The Passing for Bill Clark
Pastor Marc’s Lenten Devotional Day Twenty-One:
West Side Presbyterian Church
This past Saturday, a wonderful human being Bill Clark died after nearly five years battling cancer. Bill leaves behind his wife, two sons, mother and brother, and many others who loved him dearly. Bill died too young. He had yet to turn 60 years old and had so much life ahead of him. We will celebrate his life and grieve his death tomorrow at West Side Presbyterian Church (2pm in the sanctuary). People will come from all parts of Bill’s life to share stories, to give and receive comfort, and to find strength in community and in their faith in God.
When I met with his family this past week to plan the Memorial Service, I was touched by the stories they shared, particularly his tenderness and devotion as a son, husband, and father. At one point I asked his sons, “Was there anything your father shared with you this past week that you will treasure?” After some silence, one son answered, “There’s nothing our dad could have said this week that he hadn’t already taught us by being the person he was.” Those words brought tears to my eyes as I was touched by their affection and gratitude for their dad.
This experience has remained with me this week. I’m grieving Bill’s death as many people are, but I’m also challenged again to be the kind of father who will be remembered with similar affection and gratitude. This Lent, we’ve been reflecting on what it means to be a church. What if our primary role was to help shape one another as human beings? What if we helped each other live into the fullness of our God-given humanity? What if we encouraged and supported each other in being the best sons, husbands, and fathers (as well as daughters, wives, and mothers) we can be? Imagine if we looked around at church and saw people who inspired us to grow and stretch in humility and compassion, in whom we saw a special light of life, and with whom we wanted to partner in being a “little Christ” (the literal translation of “Christian”) in the world.