As I was meeting Saturday afternoon with
William, Jodi, and Jennifer to begin to plan this service, the three of them
decided to give me some rather specific instructions. First, they wanted this part of the service
to be a “homily.” Those of you who are
not Episcopalian may not speak code, but that is really is the polite way of
saying, “Pastor, we want a short sermon, not a long one.” Ah, I see by everyone’s laughter such codes
exist in other denominations. That’s
good to know. Then, the three of them
began to share what this homily needed to cover. Chiefly, as many of you know, the family has
been through a number of dark clouds and tribulations. Human beings being human beings, and Church
people being Church people, not a few of us over the years have offered them
insipid or evil advice over the years as consolation.
For those of you who do not know the
family well, Bev lost a twin and older sister to a tragic car wreck. She lost a mother to breast cancer at the
ripe old age of 52, just like Bev, who died of lung cancer. Her brother John had a horrible automobile
accident, I believe, right after the service for their mother. And those are just the noteworthy tragic
events. On top of all that stuff they
still had to deal with the “normal” disappointments and vicissitudes of
life. For those of you who have really
worried about her soul in light of the fact she has absented herself from
church for about two decades, I ask you to mind your own business. You and I cannot know the weight caused by
those insensitive, if well-meaning comments.
The worst, as the family will tell you, are all those versions of God needed another angel now so He took your
mother/sister/etc. Close behind are
those equally nasty God never gives you
more than you can handle and the You
should be happy! He/she is in a better
place now/is not suffering now/etc.
Pretend you have heard such comments from a very young age. Would you look forward to going to
church? Would you look forward to
hanging out with people who say such nonsense?
While I am at it, let me pause for a commercial break. Do us all a favor, but especially those whom
you love: the next time a tragedy happens in the life of someone you love and
know, remember silence or I am so sorry
for your loss will do much more good than you will ever know. Don’t be like those who misrepresent God and
dishonor Him, driving people from His saving embrace. Back to the “homily” now . . .
Besides, many of you have shared with me
that Bev was a great person for prayer.
I have been told by a number of friends and co-workers that she always
seemed to have the most beautiful way of praying. I’ll let you in on her secret, now that she
is with her Lord: she received this little book, just like the ones in your
pews, that has tons of prayers. Some of
them find their roots in the earliest records of the Church. We Episcopalians, we Anglicans, are
encouraged to use them often. That Bev
did and many of you noticed tells me all I really need to know about her faith
in our Lord Christ.
Speaking of the co-workers, I was
instructed that the “homily” was supposed to minister to you. You all deal with death and disease all the
time. For all your expertise and
knowledge, all any of you can really do is put off the time of death. Eventually, the human body and human spirit
succumb. Despite your best efforts,
despite the best each of you has to offer, death is a constant companion, even
when it is one of your own. Where is the
Gospel in that? What good is it really,
if all you can do is lessen the effects of aging for a time? What good is it if you cannot heal even
yourself or a beloved coworker such as Bev or, as I later learned, Cathy? Your community has been hit hard these last
few days, and people have noticed.
Another instruction or request was that I
focus more about the good stuff in the Bible rather than the bad. Bev was a bit of a party girl, I am told. In fact, I am told she was sometimes the life
of any party she attended. I see the
nods. Given the pain and suffering in
her life, I cannot claim to be surprised.
Given the tragedies of her life, Bev likely realized that life was
fleeting, that every moment of every day needed to be savored, enjoyed,
celebrated. Plus, in the midst of some
of those inane comments I mentioned earlier, I trust that my predecessors here
at Advent, and others in her life, reminded her that we are called to THE FEAST. I know, down here in Nashville we all know of
denominations that like to present the Gospel as “repent or go to Hell.” In truth, the Gospel is so much more than
that. Yes, there is judgment,
consequence for whether we choose to claim Jesus as Lord or to reject Him, but
God is always inviting us, always wooing us to come to the great Wedding
Feast. Imagine the best foods. Think on your favorite drinks. Now add the best chocolate dessert you can
imagine. And Bev, were she able and if
she desired, would be laughing at our paltry imaginations. The Lord of Hosts, the Maker of all that is,
seen and unseen, has prepared this Feast for us. It’s way better than we could ever ask or
imagine. That, I hope, is the sermon
that Bev preached into each of your lives.
That, I hope, is the message that you wanted to take away from her life
and death as a servant of Christ.
