Sermons
"So What Does Matter?"
Gracious God-May we feel your presence in our lives always-in your Holy
name we
pray; Amen.
Please be seated.
Good Morning!
Every once in awhile
-twice in fifteen years
-I get a call from God
to preach on the collect.
The collect is
the opening prayer
we say at the beginning of the service
-it is called thus
because its words
supposedly collect
all of the thoughts
we want to gather together
to keep in prayer
during the morning worship service. This morning's collect went like this
-Grant us, Lord,
not to be anxious about earthly things,
but to love things heavenly,
and even now,
while we are placed among things
that are passing away,
to hold fast to those that shall endure;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
"Grant us, Lord,
not to be anxious about earthly things,
but to love things heavenlyÖ"
Yesterday was one of those days
--actually this weekend
is one of those weekends
when I say to myself
-oh that's right-
this is why I became a priest.
Yesterday I had the honor of
officiating and preaching
at Christina Padilla and Charlie deKay's wedding.
Then from the reception
I made my way
from Hyde Park to Park Ridge
where I assisted at the memorial service
of a dear friend's mother-Beverly Tongue.
Now today we'll baptize
four little ones
and celebrate three Eucharists.
By my count
that's four sacraments out of seven
in less than twenty-four hours.
"Grant us, Lord,
not to be anxious about earthly things,
but to love things heavenlyÖ"
What matters? What really matters?
*** ******** ***********
Beverly Tongue was born in 1917
she died August 22, 2004.
She was 87 years old.
Her daughter and son in law
were extremely active parishioners
at the church where I was ordained
fourteen years ago.
When Susan and I first moved to Chicago
Barbara's parents, Bill and Bev Tongue
were very kind to us.
Yesterday at Bev's memorial service
her husband Bill offered a reflection
on her life and death.
What follows is my wholly inadequate
summation of his amazing words.
Bill is 89-
frail and stooped with age
-but his mind is as sharp
as when he was an economics professor.
He began his reflection
by saying that he wanted to make
four points about Beverly's life
-these points he believed
- would help us understand
how their marriage had lasted 67 years.
The first point he said,
would begin with her death
the second and third
would relate to their life together
and then he'd return again to her death.
First-he wanted to make it quite clear
to all that Bev died
of a massive heart attack.
Although they'd both just had
their annual physicals
and her tests and blood work was normal
-it seems, he said, much like Bill Clinton
-her arteries were clogging
and she did not know it.
She had some shortness of breath
and a stomachache-but no other symptoms. He has since learned
frequently women do not exhibit
the "typical signs" and instead
have unrecognized symptoms like a stomachache. Unlike Bill Clinton
whose hardening of the arteries
could, in part,
be attributed to a poor diet,
Beverly was extremely conscientious
about her food
-sticking to a low fat high fiber diet
But-Bev was not a big excerciser.
Just the thought of it
sent her scurrying to her recliner.
So Bill said-exercise regularly
-if Bev had she probably would have lived longer.
Second point.
Bill said
physical attraction and sexual intimacy
is vital to a long-lasting relationship.
Beverly never minded
when he would tell her
what a beautiful body she had.
And he said,
she must have liked me well enough
to put up with me for sixty-seven years,
plus the six years they dated
before they were married.
For any of you
who may be slow with the math
-that's 73 years.)
"Oh," said Bill,
"Certainly we had our moments
of disagreements and
our share of arguments
-but we always made up
-usually at night in bed.
Thirdly each person in the couple
should have a thorough understanding
of the family's finances
and to have a true sense of ownership.
Beverly, said Bill,
never wanted to work outside the home
for money
-although she was quite active volunteering for many community groups.
Bev would always remark
that she was spending Bill's money.
Bill always believed
that it wasn't his money
-but rather their money.
And he said,
"I am delighted
that women these days
are so much more independent
when it comes to money."
Lastly, Bill said
he wanted to end by talking
more about how Beverly died.
He said,
"I don't know how many of you
have ever had a near death experience
-but as a young man in college
I had one that completely changed
my sense of death.
It happened while riding on a bus
on a snowy mountain road in New Hampshire
-it was late at night
they were returning to the campus after a game.
On their way down a mountain
-the bus hit a patch of ice
and began to slide toward
the side of the road.
Bill was sitting by the window
on the side of the bus
closest to the drop-off.
All that stood between
the bus and the cliff
-was a thin wire cable.
A wire cable
Bill was quite confident
would not stop the bus
from plummeting over the cliff. So as the bus continued to skid
in one of those slow motion life events
-Bill resigned himself to an early death. As he accepted his fate
an abiding sense of peace enveloped him.
Amazingly,
the thin wire
did hold and was able
to prevent the bus
from sliding over the edge.
Bill said,
ever since that frozen night
in New Hampshire
he's never again been afraid of death.
And as he sat with Bev
in her hospital room,
holding her hand watching
her labored breathing
-he suddenly saw a wave of relief
pass through her.
He saw on her face
-the peace he felt
that snowy New Hampshire night.
Then
with something of a glow about her
-she stopped breathing and died.
(pause x 3)
"So," he said, "To summarize my four points--
1-Get lots of exercise
2-Make sure that your sex life is fulfilling
for both you and your partner
3-Make sure that each of you
understands your family's finances
Finally-"Go in Peace"
"Grant us, Lord,
not to be anxious about earthly things,
but to love things heavenlyÖ"
What matters? What matters?
Life and death
-commitment and connection.
The intimacy that is inherent
in these moments of transitions.
Rites of passage-public events
when we move
from one stage in our life
to another
-these are the essence
of what really matters.
So often in our lives
we get caught up
in the hectic pace,
the day to day demands
and mundane needs of the world
so much so
that we temporarily forget,
momentarily lose sight of
that which is truly important.
Birth, death, life long commitment
-times like this morning
when we will baptize
∑ Patrick Robert Hatzis
∑ Grace Elizabeth Hanson,
∑ Peter Robert Hanson
∑ and Zoe Olivia Neumyer
-it is moments like this
-rites of passages,
times of significant transition
when we are able to step away
from our anxieties
and remember that which it truly sacred
and utterly Holy. Thank God.
Grant us, Lord, not to be anxious about earthly things, but to love things
heavenly;
and even now, while we are placed among things that are passing away,
to hold fast to
those that shall endure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and
reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.
Amen.