Funerals should be worship services of celebration and remembrance. The person whose death has called for the service plays a huge role in the nature and content of the service. Of coarse, the Gospel is always proclaimed and celebrated. It is especially a joyful occasion when the life of the person whose funeral it is responded to the Gospel in a way that his/her life is a witness to the Gospel being proclaimed. We had a full scale demonstration of that last week here at Christ Church, Memphis. We buried Horace Branch and the service of celebration and rememberance was inspiring and challenging. There was meaningful liturgy, spirited singing, powerful preaching by one of our minusters, and two witnesses. I was one of the witnesses. When I awoke on the morning of the service and began to think of my witness, without hesitation I tell you, I began to smell fresh baked bread. No, Jerry hadnt gotten up early and baked bread (in fact, she doesnt bake bread). If the sense of smell can be imagined, thats what it was. And I knew the source of my imagination. Back in the mid eighties, when I was Senior Minsiter at Christ, we had a very ambitious, challenging buidling program that demanded the participation of everyone. Horace was not working then, but as much as anyone else, maybe more than most, he wanted to participate. He made a three year pledge, which he intended to pay by baking and selling bread...a bold and generous move. He paid that three year pledge in one year...his baking paid off. But more. I learned that another person, a very successful, nationallly known dentist, made a huge pledge..far larger than he intended, because if Horace could bake bread, he could add to the pledge he would normally make his income from speaking engagements. Antoine de Saint-Exupery once said, If you want to build a ship, dont drum up people together to collect wood and dont assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. I thought of that as we celebrated Horaces faith and life. He longed for the immensity of the sea and baking bread was just an expression of that longing. For over a year before Horace died, he moved up and down the hallways of our church, with a contagious smile and an outsretched hand of greeting to everyone around...lighting the space in which he moved with joy and encouragement. It was easy for me to say in my witness that no wheel chair limits Horace now, and when I think of him in the days ahead, I have an idea, Ill smell the aroma of fresh baked bread.
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 18:20:36 +0000
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