This is the homily I wrote for my mother’s memorial service which was held this past Tuesday.
At the Last Supper, when Jesus was gathered with his disciples, the evening before his death, he said,
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24
Many of Jesus’ profound spiritual insights, his understanding of his Father’s presence and work in the world, came from fairly simple observations. He observed lilies in a field, and birds flying above, trees and their fruit, and the cycles of planting and harvesting. He believed that the way in which the world had been created revealed a divine pattern that had been consistently woven into the very rudimentary aspects of nature. His confidence in his Father’s provision for daily needs came from God’s care for the plants and animals. Why should we not trust that our Father will care for us if he provides for sparrows?
Jesus’ statement about a grain of wheat needing to fall to the earth and die, so that it might in turn be fruitful, was what he told his disciples that night so they might believe in resurrection— that death does not have the last word. As he faced his own death, the simple truth that a seed must die in order to create a new plant, was his way of telling his disciples how to understand his own death, and to expect his resurrection.
Father Richard Rohr points out that we are surrounded in this world by resurrection. The pattern of resurrection has been built into the universe, from the rising and setting of the sun, to the passing of the seasons, in the cycles of death and new life in the plant and animal kingdoms, and in the rhythms of the planets and solar systems. All around us we see things come into being, grow old, die, but then a newness appears. Everything in its own way invites us to believe in a life beyond the one we now know.
Why should we think that the pattern of everything, as created by God, would not hold true for us as well? God is continually creating new life, and surrounds us with examples of resurrection, if like Jesus, we notice the seeds. They teach us to trust in a life to come.
When we have learned to see the natural world as Jesus did, we see his death and resurrection not as some strange and barely believable miracle, but a confirmation that God is doing one gracious work of bringing life to all things- we see it everywhere.
The beauty of our Christian faith, which is rooted in a grace-generated trust in the God of all wonder, goodness, love, mercy, and life, opens our eyes to embrace with joy and hope our lives as they have been given to us. In fact, God comes to us disguised as our own lives, showing up in everything and everywhere.
The way Jesus spoke of this truth was to say that God knows the number of hairs on our heads. In other words, God is closer to us than we are to ourselves. God knows us better than we know ourselves. As Paul says in Acts 17: 27-28, God is not far from each one of us because in him we live and move and exist.
The spiritual life involves learning that what seemed hard to find, perhaps far away, was actually near and easy to see— we just did not know how to trust it. We have to learn to see what is right before us, and actually discover God in whom we have always had our being.
Thus, our Christian hope is in the persistent love of God that pursues us throughout our lives, appearing constantly despite hurts, disappointments, and tragedy— to show us that love is far more prevalent than evil, and that God holds us close even in suffering. This love of God, testified to in scripture, and experienced in life, becomes our steadfast assurance and hope.
Today, even as we celebrate the life of Jeannette Newton, remembering what grace and goodness was given to her and that she shared with us, we do feel sadness. Death is not our friend. In fact, Paul calls death the last enemy which will be defeated. The cross represents our Christian hope, an ironic symbol because the instrument of Roman torture now shows that God, for our sakes, defeated death, triumphed over this enemy, and will raise us just as he raised Jesus from the grave. Now we may trust with joy Jesus’ statement that he is the resurrection and the life.
When we think about the life to come, what we call heaven, the best description seems to be what Paul says as he quotes the prophet Isaiah:
“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9, see Isaiah 64:4
All our descriptions of what it means to be in the presence of God, in heaven, fall short of the beauty of that blessed state. Imagine what would seem most marvelous to you— then delight in the realization that being united with God will be far better.
As someone reminded me this past week, one of the most comforting things about anyone has said to me, we will love each other better in the life to come than any of us can manage, even by grace, now. We will be more forgiving, accepting, and gracious with each other— for we will be in the very presence of true love, God himself, and we will be transformed to be as He is.
What matters in this life is not achievements, accomplishments, wealth, whether one was recognized or toiled in obscurity, whether one climbed some ladder of success or not. The only thing that matters, in the end, is who we loved and who loved us. The people who love us well in this life, are but drops from the ocean that is God, an endless source of love which overwhelms our hurts, disappointments, and the suffering that comes in this life. We have barely tasted true love, and the promise of growing eternally into that love is the hope that sustains us even in times of sadness.
Faith, hope, and love abide, Paul says, that is, they are eternal. All else of this world we will leave behind, and will not need. But our trust will remain, our hope will continue, and love will become all there is.
Our hope is not in what is, but in how even now we have hints of what will be. Our hope is Christ, for he is as we will be, whole, risen, radiant, and he welcomes each one of us when we pass from this life into the next.
May the grace of God be with us all. Amen.
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