The Way: Funeral Sermon for William M. "Bill" Foster

Grace Episcopal Church, Madison NJ
February 12, 2011

Funeral Sermon for William M. “Bill” Foster
Wisdom 3:1-5, 9
Revelation 21:2-7
John 14:1-6a

The Way

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 as the messiah was going to die.

But, that last time gathered around the table, the truth must have begun to sink in.

The 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 – the last of the four gospels to be written – probably around the end of the First Century – several generations after the earthly lifetime of Jesus.

That means this gospel is the product of God’s inspiration working through decades of Christian reflection on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.

In this gospel, Jesus reassures the disciples that although he is leaving them, they know the way – they know the way to the place where they – where we - will all be reunited.

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 offers his bold, reassuring and, yes, cryptic response: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life.”

And we’ve been wondering what that means ever since.

How exactly is Jesus the way, the truth and the life?

A big part of the answer, I believe, is found just a little bit earlier in John’s account of the Last Supper.

John tells us that during supper, Jesus “poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.”

After he was done, Jesus tells the disciples, “I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.”

The way.

Jesus is the way not only by believing in him, but by following his example – following his example of loving service to those who were closest to him and his example of loving service to those who were the least – the forgotten and the outcast.

We see the way when we look at Jesus and when we look at those who have followed him most faithfully.

We walk the way when we follow the example of Jesus and those who have followed him most faithfully.

And that’s why you and I are so fortunate to have known Bill Foster. We are so blessed to have seen right here in our midst this remarkable man walk the way of Jesus. We have seen Bill walk the way of loving service.

We have seen Bill walk the way of loving service to those who were closest to him.

We have seen the way in the profoundly deep love he shared with Lyn over more than fifty years of marriage.

I glimpsed that love one last time when I visited with Bill and Lyn at their home a few weeks ago. We all knew it would be the last time the three of us would be together. Bill was painfully thin and obviously failing.

But, he only acknowledged his own struggles by mentioning that he no longer had enough energy to stand and shave. Instead, he grew what I thought was a rather distinguished-looking beard – good-looking right to the end!

Instead of talking about his own troubles, he redirected the conversation away from himself – and to his concern about the toll caring for him was taking on Lyn.

We have seen the way in the quiet and deep reservoir of love he poured out onto his children, Beth and Jim and later, Mark and Vickie. We have seen the way in the love and pride he poured out onto his grandchildren, Kristin and Erik.

And we saw the way when Bill’s solid core of love and faith helped this family endure Beth’s wrenching and unspeakably sad final illness and death.

We have seen the way when Bill offered loving service to the countless little leaguers and to the students at Upsala and Drew, for whom he was both mentor and coach.

We have seen the way when Bill offered loving service here at Grace Church, where half a century ago Fr. Neiman, that great talent scout, spotted Bill and Lyn right away. Bill played a key role in the enormous project to expand this church building, making possible decades of ministry and growth.

He served the vestry and taught Sunday School. (And as anyone who has ever been in those positions can tell you – sometimes you’d rather was people’s feet.)

And for over fifty years he served in the crucially important ministry of usher. Thinking about all of those years of service, I’ve been wondering how much of this church’s steady and longstanding health is a result of Bill’s ushering? I mean, who wouldn’t want to be a member of a church where you were first greeted by Bill Foster?!

Finally, we have seen the way in Bill’s loving service to the forgotten and to the outcast.

You know that Bill was in remarkable shape. He was still coaching baseball until just a few years ago and was a regular at the Y until nearly the end. Now, if I were in my 80s and healthy, just about the last place I’d ever want to visit would be a nursing home.

Yet, that’s where Bill was each month as the crew from Grace Church offered its prayer service. That’s where Bill was handing out bulletins, gamely singing the hymns, or assisting residents who were very likely quite a bit younger than himself.

In his own quiet way, Bill was passionate about the work of the Community Soup Kitchen in Morristown. Some of the most powerful prayers I heard during my time here at Grace were the prayers offered by Bill Foster as we gathered - maybe with some trepidation - just before the soup kitchen doors were opened.

In his prayer Bill always reminded us of how privileged we were to feed the hungry – and how by feeding the hungry we were feeding Christ himself.

There in that soup kitchen Bill and we were feeding Christ, the way, the truth and the life.

As his death approached Jesus reassured the disciples that, although he was leaving them, they knew the way – they knew the way to the place where we will all be reunited.

Jesus told them, “I am the way, the truth and the life.”

The way is to put our trust in Christ and live a life of loving service.

The way is for each of us in our own way to get on our hands and knees and wash the feet of one another.

The way is for each of us in our own way to get on our hands and knees and wash the feet of the forgotten and the outcast.

We know the way because we have seen it. We’ve seen the way in the lives of people who have followed Jesus’ example.

We know the way because we have seen Bill Foster.

Amen.