(Nov.
4, 1949 – Oct. 4, 2015)
Gethsemane
Episcopal Cathedral
October
8, 2015
Wisdom
3.1-5, 9
+ It is a true honor for me to be here this morning, to be a
part of this service in which we remember and celebrate this wonderful person,
Renee Alsop. When my dear friend, Fr. Mark, asked me to preach a few days he
ago, he said to me,
“because of your long relationship with the Alsop family, it
will be a moment of grace.”
It is a true grace moment in my life. I’ve always defined
grace as one of things God gives us that we don’t ask or even anticipate. And
for me, this has been one of those moments.
In fact, I’ve had many grace moments in relation to the
Alsop family. The first funeral I ever participated in, back when I was
studying to be a priest, was right here at Gethsemane Cathedral, at the funeral
for Renee’s mother-in-law, Louise, back in 1999. I knew Renee’s, father-in-law,
John, as well. I brought Holy Communion and would greet him when he was living
at Waterford (now known as Touchmark), and I participated in his funeral as
well.
Of course, a true grace moment in my life was officiating at
the wedding of Andy and Jessica. I, strangely enough, knew Jessica for many
years before as well, even before I knew the Alsops.
And of course, I had the truly wonderful honor of baptizing
Maddie just a few years ago.
So, yes, these have been grace moments in my life.
But, today, I will admit. This is a confession. I do not
want to be here. I do not want here to be here, preaching the funeral sermon
for Renee Alsop.
When a mutual friend of ours told me on Sunday that Renee
had passed, I have to admit that my reaction was not the reaction you would expect
from a priest, nor from a Christian, for that matter. My reaction was actually,
I have to admit, kind infantile. I said,
“You have got to be kidding me! This is so unfair!”
How, I wondered, did this person who was so full life, so
full of vitality, all of a sudden, not be here with us anymore? It is unfair. No doubt many of us feel that
way this morning. And that’s all right to feel that way. It’s honest.
Let’s face it: Renee had many years of life and love ahead
of her. She had years to travel, to spend with her family. There was so much
life ahead.
So, yes, it is horribly unfair. But, for those of us who
live by faith, who, like Renee, knew that life is more than just this life, we have great consolation
this morning. We simply need to shift our perspective, to see things
differently. All that we loved and will
miss about Renee—all that life and vitality and love—none of that is gone. None
of that is lost. Renee and all that she was to us is now in a place beyond this
sadness and loss, beyond the many tears that we will shed. She is in a place of light and unending life
and joy. And we will see her again. We will experience that love and joy with her
again. And this time, it will not end.
That is our consolation on this day, even in the midst of the
seeming unfairness of all this. I love that one of the scriptures we heard this
morning was from the Wisdom of Solomon. I love this scripture. There is truly
some great wisdom here. And when we hear these words, they really do speak to
us in our sadness over Renee.
“In the eyes of the foolish,” we hear Solomon sayd, “[our loved
one] seemed to have died,
and their departure to be a disaster.”
There is truth in that. Even for those us who might not consider
ourselves “foolish,” the death of our loved ones does seem like disaster at
moments.
Solomon goes on, “and their going from us [seems] to be their
destruction;
but[…] they are at peace…their hope is full of immortality.”
For Renee, and for all of us who have faith, our hope this
morning is full of immortality. We know that death is not eternal, but that our
life in God is eternal.
Solomon goes on, and his words are not only about our loved
ones who have died, but is also spoken to us who are left behind as well:
“Those who trust in [God] will understand truth,
and the faithful will abide with [God] in love,
because grace and mercy are upon [God’s] holy ones.”
“Grace and mercy are upon God’s holy ones.”
That grace and mercy
is, of course, upon Renee in this moment. But that grace and mercy is upon each
and every one of this morning. And with that grace and mercy upon us, we know
we have the strength to move forward, to go on.
At this end of this service, you will hear these very
powerful and amazing words:
“All we go down to the dust; yet even at the grave we make
our song: Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.”
“Alleluia” is a word that encompasses all our faith and hope
and mercy. It is a joyous word, that we can say even when everyone tells us we should
despair. We have been embraced today by God’s grace and mercy. And because we
have, we have faith to go on from the grave. We have the strength, and dare I
say even the defiance, to say, in the face of what seems to be loss and death, “Alleluia!”
Even here, now, even in our sadness, even here at the grave,
we say it, defiantly, “Alleluia.”
Renee’s life and love are too powerful to be defeated by
death. God’s grace and mercy are definitely too powerful to be defeated by
death and the grave. With that grace and
mercy upon us and upon Renee, we can say, “Alleluia.” And mean it.
I am grateful this morning. I am grateful that I knew Renee.
I am grateful that I could say she was a
friend. All of here this morning are grateful for all that was Renee was to
each of us, a wife, a mother, a mother-in-law, a grandmother, a sister, an
aunt, a friend. We should all be grateful for having known her.
But we can also be grateful that our relationship with her
does not end today. It will continue on and one day, it will be complete and
unending. I hope in that day. I look forward to that wonderful day. And it will
be a wonderful day!
The traditional closing sentences for this funeral from the
Book of Common Prayer are some very beautiful words. They are:
“Into paradise may the angels lead thee; and at thy coming
may the martyrs receive thee, and bring thee into the holy city Jerusalem.”
We are echoing those words today as well.
Into paradise the angels have led thee, Renee.
May all the martyrs have received thee.
Today, you have been brought into the holy city Jerusalem.
One day we too will
be received there as well. One day, we too will experience that wonderful
paradise. One day we too will know the unending joy of that holy place.
So this morning and
in the days to come, let us all take consolation in that faith that Renee is
now complete and whole and beautiful at this very holy moment and for every
moment to come from now on. Let us take
consolation in that paradise to which she has been received by martyrs and
angels. And let us be glad that one day
we too will be there, sharing with her in that joy and mercy and love that will
never end. Amen.
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