\n und alle Herrlichkeit des Menschen<\/em>
\n wie des Grases Blumen.<\/em>
\n Das Gras ist verdorret<\/em>
\n und die Blume abgefallen.<\/em><\/p>\n
One of my favorite pieces of music is Brahm’s Ein deutsches Requiem<\/em>. \u00a0Normally we call it the German Requiem, but Brahms called it Ein menschliches Requiem<\/em>: The Human Requiem. \u00a0I like that better. \u00a0There’s some speculation as to Brahm’s impetus to write it, but it has been suggested that the death of his mother hit him\u00a0particularly\u00a0hard. \u00a0Doesn’t matter why, what matters is that he did.<\/p>\n So I sit here at a patio table in Boston, waiting to fly home tomorrow after a conference. \u00a0It’s beautiful, flowers and shrubs, a pretty bold squirrel searching around me for some sort of nut. \u00a0There are basil and rosemary plants that perfume my temporary office.<\/p>\n I started trying to write some ad copy for work and decided to listen to Brahms.<\/p>\n Now I am unable to work until I write this down.<\/p>\n I remember over 20 years ago, sitting in a Sunday School class being taught by a gentleman named Dave Clark. \u00a0Dave was a geologist professor at the University of Wisconsin, but since we have a lay clergy in our church, we all take turns doing different things. \u00a0We were lucky to have Dave as a teacher. \u00a0He was thoughtful, stimulating and somewhat intolerant of lazy thinking and platitudes. \u00a0He challenged our thinking, and certainly brought his heart and his brain into the equation.<\/p>\n At the end of this particular Sunday School class, Dave pulled out his boom box and played this movement of the Requiem. \u00a0I remember listening and being moved to tears. \u00a0I didn’t understand the words other than looking them up in the Bible and figuring out that fleisch<\/em> is flesh and gras<\/em> is grass.<\/p>\n So yeah. \u00a0All flesh is as grass. \u00a0It withers, fades and shrivels up. \u00a0The glory of man is as grass, and the blooms fall. Sometimes it lasts a long time, sometimes it doesn’t. \u00a0I think that’s the point.<\/p>\n Now it’s customary to say really nice things about someone after they die and gloss over the not-so-nice things. \u00a0The problem I have is that Doug probably had many character defects: we all do, but I am aware of precious few of them. \u00a0I’m sure he showed them, but Doug had the gift to love greatly, deeply and authentically. \u00a0Because I knew Doug loved me, I was pretty blind to the rest of his character flaws. \u00a0 And I know a handful of people who loved so deeply. \u00a0His goal was to be like Jesus. \u00a0When I say Jesus, I mean Carl Sandburg’s version.<\/p>\n He never came near clean people or dirty people but they felt cleaner because he came along. It was your crowd of bankers and business men and lawyers that hired the sluggers and murderers who put Jesus out of the running…This Jesus was good to look at, smelled good, listened good. He threw out something fresh and beautiful from the skin of his body and the touch of his hands wherever he passed along.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em>The Jesus who healed. The one who loved. The one who threw out something fresh and beautiful. \u00a0Not the Jesus that supposedly hates simmers and can’t wait for an opportunity to toss someone into the garbage chute to eternal damnation. \u00a0Not the Jesus used for political reasons. \u00a0Not the Jesus that doesn’t exist<\/em>. Sorry, haters. Doug wins.<\/p>\n A few weeks ago I was heading out of town for a trip to Germany. \u00a0I was to fly out Saturday, and Doug had been ill for some time with an incurable and particularly nasty form of cancer. \u00a0He was withering. \u00a0The bloom was about gone. \u00a0I wanted to see him, to see if I could bring him back anything from Germany. Doug had served a mission in Germany back in the 70s, and I thought a little chocolate or a one-legged pair of lederhosen<\/em> might provide him a little bit of a lift.