Mary's Announcement

A friend of ours died a while back. The night before the saying of the Burial Office, friends and family gathered at the funeral home to comfort one another, to reminisce, to cry together and, yes, occasionally to laugh together.

Across the hall from the viewing parlor was a snack bar with vending machines, tables, a microwave oven, etc. Our friend’s daughter had “set up shop” there for her daughters providing them with books, games, and toys with which to amuse themselves and pass the time. This was no attempt to isolate the children as they were free to move back and forth between this room and the parlor where their grandfather’s body lay in the open casket and where mourners gathered.

Our friend’s granddaughter, I’ll call her Mary, was four at the time and is very fond of our granddaughters, Andrea and Ellie. At some point during the evening Mary crossed the hall into the viewing parlor and someone told her that Andrea and Ellie would be there soon. Upon hearing this, Mary raced back to the snack bar and announced to everyone there, “Grandpa is still dead, but Andrea and Ellie are coming!”

It is tempting to think “She’s only four and obviously doesn’t understand death.” True no doubt, but perhaps there is more to it,

The story challenges me to admit I don’t understand death any better than a four year old. It is an Advent, story of eagerly awaiting the arrival of one whose presence is longed for. It is Christmas story to be kept and pondered in the heart the way Mary, the mother of Jesus, kept and pondered the words of the shepherds. It is an Easter story of hope and joy laughing in the face of death and sorrow.  The story helps me understand why Jesus had the adults step aside and let the children come up front. It is the children who can accept without reservation Jesus’ announcement that the realm of God is at hand, that “Grandpa is still dead, but Andrea and Ellie are coming!”