A Consistent Question

Every year at the PYV (Presbyterian Youth Victoria) Summer Camp, we give people the opportunity to ask questions, and pretty much every year, this question comes up: “What happens to babies when they die?” I have had the task of answering this a couple of times, and have heard others answer the question too.

In PYV circles, this is no longer academic.

On Monday, we sat in a crowded church with a large number of hurting people and stared at the small white coffin at the front of the church. If you have ever been to a funeral for a baby or a toddler, you will know the horrible feeling that I’m describing here. A life that we all expected to be full of joy and happiness didn’t even get the chance to take a first breath. And we are all left wondering why such a thing should happen.

Searching for an answer to that question is often fruitless and frustrating, but this funeral had something special about it. Here the question of what happens to babies who dies was irrelevant. There was no doubt about what happened – we all believe that she is with Jesus; she is in a place infinitely better than earth (though we wish she was still here); and we believe that she will be united with her parents again one day.

So as we sat in that church, we had the opportunity to worship God. We sang to the one who absolutely understands what it means to have a child die. We prayed that God would comfort the family and friends of this hurting family. And we heard about the only One who can give us hope in such times. “Nothing can separate us from the love of God.”

Does it stop the hurt? No. Does it mean we don't grieve? No. Will we ever laugh and smile again? Yes, but maybe not just yet.

And was the original question answered? Yes.

We need a new anthem NOW!

It's a standing joke that most Australians don't know the words of "Advance Australia Fair", our national anthem. I don't think it's a great tune, and some of the words seem a bit odd - 'girt' always makes me laugh. But there is a line in the second verse which is no longer relevant, and so we should abandon the anthem.

This line reads, "For those who've come across the seas, we've boundless plains to share". But today our Prime Minister, the one who is elected to speak for Australia, has announced that no one who arrives by boat as a refugee will be allowed to stay in Australia. Instead, those people who have left their homeland for all sorts of reasons; those people who have risked everything to get to Australia; will be flown to Papua New Guinea where they will be 'processed'. And if they are found to be genuine refugees, then they will still be unwelcome in Australia.

There is so much that is WRONG with this decision, but I won't comment on that here.

However, there are two things that stand in my mind.
Firstly, we should abandon our National Anthem. It is now a joke.
Second, when we do have an election, who do we vote for now? The Labor party have made this decision, and the Liberals support it.

"For those who've come across the seas, we've . . ." Fill in the blanks yourself.