<\/p>\n I called about 9:00 Friday morning to see if Doug was available. \u00a0The quiet voice on the other end of the phone was undoubtedly one of his sons, who told me in a flat voice that he wasn’t, but did I wanted to leave a message. \u00a0I said, no, that I’d call back later.<\/p>\n I learned a few hours later via Facebook that he had passed away a few hours before I called.<\/p>\n [Insert tears of regret here]<\/p>\n Doug would, no doubt, chide me for my foolishness. \u00a0“Hey, didn’t you listen to the next part?”<\/p>\n So seid nun geduldig, liebe Br\u00fcder, The good news is that we just need to be patient. Like the song says.<\/p>\n Therefore be patient, brothers,<\/em> So be patient.<\/em><\/p>\n I don’t want to be geduldig<\/em>. \u00a0I don’t think it’s fair my friend died at all. \u00a0I don’t think it’s fair that he left a wonderful (I mean wonderful) wife and four children (ibid. on the wonderful part) to cope with the loss of a great husband and father. \u00a0It’s not fair that he left such a big hole in the world. \u00a0And I’m selfish. \u00a0And life isn’t even remotely close to fair. \u00a0If it were fair, it wouldn’t be the world.<\/p>\n But I will be patient. \u00a0I know I’ll see Doug again, this time with two legs. \u00a0He’ll be Doug again, maybe even better. \u00a0We’ll both have more hair. \u00a0He’ll be a little skinnier, maybe, but he’ll keep the awesome beard. \u00a0We’ll go paddling together and possibly motorcycling or whatever one does in the afterlife that correlates with those things. \u00a0One hopes that it’s paddling only the water’s cleaner and motorcycling without anything ever breaking down.<\/p>\n “Keep listening,” says Doug.<\/p>\n Aber des Herrn Wort bleibet in Ewigkeit. But the word of the Lord endureth forever.\u00a0<\/em> Thanks for the reminder, Doug.<\/p>\n “No problem. \u00a0I love you, Darren.”<\/em><\/p>\n Freude…ewige Freude<\/em>. \u00a0Eternal joy sounds pretty good to me. \u00a0So long as I can spend eternity with my wife, my family, and people like Doug, I can’t imagine it could be any other way.<\/p>\n Now I can blow my nose, wipe my eyes and get back to work.<\/p>\n Respectfully submitted,<\/p>\n Canoelover<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras und alle Herrlichkeit des Menschen wie des Grases Blumen. Das Gras ist verdorret und die Blume abgefallen. One of my favorite pieces of music is Brahm’s Ein deutsches Requiem. \u00a0Normally we call it … Continue reading
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My friend Doug is now as grass. \u00a0Doug Clark was the thoughtful and kind son of this wonderful Sunday School teacher, and I have known few men like him, and I will most likely never meet anyone like him again.<\/p>\n
\n<\/em>bis auf die Zukunft des Herrn.
\n<\/em>Siehe, ein Ackermann wartet
\n<\/em>auf die k\u00f6stliche Frucht der Erde
\n<\/em>und ist geduldig dar\u00fcber,
\n<\/em>bis er empfahe den Morgenregen und Abendregen.<\/em><\/p>\n
\nUnto the coming of the Lord.<\/em>
\n Behold, the husbandman waiteth<\/em>
\n for the precious fruit of the earth,<\/em>
\n and has long patience for it,<\/em>
\n until he receive the morning and evening rain.<\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/em>Die Erl\u00f6seten des Herrn werden wiederkommen,
\nund gen Zion kommen mit Jauchzen;
\nFreude, ewige Freude wird \u00fcber ihrem Haupte sein;
\nFreude und Wonne werden sie ergreifen
\nund Schmerz und Seufzen wird weg m\u00fcssen.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n
\nAnd the ransomed of the Lord shall return,<\/em>
\n and come to Zion with songs<\/em>
\n and everlasting joy upon their heads: <\/em>
\nthey shall obtain joy and gladness<\/em>
\nand sorrow and sighing shall flee away.<\/em><\/p>\n
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