Today, we celebrated the Mass of the Resurrection for the newest resident of his eternal Home. His family and friends, and colleagues of his children and grandchildren gathered at the church this morning for the celebration, and then they shared a meal together before setting out on their pilgrim way.
Homily prepared for the Mass of Resurrection
Celebrated in memory of William Davis
Dear
friends, we are here in this church today to pray with and for Isabel’s beloved
husband, Bill, the father of four children who he loved very deeply, the
grandfather of nine grandchildren and great grandfather to six little ones who
knew him best as Grandpa whiskers. In
preparation for this celebration, I met yesterday with some of the family, and
they told me about the fact that Bill and Isabel lived in various places in
Northern and Southern Ontario during their married life. As the stories were recounted, I came to
understand Bill as a person who knew the importance of relationships. Some of these relationships were cultivated
while he was in the working world, and others were formed and strengthened on
the golf course, around the card table, over a glass or two of ‘refreshment’. The places and circumstances where the
relationships began was only the beginning.
Over time, words were spoken, stories were told and retold,
relationships were established and given time and occasions to grow.
It
is perhaps fitting then that we should gather here to give thanks for the gift
of this man’s life. Words were an
important part of his life, so how fitting is it that he should celebrate the
transition from this world to the next in the presence of the one who we refer
to as the Word (with a capital W). Jesus’
words, spoken to the disciples, speak to the hearts who grieve today. The words of scripture speak to our souls
today, encouraging us to see in this encounter the truth that the life and death of each of us has its
influence on others. Bill’s life,
his love for his family, his deep caring for every visitor and guest, his
concern for every customer, his compassion for those who he called friends, are
all part of the legacy he leaves for us today.
Each person who experienced his care is privileged to count him or
herself as a beneficiary of Bill’s generosity, just as each of us who has come
to know Jesus can count ourselves as privileged to be privy to the inheritance
he has left us.
Jesus
and Bill both used words to tell stories, to unite people, to share their
hearts, their care and their love with others.
When Jesus spoke to the crowds, telling them about the love of the
Father that is reserved for all of us, he promised eternal life. This is the
gift that Jesus offers to all of us – eternal life. This is the reason why we gather here today –
to celebrate the fact that Bill is now freed from the confines of physical
ailments, and free to enjoy the fullness of life in the presence of our
God. At the moment of death, he stands
before the judgement seat of God, but this has never been meant to be a fearful
experience, because Christ died for us, he rose again to life, and in the light
of His resurrection, we all have the promise of eternal life and everlasting
love. Now, and for all eternity, Bill
can hear the voice of the Son of God
who is the master story teller, the voice that speaks to his eternal soul,
filling it with life from the source of all life.
What
then can we learn from the experience we are living today? There is wisdom to be gleaned from the
lessons Bill has taught – the wisdom that comes from a heart that always knew
how to speak with people, to make room for them, to listen to their stories and
to share the joys and struggles of life and faith with them. Each of us can learn to do the same. Even at times when all physical strength is
gone, there is still reason to hope, because the true source of our strength,
the true reason for our hope comes from the Lord, and God will never leave
us. He surrounds us constantly with
deep, abiding, life-giving love. He
enfolds us each morning with his kindnesses, renewing his promise of
never-failing faithfulness. Even as he
welcomes Bill home today, our God waits for each of us, for each of us will
leave this church today, and when we do, we will continue the journey of this
life, until the day that we too will stand before the judgement seat of God, to
be enwrapped in his love, to know the fullness of his love, and to hear him say
to us the words for which we so deeply long: whoever listens to my words, and believes in the One who sent me, has
eternal life; he has passed from death to life.
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