A Homily in Honor of Sandy and Renee

God bless the broken road. It seems that the broken things are things that God. Vance Hanver puts it this way, “God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter the Apostle, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.”

            God bless the broken road. If you’ve ever been along the Blue Ridge Parkway, you see that the rock formations, rocks we consider to be some of the toughest, strongest elements on earth are full of brokenness and cracked edges. Sandy and Renee took a leap of faith; they gave love a chance after love had in fact in their separate lives, broken. But the brokenness of love isn’t like the rocks of the earth that crack and chip off. Sure, love may be hurt, but it is as resilient, like a flame that just won’t go out. It catches fire and recreates, it restores the lives that have broken into something beautiful.

            God bless the broken road. Renee left everything she knew, every dream, every reality she had ever known for a chance at a new beginning. Sandy for all intents and purposes had lost much of what he had built in an established career and life in Virginia. But what changes with us when we love is that love gives us the opportunity for the things of this earth, the trials and tribulations to become strangely dim in the light of love. In the light of love, leaving home and a career and what we had known for a chance at love is a risk. But for Renee and Sandy, that risk paid off.

            God bless the broken road. How many times have we spent our lives just passing through? How many times have we given up because the going got tough? When Jesus gave himself fully and completely, the night before he died took bread and broke pieces off and gave them to his disciples. When the supper was over he took a cup of wine, wine that had been grapes that were crushed. But the wheat that made that bread, the grapes that made the wine were destroyed by themselves, when they were put together they became the body and blood of our blessed Savior.

            God bless the broken road. That sacrament we still celebrate even to this day of brokenness and new beginnings is an example for Sandy and Renee of true, unconditional, abiding love. “How can we name a love that weakens heart and mind, in dwelling all we do or see or know or wish to find? Within our daily world, in every human face, Love echoes round and God is found within the common place.”

            God bless the broken road. Sandy and Renee are experiencing a love that God has ordained for us to experience. They are experiencing something beyond measure, priceless in value, and beautiful in existence. Within the context of marriage God has shown that there is potential for love, harmony and joy. That doesn’t mean that love doesn’t come without trials and tribulations. However Sandy and Renee can look back on that broken road, and realize that it led them to each other. God bless the broken road that led me straight to you.

 

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.”

Pentecost

           Sunday in the liturgical calendar of the church year is Pentecost Sunday. The feast of Pentecost is a holy day in the church that commemorates and celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit onto the apostles of the church after Jesus’ ascension. The church is to be decorated in festive reds, oranges and yellows to symbolize the tongues of fire that were over the apostles’ heads during the Pentecost experience. During this experience, which can be found in Acts, the apostles started speaking in different tongues.

            Some of the tongues that were spoken were from regions such as the Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs. I bring this to your attention to point out the diversity of faith, which goes beyond just the Jewish community of the day. The grace of God was extended to everyone in attendance and beyond.

            All the way in Boone I have heard stories of the Klu Klux Klan meeting that will occur in Northern Iredell County tomorrow (Saturday). I would encourage each of you to be in prayer for members of this organization, that God might be at work in their lives, changing, restoring and transforming the broken nature of racism that we see.

            I have been an advocate throughout my column’s articles on an inclusion of love and an exclusion of hate, but it seems that some residents of the great county of Iredell feel that hate is more important than love. How do we respond? How do we fight the evil powers of this world?

            We stand, together. Beyond the lines of denominationalism, nationality, race, gender, and clan, we give a resounding yes to the world’s no. Where the world says we can’t, we say we can with the power of the Holy Spirit that was present those many millennia ago.

            Tomorrow (Saturday) I will be praying for the people who will participate in the cross-burning, I will pray that the same grace that transformed us to transform them, so that one day the transformation in all our lives will be complete. I look to a wonderful man by the name of Martin Luther King Jr.  who said so eloquently, “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” People of faith that is what Pentecost is about.

            Pentecost is about the life-changing act of the individual becoming the communal; it is about grapes and wheat becoming the bread and wine that grace our table. Pentecost is the resounding grace that conquers the bonds and chains of racism. Pentecost is the speaking in tongues that changed the course of those apostles’ lives, and ever more presently changes our lives as well. In that we can say, “Thanks be to God”

The Nature of God

             I recently saw the blockbuster hit, The Avengers. It was an incredible take on the superhero cohort of greats such as Captain America, Iron Man, and the Incredible Hulk. In the movie, Captain America is having a conversation about the demi-god Thor, and he exclaims, “there’s only one God, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.” It got me thinking, what in the world might God wear?

            The idea of what might God wear on the surface may seem like a simplistic question that isn’t theological in anyway, but deep down below the surface the question asks what we believe is the nature of God. Who do we believe God is? What do we think the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of the world might look like? The idea of God is seen in people, places and things we have experienced. The very existence of God is proven to us through those situations we live out.

            But let me warn you, it is dangerous for us to picture God exactly like us, believing everything we believe and subscribing to everything we feel is the right way. The God who calls us to live for God is also the God who challenges us to live according to the Gospel. This Gospel we are called to live out is one that challenges us as well. For instance it would be wrong for us to picture God a certain nationality, race or even gender. God is bigger than all of that and we are called to live out a life that is full of that God.

            The God of all grace who establishes us and strengthens us is far more concerned with the love that abides through Christ, than God is about making God like us. If we’re more concerned with what God might wear, then we definitely are not part of what God is calling us to be. If we’re more concerned with what God might look like, then we’ve forgot the mission of the church.

            I’ve always found it fascinating to see the pictures of Jesus in churches I preach at. Jesus is simply and directly a white man, who looks American, and is clean cut even with his long hair. Jesus certainly doesn’t fit into the stereotypes we would want him to fit in, because Jesus was never part of the status quo.

            So this week, consider the nature of God, but always remember that God doesn’t fit into our box. God is amazingly better than any box we have. It is in that hope that we can say, “Thanks be to God.”

Love Will Conquer Amendment 1

                 In the circles in which I associate myself with, there is a lot of talk about love, what it means to love, and who is called to love each other. All of this seems to be in light of the recent passing of Amendment 1. Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets have been used in a way to communicate happiness or frustration over the passage of the amendment.

            While I have elected not to weigh in on the amendment itself, it does call into question the reality of our calling to be a people of faith amidst a politically charged world. More importantly, what does it mean to love in a world bent on hatred of the other political party or ideology.

            The important thing to remember as a person of faith who is involved in a political world is to never legislate our faith-charged beliefs upon others. Just because our train of thought might be the majority or the minority, we should never try to create rules and regulations that create an air of hatred, intolerance or an unwillingness to work side by side with each other.

            Even more imperative for us is to remember that we are all called to be a people of love. 1 John gives the perfect example of this, “Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say, ‘I love God’, and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.”

            This week as you hear arguments for/against the amendment, as to why it was the best or worse thing that happened to North Carolina, remember that God calls us to love. We are to love beyond measure, with a grace-filled love. Next time you need encouragement because the politics of the day didn’t go the way you wanted to, turn to 1 John 4 and remember that we are called to love, love and then love some more. We are called to love beyond politics, and in that we can say, “Thanks be to God.”