Darkness envelops our world and our lives.
Shadows enshroud our spirits.
We come to pay homage to one who tried to bring light to the darkness,
whose brilliant compassion and loving-kindness left no shadows
on those whom he taught, healed, encouraged, and called his own
– whether they were friend or foe.
We come to say goodbye to him…to his example
– perhaps for today, perhaps for forever.
We are disillusioned by the victories of greed over generosity…
of judgment over compassion…
of condescension over encouragement…
of hostility over diplomacy…
of war over non-violence…
of revenge over forgiveness…
of alienation and estrangement over reconciliation and restoration.
We don’t know, any more than Jesus knew on the cross, where God is.
Nor do we know, with any certainty, how we will respond
to a world in which success is measured by affluence and power
rather than by character and ethics.
Yet, still we come.
Our presence is a protest against oppression,
a rebellion against victimization,
and a revolt against empires, systems, and individuals
who have chosen self over God.
We may not know where God is,
but inexplicably, we still believe
that God is.
Somewhere behind the shadows…
somewhere hidden from our sight in the darkness,
God is.
Are we willing to enter into the shadows,
to enter our own darkness,
to find God…
to see if God is looking for us –
to save, to heal, to inspire, to nurture…
perhaps to ask us to be light
in a world where there sometimes seems so little of it?
We are here to find the answers,
our answers, to those questions.

— Rev. Bret S. Myers