Finally, did I mention this is a short
“homily,” I was supposed to preach the Gospel winsomely and with power, that
you all might be drawn to the love of Christ, just as was Bev, that you might
be encouraged to stand against the powers and principalities of this world, and
the evil they promote, and lay claim to that magnificent “Nevertheless!” Bad things happen to Christians. Horrible things. Nevertheless, we trust that God will keep His
word to us. Imagine how amazing that
wedding feast must be for Bev to have had every tear tenderly, lovingly wiped
away by her Lord. Imagine how it must
feel to be reunited with those whom she loved and mourned—all in the saving
embrace of her Lord and our Father in heaven.
Now, I see the elbow nudges and some of
the whispering and chuckling. Just so
you know, I gave as well as I got from William, Jodi, and Jennifer. I made them select the readings for
today. You want to see panic on
somebody’s face? Hand them a Bible and
tell them they knew the deceased the best and can pick five readings from
anywhere in there. Let’s take another
commercial break, if you all will permit me in this “homily.” If you go to church, take the time to plan
your own funeral service. It is a
wonderful gift to all those who know you, but especially to your family. In the days after the death of a loved, no
one wants to worry about which reading or which song. Just plan it and give it to your pastor. He or she will thank you, and your love ones
will be glad not to have that responsibility thrust upon them. Back to our “homily.” So, the three of them chose the readings
based on their love of Bev and a desire to help me preach a “homily.” Those of you who think our humor here at
Bev’s passing in a bit inappropriate or dishonoring should be relieved by the
verses chosen. Whether William, Jodi,
and Jennifer were that intentional when the selected the readings, I do not
know. I did not have time to ask them
this morning. I’m just going to assume
that they selected the readings intentionally, with each of you in mind. See, William’s nodding. The picked the so-called courtroom setting of
John 5. Who does that? But, as I prayed and reflected over the
selected passages, I realized John 5 was the perfect place for us to seek those
answers all of us here are seeking today.
The
Gospel lesson comes at the end of a perfect teaching for a group of doctors and
nurses gathered together. The statement
by Jesus comes after His encounter with the paraplegic by the pool of Bethzatha. We don’t use the word paraplegic much any
more. It seems to be a term that is too
negative for modern sensibilities. We
speak of special needs and those with wheelchairs. Such terminology, such euphemisms did not
exist in the Ancient Near East. The pool
at Bethzatha was a famous pool in the heritage of Israel. From time to time the pool would bubble,
caused by an angel. Whoever made it into
the pool and the bubbles first were healed of whatever affliction.
Now, pretend you are this paraplegic
man. Your friends have gotten you to the
pool. And let’s just get it right out
there, these friends are every bit like Jennifer or the people who let Bev use
their house as transitioned from glory into glory. This paraplegic man would need either to be
carried or to drag himself around by means of his hands and knuckles. Starvation would be a constant enemy. Personal hygiene would be one, too. Those who have lost the use of their legs often
have little to no control of the bladders or bowels. I see the nods of understanding and disgust
now. The paraplegic man would be utterly
dependent upon others for cleanliness, in a world where cleanliness was not
what we consider cleanliness to be. In
fact, caring for this man would have been costly for friends. They would have been ritually unclean for
tending to his needs. Touching him would
have meant they needed to go through a ritual of purification before they could
return to Temple to worship. For 38
years, this has been the life of this man and that of his friends and
family. And that man is that close to
God’s grace and healing. Every time the
pool bubbled, we can imagine his herculean effort to try and get into the
bubbling pool. Every time, we are told
by John, someone else beats him to it and receives God’s blessing. He was tantalizingly close to the healing he
so desired, and it was ever so close out of reach.
I suspect you doctors and nurses among us
this day understand that particular frustration. In my time with healers, I have heard all
kinds of frustration about the possibilities of healing. We none medical types will often say to you “Physician/nurse,
heal yourself.” If you are in our
families, we expect you to know exactly what we need all the time. Many of you in the healthcare field take it
upon yourself to be the healer of all your patients. It is more of a vocation than a job. And when the body fails or a drug causes a
side effect or we seem so close to a cure, you in the world of healthcare field
are ever so frustrated. I did not know
Bev in life before last Wednesday, but the stories I have heard about her from
co-workers and friends simply reflect that frustration. And when you are the ones who are sick, how
much more so do you want to be healed?
How much more so do you expect to succeed? For 2 ½ years some of you helped Bev fight
this cancer. No doubt some of you leant
her your best wisdom. She certainly did
not quit. When she asked for me to come
over, I expected to do the service we colloquially call Last Rites. Bev would have none of it. She asked for anointing and a prayer for
healing, and she asked for Communion. Still,
despite all your efforts and despite all her struggles death, in the end,
won. And yet, deaths like Bev remind us
all where true healing is to be found and remind us that death has not really
won.
Jesus comes up to the paraplegic man and
asks him if he wants to be made well.
The man acknowledges his problem.
