JeFuneral homily for Lesley Bevan (44), wife and mother of three boys, 14, 11, and 9.
Preached at St Alphege, Solihull, 11th March 2009.
Reading: John 14: 1-7
In the passage of scripture that we have just read, Jesus is talking to his disciples at the last supper on the Thursday night before he died on the Friday. His disciples do have some understanding of what is about to happen, and they are appalled by it. Jesus is about 33 years old. He is at the height of his life, he has shown extraordinary potential to do really great things, and yet it is all going terribly wrong; it is all ending in death.
When someone dies at the prime of their life it is deeply shocking and disorientating. We are forced to stop and re-evaluate the way we think about life. How can it be that a loving God allows someone like Lesley to die?
Well, we could equally ask, “How could God allowed Jesus to die?” We know that God loved Jesus enormously; he called him “the beloved, the one with whom he is well pleased” (Mark 1: 11, 9: 7). Certainly it was not for lack of love that God allowed Jesus to die, and neither is it lack of love that God has allowed Lesley to die.
So how can Love allow such a thing? Well these are great mysteries, but one reason might be that there are better things beyond this life. What we lose in death, might seem very small compared to what we can gain in the next life. Certainly the words of Jesus that we read today, suggest good things in the next life. Jesus says, “I go and prepare a place for you” and “I will take you to be with me, so that where I am, you may be also”. This suggests that in heaven we dwell in the presence of Jesus, the one who loves us and who gave everything for us. Certainly sounds like a good thing. And certainly we can have hope that these things are true for Lesley too.
One of the scandals of Jesus’ death was his unfinished work. He seemed to have a transforming effect of the world around him, but he died before much could come of it. And yet, despite this, from Jesus’ life the church was born, and the church has spread right round the world and has transformed the lives of many, many people. And I believe that the same will be true of Lesley’s great work, her children. She always said, “I just want to see my boys grow up”. She might not have seen the final result, but it seems to me that she has given her boys very firm foundations. They know that they have been loved. They have seen and known a selflessness love, a courage, an honesty, and a devotion to family, that gives them a most powerful basis on which to build their futures. I am confident that they will be well looked after and will grow up a credit to their mothers legacy.
Let’s go back to our scripture reading. There is quite a lot in there about the hope of heaven, about Jesus preparing a place for us, and about being together with Jesus when we die, and this is all very reassuring. It gives us great hope.
But the scripture reading is also important because it tells us how this hope comes to be realised. Thomas says the Jesus, “We do not know where you are going, how can we know the way,” and Jesus assures him that he, Jesus, is the way the life and the truth. So our Christian hope is realised in Jesus. It arises from walking in the way of Jesus, following the paths that Jesus shows us. It arises from sharing the life that is Jesus, sharing our own life with Jesus. It arises from the truth, that is from the true relationship with Jesus, the one in whom we can trust.
So as we go from here let us rejoice in the great legacy that Lesley has left us. Let us offer to God the great suffering of her departure. Let’s look to Jesus, the way, the life and the truth, so that our hopes on earth and our hopes of heaven can be realised. Amen.
Showing posts with label truth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label truth. Show all posts
11 March 2009
11 July 2008
Funeral readings
This brief introduction to the readings at a funeral was given at St Alphege Church at the 1.30pm Funeral Eucharist on 11th July 2008.
Readings: Isaiah 43:1-7 2 Corithians 5:1-8 John 14: 1-6
Our readings today show great trust in God; complete confidence that Christ has conquered sin and death. They show a profound faith that death is now the gateway to eternal life.
In our first reading we hear from the so called “Second Isaiah”, one of the greatest prophets and poets of all time. Second Isaiah speaks the word of the Lord to the people of Israel at one of their lowest moments, when they are in exile in Babylon. Through second Isaiah God assures them that he has redeemed them. He will gather them together and restore them. They are precious in his sight. He created them for his glory.
Our second reading comes from 2 Corinthians. St Paul has been talking about our outer nature wasting away, while our inner nature is being renewed in Christ and prepared for glory. He compares our body to a tent (Paul was of course a tent maker) and he says that when we put aside our mortal body we take on an eternal building from God in heaven. Our mortal body might die, but we are swallowed up by life in God.
