The Funeral

It is finished.

Today (8. Oct.) was Ulrike Hasel's funeral in Simbach am Inn, Germany. It's been 5 days since she died. It all felt surreal. Maybe that's because this was my very first funeral. Seriously, I have never been to a funeral before today.

I didn't really know Ulrike, but that didn't stop me from wanting to go. Besides, the choir sang 4 different songs during the service: so as a choir member, I needed to go.

The funeral was in a small little chapel that hardly had enough room for the family and close friends, much less for all the guests. Fortunately, it wasn't raining, although it would have complemented the mood. Sniffs, blowing noses, red eyes, and somber looks dominted the inhabitants of the scene (including the actual choir members).

It didn't sink in that I was in a funeral and what that meant, until the casket was led out and everyone became part of a procession. I walked among the other choir members and saw all the other people who came to pay their final respects. There were so many. Then the bells rang. That's what did it for me. The bells. Actually, it wasn't so much the bells as the silence and the atmosphere in which they rang.

To make it a little more odd, I saw a few people I knew from my first year and was able to converse with them. Why was this odd? I was happy: I was having my own reunion with people I missed and felt excited. I was happy to see them again. I was happy in a funeral.

I thought that was a bit odd, but at the same time, normal. I see that funerals is one event in which many reunite.

Reunite. That triggered another thought.

I looked around at the red-eyed and somber faces. I looked around at all the grave stones. I soaked in the atmosphere of mourning. Can you imagine how it's all going to be when Jesus Christ returns and all those who died after accepting Jesus as their savior. . . are resurrected? Can you imagine how Ulrike's family and friends will feel to see her again--not only healthy, but immortal?!

Now try to multiply that by every single person who is resurrected and are reunited with family and beloved friends. When Jesus comes back to take us home, it's going to be the biggest and most bittersweet reunion of all time. All this sadness that I witnessed, will be turned into exstatic joy. What an event to be a part of: but most of all, what an event to look forward to!

I don't have any pictures from the funeral because I didn't take my camera. I want to, but the thought of taking pictures of grieving people in a funeral and everything that happened in the funeral... it just felt completely disrespectful to me. I just have one picture in which I am walking with Ulrike and Frank Hasel, as well as another student from Bogi. This was taken in March 2007, when I was there and over a year before she was diagnosed with cancer. She is the lady in the light blue coat and dark hair.

I'll be looking forward to seeing her again and getting to know her better, after arriving Home.