Jessica Lunsford's "Remains" Found
Note: So many have visited this post but few have left a comment. Please let me know why Jessica's story is of interest to you, personally. Thanks, BofP
UPDATE: You can find a more recent post on Jessica here and a poem here.
The "remains" of a 9 year old Florida girl, kidnapped and murdered by a convicted child molester, were found early this morning by investigators in the exact location described by the chief suspect who has confessed to the crime.
The story's headline got me to thinking about the word "remains" and what the word really means. "Remains" are what are left after something is gone; wood shavings on the work room floor; food left on the plate after dinner; ruined, rotting wood and stone, lying on the ground where a house once stood.
The world sees human "remains" as what is left when a person dies. Like a fallen tree dies and decays, Jessica Lundsford, too is dead. Her remains are all that is left; left overs from what once was but is now gone forever.
"From dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return." At the beginning of the season of Lent these were the words we spoke on Ash Wednesday as we placed the mark of the cross on our foreheads with the ashes of grief and repentence.
But Lent ends with Easter, and Easter gives us a new understanding of life...and death.
"She is not here," the angels say. "She is risen!"
On Easter the tomb of Jesus was empty. Well, not completely empty. There were remains: the winding strips of his burial cloth was scattered around and the linen cloth that covered his head was neatly folded in a corner. With Jessica, too, there are remains. But in light of Easter we no longer view those remains as the remains of a fallen ruin. They are, for us, more like the shed skin of a lizard; the broken, empty pieces of a cocoon; wood shavings on the work room floor; discarded, unneeded left overs of a new creation.
In a Christian funeral we lay the remains in a place of remembrance and say words similar to these, "We commit her body to the grave" and "We commit her soul to the care and mercy of Almighty God in the sure and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life."
We believe that God created Jessica, gave her life and sent his Son to redeem her and prepare a place for her in eternity.
According to the news article,
UPDATE: You can find a more recent post on Jessica here and a poem here.
The "remains" of a 9 year old Florida girl, kidnapped and murdered by a convicted child molester, were found early this morning by investigators in the exact location described by the chief suspect who has confessed to the crime.
The story's headline got me to thinking about the word "remains" and what the word really means. "Remains" are what are left after something is gone; wood shavings on the work room floor; food left on the plate after dinner; ruined, rotting wood and stone, lying on the ground where a house once stood.
The world sees human "remains" as what is left when a person dies. Like a fallen tree dies and decays, Jessica Lundsford, too is dead. Her remains are all that is left; left overs from what once was but is now gone forever.
"From dust thou art and to dust thou shalt return." At the beginning of the season of Lent these were the words we spoke on Ash Wednesday as we placed the mark of the cross on our foreheads with the ashes of grief and repentence.
But Lent ends with Easter, and Easter gives us a new understanding of life...and death.
"She is not here," the angels say. "She is risen!"
On Easter the tomb of Jesus was empty. Well, not completely empty. There were remains: the winding strips of his burial cloth was scattered around and the linen cloth that covered his head was neatly folded in a corner. With Jessica, too, there are remains. But in light of Easter we no longer view those remains as the remains of a fallen ruin. They are, for us, more like the shed skin of a lizard; the broken, empty pieces of a cocoon; wood shavings on the work room floor; discarded, unneeded left overs of a new creation.
In a Christian funeral we lay the remains in a place of remembrance and say words similar to these, "We commit her body to the grave" and "We commit her soul to the care and mercy of Almighty God in the sure and certain hope of resurrection to eternal life."
We believe that God created Jessica, gave her life and sent his Son to redeem her and prepare a place for her in eternity.
According to the news article,
I will not argue with Jessica's father. I cannot say whether she is with him or not. I do know that her precious remains have been found and will soon be returned home to her family. Jessica, however, is at home with God.Jessica's distraught father said earlier Saturday that his daughter is "home now," but made no reference to the discovery of her remains.
"Everyone heard me say time after time that she would be home," said Mark Lunsford, choking back tears. "Well, she's home now. It's over...She's right here with me."
posted by Bird of Paradise at 2:14 PM
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