In our gospel reading, Jesus assures us that he goes to prepare a place for us in heaven where we shall be together with him. To get there Jesus himself is the way that we must follow, the life in which we must share, and the truth in which we must rejoice.
Readings: Isaiah 43:1-7 2 Corithians 5:1-8 John 14: 1-6
Our readings today show great trust in God; complete confidence that Christ has conquered sin and death. They show a profound faith that death is now the gateway to eternal life.
In our first reading we hear from the so called “Second Isaiah”, one of the greatest prophets and poets of all time. Second Isaiah speaks the word of the Lord to the people of Israel at one of their lowest moments, when they are in exile in Babylon. Through second Isaiah God assures them that he has redeemed them. He will gather them together and restore them. They are precious in his sight. He created them for his glory.
Our second reading comes from 2 Corinthians. St Paul has been talking about our outer nature wasting away, while our inner nature is being renewed in Christ and prepared for glory. He compares our body to a tent (Paul was of course a tent maker) and he says that when we put aside our mortal body we take on an eternal building from God in heaven. Our mortal body might die, but we are swallowed up by life in God.
In our gospel reading, Jesus assures us that he goes to prepare a place for us in heaven where we shall be together with him. To get there Jesus himself is the way that we must follow, the life in which we must share, and the truth in which we must rejoice.
26 April 2007
Funeral homily - The way, the truth and the life
Extract from funeral homily, preached 26 04 07
Readings "She is Gone" (see below) and John 14:1-7
A few moments ago we read the poem “She is Gone” which was taken from the order of service for the Queen Mothers funeral. It contains the line “or you can be full of the love you shared”. This reminds us of St Paul’s affirmation in 1 Corinthians 13, that Faith, Hope and Love remain. When we die we lose all our lose all our earthly possessions and our body returns to dust and ashes, but in the Christian Faith we believe our soul returns to God and in some sense its faith and hope and love are retained.
In the paragraph from the gospel of John that we read at the start of this service we heard Jesus speaking to his disciples shortly before his death. He said, “In my Fathers house there are many dwelling places…I go and prepare a place for you.”. This once again affirms the Christian hope that the essential part of us survives death and goes to dwell with Jesus. Thomas struggles to understand this and asks, “Lord, how can we know that way”. And Jesus answers, “I am the way, the truth and the life”. To us with our very material understanding of the universe it is not easy to understand this comment, but it seems that it is Jesus himself, the man who conquered death, who shows us the true way, and who shares his resurrection life with us. So this is our hope for ????. May she follow Jesus, the way the truth and the life. It is also the hope for each one of us. May we too grow in Christian love so that when we die the love may remain, and go to dwell with Jesus in one of the Father’s many rooms.
Readings "She is Gone" (see below) and John 14:1-7
A few moments ago we read the poem “She is Gone” which was taken from the order of service for the Queen Mothers funeral. It contains the line “or you can be full of the love you shared”. This reminds us of St Paul’s affirmation in 1 Corinthians 13, that Faith, Hope and Love remain. When we die we lose all our lose all our earthly possessions and our body returns to dust and ashes, but in the Christian Faith we believe our soul returns to God and in some sense its faith and hope and love are retained.
In the paragraph from the gospel of John that we read at the start of this service we heard Jesus speaking to his disciples shortly before his death. He said, “In my Fathers house there are many dwelling places…I go and prepare a place for you.”. This once again affirms the Christian hope that the essential part of us survives death and goes to dwell with Jesus. Thomas struggles to understand this and asks, “Lord, how can we know that way”. And Jesus answers, “I am the way, the truth and the life”. To us with our very material understanding of the universe it is not easy to understand this comment, but it seems that it is Jesus himself, the man who conquered death, who shows us the true way, and who shares his resurrection life with us. So this is our hope for ????. May she follow Jesus, the way the truth and the life. It is also the hope for each one of us. May we too grow in Christian love so that when we die the love may remain, and go to dwell with Jesus in one of the Father’s many rooms.
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