He has no one to carry him into the bubbling pool. Every time he struggles toward the pool,
someone beats him to it and claims the healing.
So Jesus tells the man to stand up, take his mat, and walk. There is no fancy prayer or invocation. It is a simple series of commands. Suddenly, we are told, the man is made well
and walked.
There’s just one problem. Jesus did this healing on the Sabbath. We just don’t do that, right? God’s people are not supposed to work on the Sabbath. Sure, we may go to dinners after church or do
our shopping and depend on other people working on our Sabbath, but we are not
supposed to do any labor on the Sabbath.
They confront the man because he was carrying his mat. The man says he is only doing what he was
told. Some guy said for me to get up,
take my mat, and walk. So here I
am. They are furious that a healing
miracle has occurred. “Who did this?”
they demand. The former paraplegic man
does not know. He meets Jesus again and
learns the identity of the healer, and then he goes and tells all those who are
angry with him. Can you imagine the
scene? This guy has been crippled for 38
years and all that anyone notices is that he was healed on the Sabbath!
Jesus is then confronted by those in
power, and the courtroom scene begins in earnest. Jesus lays claim to the power and authority
that have been given Him by His Father.
All your favorite supernatural miracles, all the healing miracles, all
the miracles involving his power over demons, everything we read of His
miracles testify to His identity. Heck,
he just healed a cripple on the Sabbath!
If He was not special to God, how could He accomplish such a feat? Sadly, the Jews, like many of us, are simply
blind to these amazing works of power.
They miss this healing because it happened on a Sabbath. The miss the casting out of demons because
the swine herd is killed and is a threat to their economy. Only 1 of the lepers bothers to come back and
thank Jesus. The list goes on and
on. And that’s ok. Each person is responsible for their response
to Jesus. Each person who encounters
Jesus is responsible for their response to His claim on his or her life. Either we accept that He is who He said He is
and determine to follow Him, as best as we can in these failing, fleshy bodies;
or we reject Him as a con man or crazy man, a man undeserving of our worship
and adoration. Who is He for you?
I am loathe to force people to answer such
a question at a funeral. Emotions are
raw. Guilt and shame are present. People are easily manipulated. Yet I have been asked by some of you in
attendance where I think she is. I get it. We have a mix of denominations and,
therefore, a difference in understanding of what it means to be a “good”
Christian. We want the easy answers so
we can feel assured about ourselves. My answer
to all of you who have wondered that, even if you have not asked me directly
yet, is to quit worrying about Bev and to worry more about yourself and those
who are important to you. None of us can
do anything for Bev now. She is beyond
the reach of all our collective skill, all our collective love, and all our collective
knowledge. Besides, in the end, our
opinions do not matter in the slightest.
The One whose opinion really matters, the One whom were are reminded
this afternoon was given all authority, the One who hung and died upon that
Cross two thousand years ago—Jesus’ answer to that question really is the only
one that matters. He is the One who
judges the heart; He is the only One who knows all our hearts.
Still, I would be remiss did I not give
you all reason to hope. We just heard
that famous Psalm, #23. Even those of us
here today who reject Jesus as Savior and Lord know that psalm. If ever there was a person who walked through
valleys shadowed by death and suffering, it was Bev. As I mentioned a few minutes ago, a number of
you were struck by the beauty of her prayers.
Even as she seemed disengaged from the Church, still she was praying to
God. At the end, as death reached for
its embrace of her, how did she respond?
She asked for the Healer. Despite
the vicissitudes of her life and despite the nearness of her own passing, she
clung to the One who promised He would redeem all things in her life, even her
own death, even as she fought that death to end. Now, I am confident that she has received the
healing she so long desired.
Brothers and sisters, you are in a
difficult time. I get that. This, death, was not what was supposed to
happen. You have lots of questions. I understand that. Some of you may have a relationship with God
that can only best be described as “It’s complicated.” I get it.
More importantly, He does, too. Many
of those questions are better addressed in individual conversations than in “homily”
form. That’s why, in the end, He sent
His only Son. As determined as we are to
be faithful Christians, you and I fail all the time. So all He asks instead is that we trust Him. He did the heavy lifting, right up to that
Cross on Calvary. And to remind us that
these words He spoke were true, to remind us that all authority was given to
Jesus, to remind us of the Power present in Him, He was raised on that
wonderful Easter morning 2000 years ago.
And now, thankfully, as we stand at the grave of our sister Bev, we sing
our alleluias, trusting that all her life and even her death have now been
redeemed, and that, even as she is being greeted by those who went before, she
will be there to greet us when we follow in her footsteps, when we answer her
life’s sermon and claim that same healing and Healer as our own.
In
Christ’s Peace,
Brian†
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