Ashes

Here is my Facebook post of August 24, 2019.

Three weeks ago my son, Daniel Capes, died. He was 36 years old. His wife, Jenel Capes, asked us to pick up his ashes. We did so last week. These ashes are all that remain here of the life Cathy and I created in 1983. I realize we are more than ashes, but every experience we ever had of Daniel was in this body. Every sight of him. Every sound of him. Every wisecrack. Every smile. If the Christian doctrine of incarnation tells us anything, it tells us that bodies matter, that the material carries sacredness within every particle of dust and ash. Below is a picture of me at 27 holding my son for the first time. He was only minutes old. Son, you have left a Daniel-sized hole in our hearts, which nothing in this world can satisfy.