THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

On Saturday Santy and I attended the funeral service of Dr. Hadi Kusumo, a beloved of many and a blessing to many.  For three years he struggled; the last year had been especially difficult as he was confined to ICU bed with little contact to the outside world.  But, as testified not only by his family but also by his physician, Dr. Hadi remained strong and peaceful.  He never forgot to say thank you.

It is not hard to say thank you when life is good, when we receive what we asked for, and when we accomplished what we had set to do.  However, it is not easy to say thank you when life turns ugly, when we receive what we think we do not deserve, and when failure seems to be the norm, instead of the exception.  To be able to say thank you in times like these requires a clean heart.

A clean heart sees all but chooses to focus on the good, not the bad in people or in a situation.  A clean heart knows how unreliable people can be, but it chooses to trust, to give the benefit of the doubt.  Distrust and suspicion come much later.  A clean heart can be hurt but it chooses to forgive and to move on; it has no place for bitterness and revenge.  Dr. Hadi had a clean heart, therefore, he was always thankful; he was never spiteful or resentful.

In every funeral we usually have eulogy.  The word comes from two Greek words: eu which means good and logos which means word.  Eulogy is “good word” we say about somebody.  Interestingly the word “praise,” which we can find many in the Book of Ephesians, also comes from the same word, eulogy.  So, when we say, “praise be to God,” we actually say, “eulogy to God,” or good word to God.  At Hadi’s  funeral, we said good word about him, and we gave praise to God for him, a beloved of many and a blessing to many.

Pastor Paul