What a week this has been!!!
Started out last Saturday (I think). Took off to ATL for what I thought was going
to be a renewal of vows for a couple, but which turned out to be a wedding
reception and baptism of their baby.
Still, it was all about passages and the cycle of life, so it was cool. I also got to visit with a cousin and some
extended family who have a long extended history of service in the CME Church.
From ATL, I took off for PHX. My trip was cut short, so I only had a few
hours to spend with some friends. I
spent time with a friend of over 3 decades, a friend whose child I married, whose
nephew I helped to bury, and whose grandchildren I baptized. I got the opportunity to play with those
grandchildren, to sit with their father and uncle, and to realize what a
blessing and a privilege it is to have been a part of the cycle of this family’s
life.
I also had the opportunity to visit with another
friend, a nonagenarian who is as fit and as spry as she was 30 years ago. This nonagenarian is the mother of a man in
Costa Rica, a man who recently met the ATL cousins mentioned above and took
showed them hospitality, Costa Rican style. In addition to spending time with her for the
first time in several years, I also had the privilege of having her grandson
join me in worship at a CME Church in Phoenix, along with the above-mentioned
friend of over three decades. They
enjoyed worship and the meal afterwards; I enjoyed having my friends join me in
worship and getting a glimpse of why I spend so much time in church. We shared Holy Communion together, we broke
bread together, I relayed greetings from people in ATL, and I saw the cycle of
life go on.
The PHX trip was cut short because I had to come
back to NYC to go to DC to attend the funeral of my mother in ministry. At about 3 this morning I left NYC with a
couple of her good buddies, and we drove down to DC, had breakfast, and
attended her funeral. It was simply
surreal. My mind comprehends the fact
that she has moved on, but my heart can’t seem to accept the fact. I can’t count the number of times over the
past 12 days when my natural response to something was to pick up the phone to either
call or text her. I’ve come to realize she
was the only person in this world with whom I could share everything, and do it
completely raw. I didn’t have to censor my thoughts or
feelings, didn’t have to be politically correct, could just say, “well,
why in the world would somebody do x, y, and z, and she’d say, “because
…” and go ahead and tell me the particulars of
the situation I hadn’t even named to her.
When I talked with her good buddies, they echoed those
sentiments. I also noticed that all of
us, when we viewed her body, did so with our arms folded, as if we were somehow
creating a barrier between ourselves and the reality of her dead body, or as if
we simply were unwilling or unable to accept that death. Later on, as each of us found our emotions
breaking through the barriers we tried to erect, we shared that those emotions
had taken us by surprise – that we’d never expected them to overflow the way
they did. No, we didn’t fall out or carry
on or anything – we just alternated our rejoicing about her life with our silent
weeping over her departure from the physical realm. Although it was a bitter pill to swallow,
this transition was also part of the cycle of life.
This woman was my mother in ministry, and like any
mother, she conceived of me as a preacher long before I had a thought or notion
or willingness to accept this calling; she nurtured me as the embryo of
ministry grew in my life; she gave life to me as a preacher by giving me a
rigorous and practical introduction to
the church in which I’d grown up; she nurtured me as a young preacher
trying to discern God’s way; she offered support, guidance, and discipline as
she deemed necessary; and she watched
with pride as she saw me mature and grow into the woman she’d always known God
intended for me to be.
So we three buddies journeyed together for a day, celebrating
the tie, now seemingly frayed, which had joined us together. We lingered as long as we could together, not wanting the day to end, seeming not to want to face the reality that the
cycle of life continues. Our beloved
friend has completed this level and journeys on to the next. We know this, but she was such an integral
part of our everyday lives that it’s hard to imagine many of our everyday
activities without her input. But the
cycle of life goes on, and my Mother in Ministry has cycled on to Eternal Life,
and to her Heavenly Rest.
Yes, we struggle with the ideas, but her Eulogist said it best when he quoted the Prophet Isaiah:
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
(Isaiah 40:28-31, NIV)
Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant.
Take your wings and soar high above, then run on to your next assignment, in the Cycle of Eternal Life.
Rev. Dr. H. Patricia Jones
2.19.47 - 6.17.13
