Facing the Storms of Life

            I once saw a saying that really spoke to me, “Be like Jesus, rebuke the storm, and if it persists, walk on it.” How many times have storms taken control of our lives? How many times have we forgotten that the Master of all storms is on our side? We forsake the God of the storm for the fear that something might happen to us during that storm.

            A special person in my life loves dancing in thunderstorms. One thing you must realize about me is that I tend to be a lot older than I actually am, so this concept of dancing in the rain is foreign to me. Storms are something that inspire fear, the fierce force of nature often seems to be a paradox of dancing. I am reminded of the hymn that was written in the 1960’s, “I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black it's hard to dance with the devil on your back. They buried my body & they thought I'd gone but I am the Dance & I still go on!”

         Friends living this life is an art, my dog Rusty is terrified of thunderstorms. One of things I have to do for him is cradle him when the thunder comes. There are people in your life that you will need when the thunder comes. People that will cradle you, people that will tell you that the storm will pass. People of faith cherish those special individuals for they are the very light of life present for us. Small incarnate gifts of grace.

            Dancing in the rain, the next time a storm comes I might try that. Life is all about learning that Jesus walked above the toiling sea. Life is all about knowing that Jesus Christ became human so that we might experience the reality of love in this life, even amidst the storm.

            The last stanza of that hymn I mentioned earlier goes like this, “They cut me down and I leapt up high I am the Life that'll never, never die! I'll live in you if you'll live in me. I am the Lord of the Dance, said He!” Friends dance wherever you are in life. Dance in the midst of death, dance in the midst of sickness and health. Dance in the midst of toil and trouble, dance in the midst of joy and triumph. To go back to the hymn, “Dance then wherever you may be, I am the Lord of the dance said he.” Simply and directly… When all has been said, and all has been done, life is about learning to dance in the rain. 

A Sermon on Psalm 23

A Sermon Celebrating the Life of Richard ‘Rick’ Morrison

Nicholson Funeral Home Chapel

July 26, 2012

Psalm 23

            Before Blowing Rock was settled, the windy cliffs of the area were home to the Cherokee and the Catawba Indian tribes, they were hostile to each other, and they were always fighting. Two star-crossed lovers, one from each tribe, were walking near The Rock when the reddening sky signaled to the brave that he must return to his tribal duty, and the maiden urged him to stay with her. His desperation in choosing between duty and love caused him to leap from the edge of the gorge toward the rocks below, while the maiden beseeched the Great Spirit to bring him back to her. The famous winds of the John’s River Gorge blew him back into her arms, and this legend about The Blowing Rock is still told today. But we’ll get back to that.

            Friends we are here celebrating. We may be mourning our earthly loss, but we are rejoicing in Heaven’s gain. Rick from what I’ve heard, was an only child in how he was treated as a young boy, but his love for his family, especially his parents and his nieces and nephews is something of great joy to hold in our hearts. The special relationships he had with all of you was something he cherished I’m sure. Something held deep within him.

            But unfortunately for all of us, life is transitory.  Rick made it to the 18^th hole of his life on July 22^nd. He finished his game. He counted his score and it turned out to be pretty good, he was a pro after all. Then in a sign of ultimate grace, he walked hand in hand with the God of life and death onto the next course. I played golf in high school and I certainly wasn’t a pro like Rick was but I know enough about the game to realize that it takes a special person to play that game and be good at it. It takes a certain quiet patience to be able to play. It takes a confidence in knowing that the club will meet the ball, it takes humility to know that you’re good at a sport. From what I’ve heard in my conversations is that Rick has all of these qualities and so many more.

            Friends Rick cared for people, he cared for the game of golf, he cared for the area in which he lived. So we can take consolation in the 23^rd Psalm when it says, ‘Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil’ In the midst of this mortal life we have an eternal hope. Whether that is seen in the reality of the golf course or in a glorious sunset on the Blue Ridge Parkway, there are glimpses of eternity in our time and our place and Rick saw them in what I consider to be one of the most beautiful places this side of Heaven.

            Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. When I was little, my mom always reminded me that you had to live in the valleys sometimes to make it to the mountaintops. Rick saw life both from the mountaintops and the valleys and that’s what made him special, he chose to spend his time in the mountains because he knew when the valleys come as they often do that he would be comforted by the God who created both the valleys low and the mountains high.

            Friends today you can have comfort, because God is present with you right now in these valleys. After the service here a small group will be scattering Rick’s ashes in the mountains. Let this serve as a reminder to you that God is present with us both when we mourn Rick’s passing and rejoice in his life. While we are toiling in the valley, Rick is celebrating in the mountains of a heavenly abode.

            Back to what I first told you about with the legend of Blowing Rock: Rick is gone from sight for us right now. He is no longer with us… Death thinks it has won. But death like the Blowing Rock doesn’t have the final say when it comes to love. One day in the future, you will be reunited with Rick. You will see his face and talk about the next 18 holes of golf he wants to play. You will smile, you will laugh, because the winds of death cannot keep you from the one you love. That is the beauty of grace. That is the beauty of God. All glory, honor and power be to the one who was, who is, and who is to come. Amen.

Making Our Yesterday a Beautiful Tomorrow

                 I recently watched a 20/20 special on Heaven, the afterlife and the last things. It was reminiscent of the work I’ve been able to do at Nicholson Funeral Home here in Statesville over the summer. Working with the Troutman family and their staff as a funeral assistant has been a rewarding and challenging experience.

            Every time I walk into Nicholson Funeral Home and greet the family of the deceased, as they are grieving, I am reminded of the book that I read a long time ago, “The Five People You Meet in Heaven.” In that wonderful book, Mitch Albom writes, “There are five people you meet in heaven. Each of us was in your life for a reason. You may not have known the reason at the time, and that is what heaven is for. For understanding your life on earth. This is the greatest gift God can give you: to understand what happened in your life. To have it explained. It is the peace you have been searching for.”

            While I am certain God isn’t interested in matching a book that a human wrote to the reality of Heaven. I started to ponder the five people I’d like to meet in heaven. The normal array of heroes from John Kennedy to Mother Teresa would be nice, but among those stands one person I’d have a few questions for. My uncle, died unexpectedly years ago. I’d like to ask some questions that demand answers. I think the beauty of the afterlife, everything we cling to as people of faith, is about answers to the questions. Maybe the snapshots of Heaven we see on earth answer that question, or maybe it’s an answer that will take the God of all to answer for us. Oh what a happy day that will be to have those questions answered.

            Friends until that day work in the fields making Heaven a reality for everyone. Live the good life and allow God to show God’s love through you. Mitch Albom continues in that book, “That’s what Heaven is, making sense of all your yesterdays.” I think making sense of our yesterdays is a wonderful idea, but we have to live today to be able to have yesterdays. Isn’t it sad to see people looking upward towards Heaven and forgetting to live on earth? One of the most rewarding experiences is being able to work at Nicholson Funeral Home and say to people who are full of despair, “One day, God will make things right.” We might not know what it means for God to make things right, but I’m willing to trust God enough to wait for that day.

            The Five People You Meet in Heaven captivates me with this wonderful statement, “The human spirit knows, that all lives intersect.” So the intersection of our lives with others is not some happenstance, not some coincidence, but a divine providence that allows us to meet those people we’d like to see again. God is love, God is all about getting us to Heaven by the life we live here. With that we say, “Thanks be to God.”