Homily

There are always emotions present at important events in our lives and usually more than one at a time. At a funeral, of course, one of the most prominent emotions is sadness, sorrow. We’re sad because the person we called mother, or father, or son, or grandmother, or friend, or neighbor or fellow parishioner—that person is no longer here with us. We feel that loss, each of us in our own way. This is so natural, so very human and it also speaks to the human dignity of the departed. We value our relationship with them on whatever level it may have existed. They mean something to us, and that’s part of the reason why we are here today.

I think it’s often true that in addition, we also feel sad in the face of death itself. We are always reminded that our time is coming when we also will be leaving this world.

There might be other emotions within us today. We might feel relieved that the suffering for someone we cared about is now finished. We might feel happy in remembering the good times we shared in the past. We might feel a little guilty because we don’t always treat each other as we should. We might feel kindly because we can forgive the faults of others who have not always treated us as they should.

Emotions are a part of our lives and they can be good and helpful, or distracting and harmful. We should work with them or against them in the best way that we can. Funerals are emotional events. But we are not here today to serve our emotions, but rather to serve Jean, to serve one another, and most importantly we are here to serve the Lord.

We serve one another by comforting those who are in sorrow. That is most obvious. But more than that we are here to serve Jean by praying for the repose of her soul. We ask the Lord to pardon her sins, to erase any imperfection or spiritual lacking that might keep her from her heavenly home. This is something she cannot do for herself, but it is our duty in Christian charity, and it is our privilege as members of the Body of Christ and our final act of friendship to pray for her soul. So, let us pray for Jean, and not just today but in the days ahead as well, and let us help her reach that place before the throne of her Lord where there is no pain, sorrow or mourning.

And, most important of all, we are here today to serve the Lord and offer Him praise for His great goodness to us and for the gift of grace He bestowed upon Jean. How easy it is to get caught up in a world where Christ is not recognized and where His love for us is brushed aside by our own busy-ness and lack of care. What are our lives worth if they are not leading us to Jesus and kingdom of God? How easy to forget our own souls and how easy to forget He Who came to save us. So then let us worship and give thanks to the Lord today for giving to Jean, and to us, more than we ever deserve on our own—and beg Him to take her and, when it is His will, to take us also, into eternal life with Him.