Zechariah 8:1-8 / Luke 9:46-50
It is not really that easy to celebrate a funeral Mass, especially when it was for a one-week-old baby.
The infant had died of complications after birth. The parents told me that they had expected it because during the pregnancy, the test results showed that the baby had literally no chance of survival if delivered.
Still the parents brought it to term, instead of aborting the pregnancy.
And although they expected the final outcome, they still suffered the pain and grief at the loss of their child.
For the funeral Mass, I used the gospel passage which we have just heard, in which Jesus set a child before His disciples and said that whoever welcomes a child welcomes Him.
For the parents, they rejoiced at the initial news of pregnancy but even with the complications of the baby, they still welcomed her into the world and cherished her during her short life on earth.
I am sure their child will be there to welcome them when their time on earth is done.
I am also sure that God will also be there to turn their sorrow into joy.
But God is not just there at the end. In the 1st reading, God promised His people that He will come back to them and dwell in the middle of Jerusalem.
Yes God is indeed in our midst, especially in the lowly and the humble and the child-like. May we welcome Him into our hearts.