Here is the text of the reflection I shared today at a Memorial Service held for a long-time family friend.
Friends and family members have gathered here today to remember and to give thanks for the life of this wonderful woman. She was baptized with the name Marjorie but we all knew her as Maizie. How is it possible to summarize a life such as hers in just a few moments’ time? One hundred years is a very long time: when she was born, the First World War hadn’t even begun. Guyana is half a world away from Europe, but in the century that has passed since that time, some would say that the world has gotten considerably smaller. Many things about this world have changed in the past ten decades, but one thing remains constant. Throughout her long life, God continued to call out to this servant of his with the gentle, tender voice that he uses to address all of us who are his disciples.
I don’t know for sure, but I’m willing to guess that Maisie was relatively young when she first heard stories about Jesus, when she was introduced to the person of Jesus. Like the first of his disciples, Jesus called also to her, telling her that she had been chosen from the day of her baptism to be one of his beloved children. Perhaps even as a young woman, she heard him whisper to her the same words he spoke to the disciples: See that you are dressed for action and have your lamp lit. Ever since the days when Jesus himself spoke with the first disciples about the kingdom of heaven, he has called his followers to share the good news of his love with others, and to be living examples of his love.
How many times did this woman of faith open her arms to welcome someone who knocked at her door, or who dropped in for a visit? How many times did she respond to the needs of family and friends? How many times did she offer advice? Each of us who is here today can remember occasions when she uttered such words for us, but few of us may know the number of times when she knelt in silent prayer, when she thanked God for the blessings that she was aware of, or perhaps when she was worried about whether she was truly living up to his expectations for her to be a woman of action and faith. At moments such as those, perhaps she also heard the words of Jesus calling her to stand ready, for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Today, as we pray our dear mother, our grandmother, our friend into the loving embrace of our God, Saint Paul reminds us that the life and death of each of us has its influence on others. Throughout the years that God granted to Maisie to live on this earth, she has shared with us her wisdom, her love and her spirit of compassion. Perhaps we can identify the lessons we have learned from her: these are the lessons that we in turn must now continue to share with others – lessons about gentleness in our relationships with others, lessons about quiet faith lived in trust, and lessons about love shared generously with all those who God places on the path that we must walk.
Standing before the judgment seat of God, Maisie must now give an account of herself. May our loving God welcome her into the joy of her heavenly homeland, and reward her for all her goodness to others.
Other family members shared their own memories of this wonderful woman, and toward the end of the service, I also shared the words of a prayer that she herself had penned many years previously:
A Wish: A Prayer with love from Marjorie Sutton
My greatest wish for my children, grandchildren, family and friends comes from a desire for your well-being, and that wish is that you experience love in all that you do. Not just any love, but the unconditional, healing, strengthening love of God.
With every thought of you and prayer for you, I wish you love. Love that is the strength of your convictions, the tenderness of your attitude and the wisdom of your decisions. Love goes with you where I am unable to go, gently guiding you to unfamiliar pathways.
Love is your assurance that you can make it through any challenge and come through whole and free.
Yes, I wish you love. Love comforts, assures, and enlivens you, for love is the Spirit of God living in and through you and reaching out from me to you. I open my mind and heart to the unlimited flow of good, of unconditional love. As I hold thoughts of your lives and my life, I behold good coming forth to us all. We will get guidance as to what is to be done as we focus on God's goodness. I know we will all be directed into loving, harmonious ways to achieve our goals, close and caring relationships, success, health, prosperity, happy and fulfilling lives. Amen.
Funeral homily for Marjorie Louise Sutton
Friends and family members have gathered here today to remember and to give thanks for the life of this wonderful woman. She was baptized with the name Marjorie but we all knew her as Maizie. How is it possible to summarize a life such as hers in just a few moments’ time? One hundred years is a very long time: when she was born, the First World War hadn’t even begun. Guyana is half a world away from Europe, but in the century that has passed since that time, some would say that the world has gotten considerably smaller. Many things about this world have changed in the past ten decades, but one thing remains constant. Throughout her long life, God continued to call out to this servant of his with the gentle, tender voice that he uses to address all of us who are his disciples.
I don’t know for sure, but I’m willing to guess that Maisie was relatively young when she first heard stories about Jesus, when she was introduced to the person of Jesus. Like the first of his disciples, Jesus called also to her, telling her that she had been chosen from the day of her baptism to be one of his beloved children. Perhaps even as a young woman, she heard him whisper to her the same words he spoke to the disciples: See that you are dressed for action and have your lamp lit. Ever since the days when Jesus himself spoke with the first disciples about the kingdom of heaven, he has called his followers to share the good news of his love with others, and to be living examples of his love.
How many times did this woman of faith open her arms to welcome someone who knocked at her door, or who dropped in for a visit? How many times did she respond to the needs of family and friends? How many times did she offer advice? Each of us who is here today can remember occasions when she uttered such words for us, but few of us may know the number of times when she knelt in silent prayer, when she thanked God for the blessings that she was aware of, or perhaps when she was worried about whether she was truly living up to his expectations for her to be a woman of action and faith. At moments such as those, perhaps she also heard the words of Jesus calling her to stand ready, for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Today, as we pray our dear mother, our grandmother, our friend into the loving embrace of our God, Saint Paul reminds us that the life and death of each of us has its influence on others. Throughout the years that God granted to Maisie to live on this earth, she has shared with us her wisdom, her love and her spirit of compassion. Perhaps we can identify the lessons we have learned from her: these are the lessons that we in turn must now continue to share with others – lessons about gentleness in our relationships with others, lessons about quiet faith lived in trust, and lessons about love shared generously with all those who God places on the path that we must walk.
Standing before the judgment seat of God, Maisie must now give an account of herself. May our loving God welcome her into the joy of her heavenly homeland, and reward her for all her goodness to others.
Other family members shared their own memories of this wonderful woman, and toward the end of the service, I also shared the words of a prayer that she herself had penned many years previously:
A Wish: A Prayer with love from Marjorie Sutton
My greatest wish for my children, grandchildren, family and friends comes from a desire for your well-being, and that wish is that you experience love in all that you do. Not just any love, but the unconditional, healing, strengthening love of God.
With every thought of you and prayer for you, I wish you love. Love that is the strength of your convictions, the tenderness of your attitude and the wisdom of your decisions. Love goes with you where I am unable to go, gently guiding you to unfamiliar pathways.
Love is your assurance that you can make it through any challenge and come through whole and free.
Yes, I wish you love. Love comforts, assures, and enlivens you, for love is the Spirit of God living in and through you and reaching out from me to you. I open my mind and heart to the unlimited flow of good, of unconditional love. As I hold thoughts of your lives and my life, I behold good coming forth to us all. We will get guidance as to what is to be done as we focus on God's goodness. I know we will all be directed into loving, harmonious ways to achieve our goals, close and caring relationships, success, health, prosperity, happy and fulfilling lives. Amen.
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