Do not let your hearts be troubled

I do not often post my funeral sermons online, for a variety of reasons. However, the homily I preached today is a nice follow-up to some of the ideas that came up in the recent Alzheimer's series. Lillie did not have Alheimer's, but did have a physically degenerative disease for years before she died.

Do not let your hearts be troubled

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and savior, Jesus Christ.

We learn lots of things in school – how to read and write, all about world history and math. But one of the things they never teach you in school is that there is no one right way to react to news such as the Neutzler family received on Thursday.

Most people will tell you that the normal reaction to the death of a loved one is sadness, as you grieve the loss of Lillie. And, for many people, that is the right reaction. When a loved one dies suddenly, unexpectedly, we are often overcome by sadness and grief. But, let’s be honest with one another today: You have been grieving the loss of Lillie for years now.

For years you have been saddened at the loss of your mother, who could chase after you kids making sure you all stayed out of trouble. For years you have been saddened by the loss of your wife, the one who did all of that hard work in your gardens so that they would be productive and beautiful.

Parkinson’s took the mother, wife, and friend we all knew and loved away from us. She was stuck in that wheelchair for two years. She was in Bluebonnet Hills for the last 8 months.

It has been a long, hard couple of years – filled with sadness and grief. Quite frankly, I think that is more than enough sadness for one family to have to deal with without piling on more today.

Certainly there are tears today, but as I was gathered last night with Lillie’s friends and family, I couldn’t help but smile. As I sat there, I heard a room that was filled with conversation, filled with a sense of relief that Lillie’s struggle is over, filled even with laughter.

Now, there are people that will tell you that laughter is inappropriate when I loved one has died. That we should all have long faces and everyone should be able to tell by looking at as that we are grieving. But, nothing could be farther from the truth.

I remember well the first time I met Lillie. With some of our Lay visitors, I went to the Neutzler’s house over on Park street to bring Lillie communion. We talked for a while, we prayed together, and we shared in the sacrament. And, throughout it all, Lillie had a smile on her face. A big, joy-filled smile.

For years, the Neutzlers have watched while Parkinson’s took away the woman that they knew and loved. You have struggled alongside her, filled with sadness as her condition grew worse and worse.

Today, Lillie needs no chair.
Today, Lillie is smiling and laughing as she runs and dances.
For the first time in years, Lillie is her old self – happy, energetic, and whole.

That is the promise we are given in Scripture. That is the promise that was spoken to Lillie when she was baptized here in this font. That is the promise that she trusted in her whole life, and the promise that sustained her through these last years. That is what it means to talk about the resurrection to eternal life.

Today is about an end. An end of Lillie’s earthly life, standing beside us and talking to us. And that is a sad thing. But it is also the end of wheelchairs and doctors, the end of pills and medicine.
And, most importantly, today is a beginning. The beginning of a new life for Lillie, a life of joy and happiness, a life without the pain and suffering of Parkinson’s.

And I don’t know about you, but that makes me want to smile a little.

Jesus tells us that in his father’s house there are many rooms. I can’t help but think that there are also many gardens, and Lillie is – once again – enjoying being able to care for those flowers, making everything beautiful for the day that we are reunited.

Friends, I pray that today, even as we mourn, we might share in a bit of that joy that Lillie now has. That we, as she did, might live our lives trusting the promise of the Gospel, filled with the happiness and joy of the knowledge of all that Christ has done for us.

And Jesus said, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me.” Do not let your hearts be troubled. To live with such joy would be, I think, a fitting memorial to our dear sister Lillie.