A reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians. [1 Thes. 4:13-18]

Transcription

1 A reading from the book of Proverbs. [Proverbs 31:10-12, 25-31] Far beyond jewels is the value of a good wife. Who can find a woman of worth? Far beyond jewels is her value. Her husband trusts her judgment; he does not lack income. She brings him profit, not loss, all the days of her life. She is clothed with strength and dignity, and laughs at the days to come. She opens her mouth in wisdom; kindly instruction is on her tongue. She watches over * the affairs of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband, too, praises her: Many are the women of proven worth, but you have excelled them all. Charm is deceptive and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Acclaim her for the work of her hands, and let her deeds praise her at the city gates. The word of the Lord. A reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians. [1 Thes. 4:13-18] We do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, about those who have fallen asleep, so that you may not grieve like the rest, who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep. Indeed, we tell you this, on the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not precede those who have fallen Mildred Helen Bullock Funeral Homily July 1, 2016 Page 1 of 6

2 asleep. For the Lord himself, with a word of command, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God, will come down from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, console one another with these words. The Word of the Lord. A reading from the holy Gospel according to John. [John 14:1-6] There are many rooms in my Father s house. Jesus said to his disciples: Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. In my Father s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way. Thomas said to him, Master, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way? Jesus said to him, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. The Gospel of the Lord. HOMILY: To say the least, I find myself in an uncommon situation: not presiding at a funeral, for this has happened hundreds of times before; but instead at the funeral of a parent, where I both must speak on behalf of the Body of Christ, the Church, and as a family member who has lost a loved one. Mildred Helen Bullock Funeral Homily July 1, 2016 Page 2 of 6

3 Nonetheless, in the name of all the members of this St. Joseph Parish family, especially: o Pastor Speicher, o Associate Pastor Fr. Lakra o Parish deacons and all the families o As well as the wider family of faith from my Archdiocese of Dubuque in Iowa, represented today by Archbishop Michael Jackels, o Sympathy to us all, in their names, whom mourn the death of my mother Helen. o I have heard of the wide prayerful support from so many at this time of loss, a support upon which we all gain strength and hope. In the name of my family, we are grateful. Before beginning my brief comments, I want to express my gratitude to mom s great and compassionate caregivers over these last weeks who do not seek recognition Dad, Bob, and Chris. Being at a distance was made easy by a confidence in your care. Under difficult circumstances, I hope you can rest in the marvelous love you showed. Well done! The scripture passages chosen for this funeral, it seems to me, speak of hope, for it is my experience that both my parents are exceptionally hopeful people. o And... while St. Paul encourages us in the reading Chris did from his First Letter to the Thessalonians by exhorting his fellow believers to hope when he says that, if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep, I would like to focus today on part of the first reading and the marvelous gospel. In the reading from the Old Testament Book of Proverbs, a particular indication of hope seems particularly fitting Helen Bullock. In the course of the author s praising the virtues of a wife and a mother, we arrive at this praise: She is clothed with strength and dignity, and laughs at the days to come. Here we find quintessential Helen: laughing at days to come. I m not sure where she got her quick sense of Mildred Helen Bullock Funeral Homily July 1, 2016 Page 3 of 6

