The Church of the
Incarnation, Jersey City NJ
March 14, 2014
Funeral Sermon for
Theresa Richardson-Reid
Isaiah 61:1-3
Psalm 23
Revelation 21:2-7
John 14:1-6
The Goodness of Life
The
passage I just read comes from the story of the Last Supper as told in the
Gospel of John.
Try
to imagine the scene. Jesus knows – and the apostles are beginning to realize –
that Jesus’ earthly lifetime is coming to an end. Soon he will be betrayed,
arrested, condemned, and killed in one of the most brutal ways devised by the
ruthless Roman Empire.
At
the Last Supper, the apostles – Jesus’ closest followers and friends – are
beginning to realize that things are not going to turn out the way that they
had hoped. Their friend, their teacher – the One they had recognized as the
Messiah – was going to leave them.
Jesus
tries to reassure his sad and frightened friends, saying, “And you know the way
to the place where I am going.”
But,
Jesus’ reassurance didn’t really help – at least not yet. I bet, especially
today, that we can imagine at least some of the pain, the confusion, the disappointment,
that the apostles were experiencing that evening in Jerusalem.
Certainly
we can hear pain, confusion, disappointment, and maybe even frustration, in the
voice of the Apostle Thomas when he questions Jesus:
“Lord,
we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?”
I’m
not sure if Jesus’ mysterious answer was much comfort for Thomas and the other
apostles, at least not yet:
“I
am the way, and the truth, and the life.”
Pain,
confusion, disappointment.
The
apostles are grief-stricken because they had placed their trust in Jesus,
because they had left their old lives behind in order to follow Jesus, because
they loved Jesus.
And,
the apostles are also grief-stricken because in their time with Jesus they had
experienced the goodness of life.
Yes,
the apostles had the chance to witness all the amazing wonders: to see Jesus’
healings, to hear Jesus’ teachings, to see other people’s faces light up when
they saw something in Jesus that they had never seen in anyone else before.
But
– and it’s easy to forget this - with Jesus the apostles had also experienced the
goodness of life in simpler, though no less extraordinary ways.
The
apostles had experienced the goodness of life just by being together – by
telling stories, by praying together, by eating and drinking, by singing. Jesus
and the apostles experienced the goodness of life simply by enjoying each
other’s company.
After
Jesus’ death, life just won’t be the same for the apostles.
And
I know, after our sister Theresa’s death, life just won’t be the same for us
either.
Unfortunately,
I didn’t know Theresa, and listening to this morning’s remembrances makes me
wish even more that I had known her. I didn’t know Theresa, but over the past
few months I have gotten to know her younger son Timothy. And I’m sure that his
goodness and faithfulness is very much a reflection of his mother’s finest
qualities.
My
sense is that when you were with Theresa you experienced the goodness of life.
She
enjoyed, celebrated, and shared the simple but extraordinary goodness of life –
family, friends, hospitality, travel, eating and drinking, singing, and simply
enjoying the company of family and friends.
And
so, just like the apostles long ago, many of us here today are pained, confused
and disappointed by the loss that we have been experiencing over these past few
days.
The
hard truth is that we will not be able to enjoy the goodness of life with
Theresa in quite the same way again.
But.
At
the Last Supper, Jesus reassured the apostles that if they followed the way –
his way - there would be a great reunion in God’s house where there are many
dwelling places – dwelling places prepared by Jesus himself.
That
great reunion began on Easter morning and continues for all eternity.
In
her life, Theresa followed the way of Jesus – Theresa followed the way that
leads to the great reunion.
And
now, Theresa’s journey on the way is completed.
And
so, today, we celebrate. We’ll even break our Lenten fast and joyfully cry out,
“Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia!”
Theresa’s
journey on the way is completed.
But,
for us, the journey continues.
And
just as Jesus offered himself to the apostles and to Theresa, Jesus offers
himself to us: “I am the way, the truth and the life.”
We
are invited to follow the way of Jesus – to love, to serve, to forgive.
We
are invited to follow the way of Jesus – to tell stories, to pray, to eat and
drink, to sing, and to simply enjoy each other’s company.
And,
if we, like Theresa, follow the way of Jesus then we too will complete our
journey at the great reunion – the great reunion in God’s house where there are
many dwelling places – the great reunion in God’s house where there are many dwelling
places prepared by Jesus for Theresa – dwelling places for us all.
Amen.
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