The last goodbye is not the final goodbye.

This morning as I sat at my desk and started to review my email, I was sadden to receive notice from a dear friend that their Mom had passed away. Though I had never met this person, I somehow had this overwhelming feeling of loss for my friends. I truly understand how they are feeling ,because just a few short months ago my Mom went on to be with the Lord ,and I to had to undergo the same hard ,unwanted situation of having to say “goodbye” to someone I cared so very deeply for.
We have all been in those situations where we have had to say goodbye to a friend as they move away, goodbye to children as they have grown up, or goodbye to a dying loved one. We have all been in those situations. Some have been in the situation where someone precious to you is dying such as your mother or father or husband or wife. It comes to the point where you are spending some of your last moments on earth together. You want to say something significant to each other, but the primary significance is in the loving silence that you share together. In that moment, you say goodbye and you hope you will never forget. You want to remember your last goodbyes. You may forget the actual words, but you will never forget the moment, the significance of that last time together. It’s never easy to say goodbye, yes, most “last goodbyes” are tough.
We All handle these last goodbyes, these final farewells, in different ways. Some of us are rather social, we shake hands and say goodbye. “Son, be good and take care of yourself.” Some of us are more stoical, controlling our feelings. Others of us are criers. We cry. We weep. We can’t talk because we get all choked up. Still others of us are “happy go lucky” people, and we try to make our final farewell a good time and we laugh it off. And still others of us avoid these situations all together. That is, we never get caught in the situation of having to say the last goodbye. We avoid that situation at all costs. We can’t say the last goodbyes and so we avoid the situation. Each of us handles these delicate situations differently.
Let’s look at an example of saying “goodbye” .we read about it in the book of Mathew chapter 26 starting with the 17th verse and we see the mood of the disciples. During that meal, they were so overwhelmed by the pain of the moment, they could not see the possibilities of the future. For three full years, these twelve men had learned to live and love each other. They had been together night and day for three full years, three years of meals, three years of miracles, and three years of teaching. They had shared so much life and so much death together. Jesus had trained them for three years to be his disciples. And there they were in Jerusalem together on the last night, the last meal, the last words, the last parting comments to each other, their last goodbyes. The disciples knew that Jesus was soon going to die. This was their last moment together.
So… during that last supper, the disciples listened intently to the words of Jesus, hanging onto his every word. They knew that this was their final lesson, his final word, . Words of wisdom, Gems for future generations. They listened carefully and wanted to understand and remember as much as they could.
As I endured the final days of my mother’s life, I seemed to become so absorbed in my own pain I couldn’t see the future. I didn’t understand that our relationship wasn’t over. And so it is with most of us. We are so absorbed in the pain of the moment that we cannot see the possibilities of the future, the future that God has prepared for all of us.
And so it was with the disciples. They thought they were having their last goodbyes and they didn’t comprehend his teachings. They couldn’t comprehend his words because they were so absorbed in their pain of loss. So often in life, we think it is all over and we have said our last goodbyes.
So I encourage each and every one of you, take time my friends to embrace one another, talk, say “goodbye: and remember it’s not the last goodbye. I have now come to realize that that last conversation between my mom and myself were not our last goodbye. The last goodbye is not the final goodbye. The future continues. God’s future continues. Jesus does not leave us orphans but God comes to us with his spirit who lives within us, heals us, and prepares us for the future. God’s future always overwhelms the sadness of today and yesterday. The last supper was not the last supper but the beginning of the feast for all eternity.
Blessings Tim