St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church, Owings Mills MD
April 10, 2023
The Funeral of James Piper, III
Lamentations 3:22-26, 31-33
Psalm 121
Revelation 7:9-17
John 14:1-6a
A Man of New Life
Today’s Gospel lesson might be a little jarring for us to hear on this day.
After all, just yesterday we Christians celebrated the great feast of Easter, the day that is all about new life.
But our Gospel lesson takes us back to Holy Week, back to the Last Supper, back to when Jesus and his friends gathered for one final meal.
Jesus had been predicting his death for some time, but you know how it is.
Even with a lot of warning, it’s hard to accept that someone we love is going to suffer and die.
Jesus tried to reassure his friends that he was going to prepare a place for them – and that they knew the way to that place of reunion.
I’m sure that none of the disciples understood what Jesus was talking about, but It’s only Thomas who’s bold enough to admit that, actually, Lord, we do not know the way.
To which Jesus responded, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
I’m sure that didn’t really clear things up, either.
But, a few days later, maybe the disciples began to understand.
Easter is all about new life.
And, I think you’ll agree, our beloved Jim Piper was all about new life, too.
Jim was an Easter guy - a man of new life.
I am deeply honored to have the opportunity to share a few words with you this morning.
But, to be honest, I also feel a little… shortchanged.
You see, I’ve only been here for a little less than two years and so I didn’t have the chance to know Jim for anywhere near as long as most, if not all, of you did.
But, even in that relatively short time, I came to admire and love Jim, just like all of you.
We met on my first Sunday here – when I met a lot of people for the first time, making my memories of that day kind of blurry.
But I remember Jim and Mimi walking up the path to greet me with warm smiles. Jim told me how long he had been a parishioner – his whole life – and how much St. Thomas’ meant to him.
But, while Jim was certainly proud of his heritage – and his heart was full of many fond memories – the truth is he was passionate about engaging with people right here and now – and, perhaps remarkably for a man of his years, he was excited about the future.
I remember early on in my time here, we invited parishioners to a Zoom meeting to talk about our church outreach efforts.
Jim and Mimi were there and Jim urged us to get involved with ReBUILD Metro and its remarkable work Baltimore City, renewing neighborhoods, house by house, block by block.
Jim was a man of new life.
Jim had seen a lot of priests come and go in this place and yet he genuinely cared about me and my work, and he wanted to help me be successful.
So, he did for me what he did for so many others – he connected me with people he thought I should know.
So one day he picked me up and drove me down to the city for a memorable lunch with his nephew, James. And after that lunch, he took me on a personal tour of the city, pointing out landmarks he thought I should know, giving me the lay of the land.
At one point in our travels, road construction forced us to follow a detour.
After a couple of minutes of quiet, Jim turned to me with a big smile and said, “I don’t think I’ve ever been on this street before!”
That was really saying something, I know.
The little adventure of it – the newness of it – pleased him.
Jim was a man of new life.
And that was true right to the end.
One time, I guess about a month ago, I visited him in the hospital. He’d been enduring ups and downs and I could tell he wasn’t feeling great. And yet, he still wanted to hear all the latest news from St. Thomas’.
“And what’s happening with outreach?” he asked.
And sure enough, he brought up ReBUILD Metro, yet again.
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve learned so much about Jim, about his life and his legacy – the love that he shared with Mimi and with Jenepher, Loring, and Elizabeth, and with his whole family – his deep bonds of friendship with so many – his passion for music, a passion he shared right here as a member of our choir for many decades – his commitment to mentoring – his dedication to the Irvine Nature Center, and on and on.
Jim really was a man of new life.
I was struck by the fact that Jim died on the Saturday before Palm Sunday, the day before the start of Holy Week, that solemn time when we Christians remember Jesus’ suffering and death.
Somehow, it seemed appropriate that Jim would be excused from Holy Week – there would be no more suffering for him.
It seemed appropriate that Jim – this man of new life – would get to skip ahead to Easter – moving on to the place prepared for him by Jesus himself.
For Jim, it’s the best Easter ever – it’s Alleluia forever – it’s new life with God.
For us here today, the Easter flowers and the glorious music, and the presence of so many people who loved Jim, and the reception in a little while over at Irvine, all of that will hopefully comfort us, at least a little.
But we will surely miss Jim until that great day when we are reunited.
Long ago, the Apostle Thomas said to Jesus, “Lord, we do not know the way.”
But, actually, Thomas did know the way.
And we know the way, too.
With God’s help, the way is to be a person of faithfulness, kindness, humility, generosity – a person who plants seeds and delights in watching them grow.
The way is to love.
The way is to be a person of new life.
Jim Piper, he knew the way – and he sure did show us the way.
Amen.
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