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Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. -- Psalm 116:15

Christopher Robin Anible as a 13 year old asked for his name to be changed to Christian Israel Anible under the inspiration of (the Holy Spirit through) Pilgrim's Progress. What a testimony to what gave this follower of Christ hope while a pilgrim on this earth and what a joy to know he is now in the unveiled presence of our Saviour.

Hard to capture last Saturday, when Dwight and I made the 9-10 hour round trip by car to the celebration of Christian's passing after a year long struggle with glandular cancer. We shared a number of reflections in the car and the service was about as Christian as you could get with the best of Reformed liturgy, including call/response, readings, sermon, confession question/answer, and hymns of the faith (A Mighty Fortress is Our God, Safe in the Shadow of the Almighty, Jesus, Lover of My Soul, Jesus Shall Reign). It was a great blessing to all which participated and I particularly appreciated Laura and Nancy who shared older and recent memories of Christian's life. The testimonies emphasized the unique blending of the holy and the mundane by one who patiently planted the seeds of change, sought out the fringe folk, walked a long obedience in the same direction, drew closer to his wife through adversity, and in summary had a life well lived. With the past several months being full w/a number of transitions, I continue to grieve, celebrate, remember, and hope. By God's grace, I desire for my life and all those with whom I live/minister to be remembered in a similar manner of Christ-likeness. But Christian's humble leadership, worship gifts (the pennywistle and Celtic bend of inspiration), and ability to listen/give counsel are irreplacable.

The pastor shared The Tears of Jesus based on John 11:17-44. He emphasized the hope of the resurrection in contrast to death, the wholly unnatural curse of God upon the sin of man . . . that which deeply moved and troubled Jesus, the divine warrior to draw his sword against death at the tomb of Lazarus and who now stands at the other side of death having disarmed death by his life, death and resurrection. He called us to practice resurrection (Wendell Berry) by loving the Lord, loving the creation, loving neighbor AND one day Christ will renew the creation. Until then the people of God journey in this fallen creation and like Mr. Steadfast and Mr. Valiant for Truth in Pilgrim's Progress, face the river of death/life with courage and boldness. May it be so for each of us.

Remember in your prayers Christian's wife, Barb, son Ben and daughter-in-law Gemma, and daughters Marie and Katia.

PS. On our trek, Dwight shared about his father running out fuel in the hilly north eastern PA, where we were traveling. Later we almost ran out of fuel in the same area ;-) As we were exiting for a stop I requested, the empty fuel tank light came on and according to the car computer we had 10 miles of fuel remaining. So we stopped at a Turkey Hill and tanked up. At the end of the trip, Dwight and I connected w/Theresa at Bass Pro Shop in Harrisburg. My 'The Curious Incident' coupon came in handy for dinner, for it's history go here.

Update:  Recently found this helpful resource regarding Funerals as Christian Worship.