4 humor. If she is like most of us, I imagine it came from her family, though I cannot confirm this as we never had the chance to know her parents, who had died before we came along. o An example of her humor, in this case, self-deprecating humor, which I witnessed in the last year or so: My good friend, Fr. Bill Joensen, and I had stopped to see Mom and Dad, meeting at a restaurant in Lansing. Fr. Bill, ever cordial, greeted Mom with the words, Don t you look lovely today, for indeed she did look lovely. To this greeting, a wry smile came over her face, as if she had detected a bit too much flattery, and, pointing to her face, said, Are you looking at the same face that I saw in the mirror this morning?, and then erupted in laughter. She also knew the words of the book of proverbs, that beauty is fleeting and reacted to this truth with humor. o I can t count the number of times mom would wax philosophically when, faced with a trial in life, or confronted with the absurdity of some part of our flawed world and fallen human condition, would say, Well, you either laugh or you cry, and then she would laugh. o Laughter one of the most divine of all gifts. Despite the claims of some on behalf of the laughing hyena, laughter is a uniquely human act and one that speaks of hope: that we can look at the trials of life and react with a dismissive laugh, that these problems will not be the final word. When Proverbs speaks of a wife and mother who laughs at days to come, he speaks of one who chooses to laugh rather than cry at potential struggles. The author speaks of hope. The author s words definitely characterize Helen Bullock. This message of hope continues with the magisterial teaching of Jesus in today s gospel, when he promises us that, after his death, he will come back to take us to himself, into the lavish heavenly dwelling that He has prepared, in is bounty and mercy, for all to whom he has given life. Mildred Helen Bullock Funeral Homily July 1, 2016 Page 4 of 6

5 o Looking back, this teaching of ultimate hope about life was first taught to me by mother from a surprising pulpit: a shopping mall not far from here. o I can t be sure of all the details, but I m rather certain we took our white 1963 Ford Falcon and traveled to what was then a relatively new development, the suburban shopping Mall in Ann Arbor. o I recall as a small boy being dazzled by all the sights: the shining store windows, all the people. I even recall that there was a store where you could buy dogs! Caught up in the many sights, suddenly I was overcome with an immediate feeling of dread when I discovered I was lost. I recall thinking, I ll never be found I ll be here forever! Fortunately, I was delivered from that vision of shopping mall purgatory when a kindly man came up to me and asked if I was lost. I wonder how he knew, I thought. Fighting back the tears, I said, Yes! o Promising to help me find Mom, I went with him and was soon reunited with her. At that moment, she taught me one of the seminal lessons of my life perhaps the most seminal when she said: If you ever get lost again, stop, wait, and I ll find you. At first you might think: certainly there was greater wisdom to come, from teachers, wise seminary personnel, insightful spiritual directors and, of course, astute Archbishops! But... with all respect, for me Helen trumps them all with this teaching: If you ever get lost again, stop, wait, and I ll find you. For isn t this the deepest truth in our lives, the hopefilled truth of our lives, that we are never totally lost if we can stop, wait, and be found? This is the message of Jesus in today s gospel: that though he was going to go in death and we might feel like lost children, if we but Mildred Helen Bullock Funeral Homily July 1, 2016 Page 5 of 6

6 stop our fears, wait in faith, he will find us. This is the truth of life that I have found repeated over and over again: the truth of God s mercy: that I am never a lost child if I can stop and wait prayerfully, that he will come and find me over and over again: find me by his strengthening spirit, find me through the instruments of his loving people, and above all find me with the sacrament of Eucharist we are about to share. I m only lost when I fail to stop and wait in faith where he promised He would find me. Last Saturday, Mom experienced death and appeared to be lost, at least to us. But, let us be clear, what happened that day was that she was found found by the mercy of God to whom she called out for the entirety of her life of faith. For we who remain, of course, the loss is real. But, let us be clear: she is not lost from the mercy of God, for we remember the words of Jesus: In my Father s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. His promise: in the end, he will come back and find us. Today we gather in faith to give thanks, that the same Lord that gave Helen life through her parents Joseph Edward and Mary Catherine and the same Lord who gave her new life in baptism and constantly renewed her life in the Eucharist is the same Lord who, according to his sure and certain mercy, has found her one last time and taken her to that eternal dwelling which he has prepared for all who trust in him. Lost to us, for a time, she has been found and is securely in the hands of a most merciful, most vigilant, most faithful Savior. May we who remain stop our doubts, wait in faith, and be found by the same merciful Lord. Mildred Helen Bullock Funeral Homily July 1, 2016 Page 6 of 6