GOODBYE!

Lake County Mail, Issue 16, 10 September 1947, Page 2

GOODBYE!

In the latter years£ with the - .•speed up of transport and com- ' niunication the cultures of other ; ; countries have) Impinged themselvqs on ours. We have adopted in tp our language many Of th e word% and much of the slang of other countries, and one of the words that has come to us, whether from America or Australia I do not know, is “ Cheerio ” and we now misuse it and its literal meaning of giving encouragement, for the good oldfashioned word of Good-bye. This article Is written on the eve of my departure for another parish, and though there may be cheers that I am going, cheers of relief, cheers of encouragement to help one on his way and get rid of him, I hope that these thoughts will be suppressed, and that the old fashioned term of “ Goodbye ” will be- used. Goodbye means “ God be with you ” so perhaps it is not strange that people who have lost faith in God, do not utter that most wonderful of prayers on parting from friends. Parting is always difficult, especially from people One has come to know and love, whether it be that the parting of a deathbed or just,the. parting of human ways. This is another part of the wonderful teaching of Our Lord Jesus Christ for He Who died and rose again for us, has taught us by word and example, that even a deathbed parting is not final. There is hope there is another life where “we.shall be known even as we are known.” If this were not true, if this world is the end of all thing*, if our lives were as candles snuffed put never to he rejit, then “let us eat drink and be merry” let us enjoy life here and have a jolly good time, for there is nothing else. But such an idea is repugnant to humanity. Practically all religions and Christianity above all others, teach that there is an after life. Some religions take a gloomy view of this present life, and think that we should go about with long drawn faces, that many things such as beer and cinemas, dancing and games are wrong —but Christianity does not teach so. God means ns to enjoy the good things of this life, and so long as we do not take these things in excess and abuse the gifts of God we can enjoy them, and thank God for the enjoyment and health which we derive from them, I have wandered from the subject. The parting of human ways is a sadness. to many. When one has made friends in a place, and then has to teai up roots and leave, there is that gap which is never really bridged by letter writing, wonderful though it is that we can communicate through the written word. What better prayer could be uttered than is summarised in that one word “ Goodbye,” meaning “ God be be with you?” There is an ancient and beautiful prayer which begins “ 0 Lord our God, Who art in every place, and from Whom no space or distance can ever separate us, we know that those who are absent from each other are still present with Thee. Therefore we pray Thee to have in Thy holy- keeping those dear ones from whom we are now separated. . . ■ Yes the church has always held that not only the departed, but glso those separated by space or time are still one in Christ. The church calls it the “Communion of Saints,” which means the fellowship of those who are striving to be holy. We have such a wrong idea of what Saints are, we imagine them to be very often anaemic and effeminate looking men, pictured in stained glass windows whereas they are men who have fought the good fight of faith, have striven to live as followers of the Christ, which is a very hard job indeed. In the family of God — the church—there is a fellowship which ;cau be equalled by no more human friendship. We who are Christians are one in Christ. Our prayer will always be Goodbye— God he Avith you all. Philip C. Williams.