heart—and the more one loves teaching, the more heartbreaking it can be." Life itself teaches us that the more one loves anything, especially another person, the more one's heart breaks with the loss. Grief comes to each of us in its own way and cannot be denied. Just as with teaching, it takes courage to grieve." Grief comes to each of us in its own way and cannot be denied. Just as with teaching, it takes courage to grieve. Right now it is hard to imagine life without N.'s guiding light, his/her wisdom or his/her encouragement. Now is the time to follow the example of our Lord and allow ourselves the opportunity to grieve and acknowledge the pain of loss. Ecclesiastes says, "To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance" (3:1, 4). Now is the time to weep, to share memories of a special life and, in doing so keep that life alive in the hearts of others. But, as N. would undoubtedly say, the best teachers form their students for the future, encourage them to step forward with confidence and hope, and without fear, into the life that lies before them. For those who died in Christ, there is the promise of new life in the Resurrection. Today, N. would encourage us to have the same confidence, the same hope in the promises of God, repeating the words of Our Lord, "Be not afraid. I go before you always."

Authors Mary Morrell

funeral death of a teacher Isaiah 53:3 Ecclesiastes 3:1,4 educator

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Word of the Week

10 November 2024

Cardinal

\'kärd-nəl\

From Latin cardo, for "hinge," a high church official who ranks just below pope, can only be appointed by the pope, and serves primarily as a papal advisor.

Pronunciation Read more

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