St. Paul’s Church in
Bergen, Jersey City NJ
August 16, 2014
The Funeral of
Kenneth Maynard
Wisdom 3:1-5, 9
Psalm 27
Revelation 7:9-17
John 14:1-6a
The Beat of Love
As
his death approached, Jesus gathered with his friends for one last meal. Throughout his ministry Jesus had
warned his disciples what was going to happen to him, yet they couldn’t or
wouldn’t understand, refused to accept, refused to believe, that the One they
had recognized and followed as the messiah was going to die.
But,
gathered for what was clearly their last meal together, the truth must have
begun to sink in.
The
four gospels give somewhat different accounts of the last meal shared by Jesus
and his disciples.
The
passage we just heard comes from the Gospel of John.
In
this gospel, Jesus reassures the disciples that although he is leaving them,
they know the way – they know the way to God – they know the way to the place
where they – where we - will all be reunited.
Yet,
the Apostle Thomas speaks for all the disciples, speaks for all of us, when in
confusion and fear, and, yes, doubt, he asks Jesus, “Lord, we do not know where
you are going. How can we know the way?”
And
Jesus says: “I am the way…” Jesus tells the disciples – and tells us here today
– that in and through his life, death and resurrection, Jesus shows us the way
to God.
For
two thousand years or so we Christians have reflected on – and sometimes fought
about – what exactly is the way of Jesus.
But,
it’s really not so complicated.
The
way of Jesus is love.
The
way of Jesus is to love God and to love one another.
The
way of Jesus is love – not mushy, sentimental love, but sacrifice – love that
is revealed in giving away our lives for others.
Well,
we know that Ken Maynard understood that the way is love, don’t we? We know
that Ken understood that the way is love because that’s exactly how he lived.
The
beat of Ken’s life was love – this solid guy was a loving son and brother – a
loving husband and father and father-in-law – a loving friend and a loving parishioner
right here at St. Paul’s.
I
didn’t really know Ken very well until the past few months. The great ordeal of
his illness kept him from church for a long time. But, visiting him in
hospitals and rehabs and finally at home, it became clear to me that Ken knew
that the way is love.
And
it also became clear to me that despite the pain and despite the fact that he
certainly didn’t want to die, Ken was at peace.
He
was at peace because he knew that he had lived his life the right way. He knew
that he had offered unconditional love to his beloved wife, Althea and to his
daughters Velma and Patrice and to his son-in-law, Randolph. And he already
loved – and so wanted to meet – his yet to be born granddaughter.
One
time I asked him if he had any unfinished business. He stopped and thought for
a moment, looked right at me, shook his head and said, “No.”
Ken
was at peace because knew that he had followed the way.
The
way is love.
As
I got to know Ken, I learned some things I didn’t know.
For
one thing, he was a whole lot cooler than I had thought. I was surprised
about the motorcycle – and isn’t that a great picture of Ken smiling on his
bike? He had a real passion for motorcycles and cars and even when not feeling
well would get really animated talking about them.
Even
in his last weeks he took a keen interest in Patrice’s choice of a new car.
One
time he asked me what I drove. When I told him a Honda Fit, there was… an
awkward silence. He was polite about it but was obviously unimpressed.
And,
I also didn’t know about his love of music.
Ken
had no use for today’s pop music and pop musicians who didn’t or couldn’t
master the craft and appreciate the art. I can still see and hear him saying
the names “Lady Gaga” and “Kanye West” with undisguised disgust.
But…
you could really get him going about jazz.
He
loved playing it and talking about it and listening to it.
One
time near the end when Ken was in that hazy world between life and death, when
it wasn’t clear if Ken was aware of his surroundings, Althea spotted Ken
tapping his finger, listening and keeping time with Dave Brubeck’s “Take 5.”
And,
you know, in a lot of ways Ken’s life was like jazz.
The
beat of Ken’s life was love.
And
like a jazz musician, he stuck close to his band-mates, to Althea, Velma and
Patrice, playing close attention to what they were playing, attentive to subtle
changes, inspired by the music of their lives, and together the beautiful and
loving Maynard family made joyful music.
And,
man, Ken Maynard improvised.
Talking
with Ken it was clear that he was more than a little surprised at the twists
and turns of his life.
He
lived places he never expected to live – a guy from Harlem ends up in Jersey
City?! And he worked at jobs he never expected to work.
Throughout
his years, Ken kept his steady beat of love but he improvised all the way, playing
tunes he never expected by selling educational materials, by driving a bus, and,
finally, making the best of a terrible illness.
And
now Ken’s life with us here has come to an end.
It’s
a real and painful loss.
We
are going to miss him terribly.
The
music of the Maynard family won’t ever sound quite the same.
But,
the music of Ken’s life hasn’t ended.
Ken
is now in the full presence of God, joyfully playing mysterious chords and
glorious melodies that not even the great musicians here today can ever begin
to imagine.
And,
as we follow Ken’s example and love one another – as we follow Ken’s way and
improvise through all of life’s twists and turns, the sweet song of Ken’s life
will continue to echo through the years among us, and even among people not yet
born.
So,
let’s join Ken and follow the way of Jesus.
Let’s
live like Ken - and keep the beat of love.
Amen.
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