Homily for the Repose of the Soul of Karen Jones
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not
have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic
powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all
faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give
away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do
not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient; love
is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not
insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in
wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all
things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. But as
for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as
for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we
prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an
end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I
reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.
For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I
know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And
now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is
love.
Matthew 5:1-10
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after
he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught
them, saying:
‘Blessed are the poor
in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are those who
mourn, for they will be comforted.
‘Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
‘Blessed are those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
‘Blessed are the
merciful, for they will receive mercy.
‘Blessed are the pure
in heart, for they will see God.
‘Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
‘Blessed are those who
are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
We are a peculiar people in the church. The focus on this service is not one of grief
and despair but of hope and love. We do
not wear the black of Good Friday but the white of Easter. This is an Easter service. A service of resurrection. A service that
recognizes the promise of eternal life.
We remember that even at the grave our song is one of Alleluia,
Alleluia, Alleluia. A service that
celebrates the promise of resurrection and of new life. A service where we remember that Karen has
gone to the place “where sorrow and pain are now more, neither sighing, but
life everlasting.” This does not mean
that you are not mourning Karen’s departure from this mortal life. It does not mean that you will not grieve her
leaving. But as the peculiar people that
we are the mourning and grief can be tempered with the knowledge that Karen has
escaped this mortal life in the promise of her savior that resurrection into
eternal life is real.
All one has to do is look at this service to see what Karen
believed. She designed this service
knowing that cancer was taking over and that she would be departing those she
loved. Karen did not want any lessons
about grief. She wanted only lessons
that talk about the love of God.
The first lesson – from First Corinthians is one that is commonly
used at weddings. In it we are reminded
that God is love. And that when we speak
and act if we do not do so in love then we are a clanging cymbal. A loud raucous noise. It is when we are able to embrace the great
Commandment and to Love God and Love our neighbors that we speak in the tongues
of angles. It is the promise that when
our work is done on this earth that we will be taken up into the eternal love
that is God. Karen’s choice to focus on
God’s love speaks volumes about her beliefs and her life. The love of God that is supreme.
The second lesson – commonly known as the beatitudes shows us how
God works. It describes an economy that
is so different from our own economy. It
turns our understanding of how the economy of the world is supposed to work
right side up. In the transliteration of
the bible by Eugene Patterson – called the Message he translates the beatitude
this way:
“You’re blessed when you’re at the
end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve
lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most
dear to you.
“You’re blessed when you’re content
with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves
proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up
a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
“You’re blessed when you care. At the moment
of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
“You’re blessed when you get your inside
world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
“You’re blessed when you can show
people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover
who you really are, and your place in God’s family
“You’re blessed when your commitment to God
provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.
When I read this version of the
beatitudes I see how countercultural they are.
They point us to the economy that is created from love and points to
Love. They remind us that our focus
should be on the radical acceptance of God and the radical gift of God’s love
to us.
Karen’s love of creation – her involvement with Native American
spirituality – as evidenced by Deacon Powell’s smudging with sweet grass today
even goes into Karen’s choice for the prayer that we will say at the Great
Thanksgiving. Karen choose to use Eucharistic
Prayer C – which some Episcopalians call the Star Trek prayer, which has at its
focus on God’s Good creation and our job as stewards of that creation – this
Island Home or Fragile Earth.
While I have known Karen for only a short time – first as an intern
at St. Matthew’s several years ago and more recently at the end of her life and
in both instances I saw the Love of God in her.
Karen talked about her journey into the arms of the church – as she put
it - and how it became more meaningful to her.
At St. Matthew’s over the years she became involved in various roles
including Sunday school, hospitality, and involvement with varied cultural
groups. Including with the ongoing
Hispanic ministry program at St. Matthew’s as well as the Native American ministry
group that used to meet at St. Matthew’s.
I see that Love Karen has for all in her son Adam and daughter in law
Jasmine as they gathered to be with Karen as she prepared to say good bye.
We gather today to remember the life of Karen Jones. We are here to grieve that she will no longer
we with us on this side of the veil. We
are her to mourn that she will no longer be there to call or to visit
with. But we can take heart that Karen
believed that she was going to that place where sorrow and pain are no more,
neither sighing, but life everlasting.
Karen knew that her body was failing her and that her time was coming to
an end -so she designed this service to remind us that God is all about Love. And that Love she shared for her family,
friends, and God’s creation is a wonderful thing.
Take time to mourn. Take
time to grieve. I read a wonderful thing
that said that grief is not about stages, or about reaching certain milestones. Grief is a journey. A journey down a river of love. A journey where you will be caught up short
in your love for Karen by something you hear, read, or even some distinctive
smell. A journey that will bring a tear
to your eye, a smile to your face and a warmth in your heart – sometimes all at
the same time. Welcome those
moments. And remember that Karen
believed in the Love that is never ending and wishes nothing more than for us
to bask in that Love just has she is basking in the eternal embrace of her
savior. For even at the grave Karen made
her song – alleluia, alleluia, alleluia!
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