Lenten Comics day 17

A eulogy for my dad.

We have only known about dad’s cancer since September. But he had been seriously ill for a few years with COPD. He’s been in the hospital about 5 times in the last three years, once with a collapsed lung.

I am “the family pastor.” So for those years, in the back of my mind has been the expectation that when the funeral came, it would be my responsibility. I lived in fear of this. Often, in a quiet moment, I would ponder the scriptures and try to imagine what I would talk about in relation to my dad’s death. I never landed on anything.

When the time came that we knew his death was immanent, I was told that dad did not want a funeral. There would be no ceremony. This came out because my dad hated funerals. He hated the way they made him feel and did not want one, nor was he keen on providing an opportunity for family members to act out (as has happened at previous family funerals).

So, my only responsibility was to coordinate with the cremation services and write dad’s obituary. But I couldn’t write the thing. I got on Facebook and wrote this. Just a raw reflection. Then I was able to do the obituary quite easily.