Dancing in heaven

Today we celebrated the reunification of a husband and wife who have been separated by the barrier we call mortality.  Now reunited, they watch over us, care for us and love us from the heavens.

Funeral homily for Geroge Tiernay

It seems just a short while ago that those who are part of the Tiernay family were gathered in this very church to commend the soul of George’s wife Gisele into the loving embrace of our God; now we have returned once again to the place where we so often meet with Jesus, this time to entrust the soul of our father, our grandfather, our great-grandfather, our friend into the arms of the Lord.

Yesterday at the funeral home, and I’m sure for many days prior, stories have been told and retold of the countless moments in George’s earthly life when he so generously gave of himself: stories of his childhood and teen years, his dreams and aspirations; stories of the war years; stories of the day he returned home into the embrace of his family; stories of his love for dancing, and for his favorite dance partner; stories of his love for music, and the joy he took in sharing his music with so many; stories of his love for children, and his endless willingness to spend time with all of those he loved.

Life was not always easy, but the moments of joy are remembered far easier than the experiences of challenge, yet it is the trying times that help to shape our hearts, our characters, and this truth was equally as true for George as it is for anyone else.  The wisdom of the Book of Ecclesiastes (Ecc 3:1-11) is the fact that we must all seek balance in our lives.  This can be a life-long quest, one that is never complete until the day we return to the Father’s house, but we do get glimpses along the way, and they help us to keep working at it.

At this moment in our lives, there is sadness in our hearts.  We know that this earthly life that we live will not go on forever, yet the moment of parting is never an easy one.  At times such as these, we must allow the Lord to help us find the balance: Do not let your hearts be troubled (Jn 14:1).  These words that he spoke to his disciples, he repeats to us.

We come together, we pray together because we believe that God sent his son Jesus to live among us; we believe that Jesus suffered and died for us; we believe that God raised him to life again and that he returned to the Father’s house, and we believe that the one who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus, and will bring us into his presence (2 Cor 4:14).  George’s physical body was ravaged by disease; it grew weaker and weaker until it could no longer keep him alive, but now his soul has been released and returns to God who created it in the first place.

Even as his soul now rests in the Father’s house, he still watches over us.  Human eyes can no longer see him, yet he is present to us, like the angels: guiding our steps, holding us and helping us to find the way that will eventually lead us Home.  You might say that George and Gisele, united once again, are now able to help us to put on the lens of faith.  Through this lens, we learn how to look not at what can be seen, but at what cannot be seen (2 Cor 4:18), the eternal truth that one day we will be reunited with them in the Father’s house: a place not made by human hands, a place that is eternal, in the heavens (cf 2 Cor 5:1).