Margaret (Penny) Hamilton - Funeral Sermon
Penny Hamilton
I want to paint an image for you. Can you imagine yourself as a little child? One day you get hurt or you lose something and the world seems to spin and everything seems wrong, when all of a sudden your mom or dad, pick you up in their strong arms. You feel their warmth, their strength, their faith and even before they say anything you know it is going to be alright. You know this hurt or this loss will pass because you are supported by someone bigger than it.
Now, we aren’t children anymore and I’m sure for most of us no one picks us up quite like this, but even still there is something comforting and appealing about this image. We are independent, we can do most things for ourselves, yet oftentimes we want someone to look after us and most of us need a reminder that it will all be okay.
It is hard to find people in our world today that will take care of us quite like this. There are few people that will go out of their way to show us that we are loved, we are taken care of and that everything will be alright. The little bit I know about Penny tells me that she was often this kind of person. She was someone you could trust in. She would go out of her way, even to the point of sacrifice to make sure that someone was taken care of. She has a Godly, Spirit-filled gift for hospitality, generosity and self-giving, that helped everyone that met her see at least a portion of God’s immense love and generosity.
What the parent did for the child in our first image or what Penny did for so many of us, is exactly what God wants to do for us to. There is a reason he is so often called a Father, because he is our parent, but also wants us to turn our face to Him, so that he might live out that Fatherhood and so we might be his child. He has always wanted to take care of us, to protect us, to show us the way, but we have to trust him enough. We have to trust ourselves to his arms, his warmth, his strength and faithfulness.
Psalm 23 is this beautiful poem about how God provides for us. He wants to lead us to lands and waters of immense peacefulness. He wants to guide us to a table of bounty, where there is always enough. He wants to take away all of our fears. Notice though, that this poem doesn’t pretend that things don’t go wrong - it speaks of walking through and being overshadowed by death, being surrounded by our enemies and evil. It is in the midst of a scary, tumultous, deadly world that God wants to pick us up in his arms and take care of us. Whoever wrote this psalm knows and has experienced this immense love, because they said I can live in peace even when surrounded by death, I can eat bounty even surrounded by enemies, and I will fear no evil, why? Because the Lord is with me, his rod and his staff they comfort me. Someone even his guidance and punishment can be immensely comforting compared to the dangers and evil of the world.
The disciples in our gospel today, were quite literally facing one of their best friends and their greatest hopes death. Only hours later Jesus would be arrested, only a day later he would be tortured, crucified and die. We can only imagine what they were feeling, yet Jesus says to them, “Do not let your hearts be troubled, believe in God, believe also in me”. Jesus could say this because he knew that he would overcome all of the pain, isolation and death. He would exit out the otherside and offer us a far greater life than we could have imagined otherwise. The power of the cross of Christ is like the ultimate parental hug. It overcomes all of that loss, all of that hurt and gives us hope, because we know we have someone far greater than all of our troubles and we know we have a loving parent that wants to do it too.
Jesus forever wanted to remind us of his love and so he gave us the cross where his arms were nailed wide open ready to receive us. Jesus forever wanted to remind us of the power of his love, so he gave us the empty tomb where all death and suffering was swallowed up and so all that remains is Jesus welcoming us home.
In Penny, we have an amazing gift of love and hospitality that in itself is only a taste of what Jesus has for us, even now. If you are a long time Christian, I welcome you to turn to Jesus and rest even more in that faith. If you are just starting out, or not sure what you believe, I welcome you to find some time alone, turn off the lights, and turn to God’s presence. He is there and he longs to welcome you home, so that you might know his love and peace that is far greater than anything else in this world. AMEN
