Funeral Sermon for Loretta Longan

The Sucker Lady

This last Monday, I had the chance to meet with Loretta’s family as we gathered together for funeral planning here at the funeral home.

Hayden from the funeral home here was going through the details with us to make sure he had all of the specifics about Loretta’s life written down correctly. We talked about social security numbers, the spelling of names… all of those items that one needs to have correct. And then… as Hayden noted that Loretta had worked for 25 years at the Citizens State Bank in Morrison, he asked what her job title was.

And this was an interesting moment. Suddenly, there was a sparkle in the eyes of those around the table as grins began to form. “Well...” the response came slowly “she did quite a few things really… but mostly she was known as… the sucker lady.” The room erupted into laughter.

She was known as the sucker lady because, as her obituary stated, she was the one at the bank who would hand them out to kids. With a smile and a twinkle in HER eye, she would hand each child their own sucker… letting them know that their presence in that place of adulting was not only noticed but welcome. Those kids mattered. And Loretta made sure they knew it.

While we all enjoyed some good laughter together, I thought about how fitting this title was for Loretta. It was a title that reflected her giving spirit. Giving of suckers… giving of her attention… giving of her energy… giving of her hospitality… giving of her love… giving of her faith through prayer… and yes, at times, giving of her opinion at times too!

A close runner up to her generous nature might have been her ornery side. As I have heard it said, she could put on her stubborn pants when she wanted to. She was willing to take up the challenge of whatever it was she disagreed with or with what she wanted to see taken care of. If something was important to her, it was hard to budge her or change her mind.

That also meant that if she wanted to see something done, she tended to find a way to do it.

Malta

Scott shared his memory of going with his family to the small Mediterranean Island nation of Malta years ago. Loretta was making this trip by herself with the kids… and things didn’t go as smoothly as she would have hoped for. As they reached Rome on the way to Malta, Loretta found out that the flight she expected to have from Italy to Malta was no longer available, and she had to unexpectedly wait an extra day or two to find transportation to Malta.

Now, you can imagine a mom with her young kids trying to make that journey in the first place. Now you add the extra chaos of having to figure out how to entertain your kids while waiting for a new flight… That’s not fun for anyone to deal with. But the travel issues didn’t end there. Because when they finally arrived in Malta, they were of course late getting there.

And because they were late, the hotel had cancelled their reservations and there was no longer any room for Loretta to bring her kids. And so instead of sleeping in a hotel in a nice comfortable room with a soft bed, they ended up sleeping on straw mats.

And in the middle of all of this, Paula was turning two years old. With everything going on, you’d think it might be good to just delay her birthday celebration a bit… but Loretta was not going to allow their travel woes to stop the family from celebrating. So as they were being driven around the city trying to find a place to stay, Loretta asked their driver for suggestions on where to get a cake and, believe it or not, was able to get an impromptu order and by golly they celebrated Paula’s birthday that year even as they found themselves in a foreign land on straw mats.

Loretta had a passion for celebrating the lives of those around her… especially her family. And she claimed a LOT of people as her family. She and JD were not afraid to open their doors to someone. Some years ago, a friend of hers asked her if, and I quote, “If she wanted one.” Loretta said, “Sure, what is it?” And before the family knew it a little boy by the name of John was joining the family.

All of you, through the craziness of it all, were deeply loved by your mom. As I have visited her over the years, I have always heard the stories about how proud she was of her children and yes, her grandchildren as well. But I suspect you already know that.

Loretta’s Faith

Something else that always struck me about Loretta was how important her faith was to her. And I want to be clear that I’m not saying that to try to state that she was such a good person on account of her faith in Christ.

But I think she found her foundation within her faith. Her faith and her hope in the promises of God helped enable her to live in a way that was truly generous toward those around her because she believed God had been generous to her. Her relationship with God and her sense of who God was continued to be incredibly important to her to the very end.

In my final visit with Loretta a couple weeks ago, as her body was failing, she asked a question that I do not believe I shall ever forget. She said, “Tell me again, about God.”

This woman who had spent so much of her life invested in prayer, scripture reading, and worship… was asking to hear about God once again. At the age of 85, she still couldn’t get enough of the promises held in the life of Christ. She ached to hear the words of grace again and again of the Savior who came to live among us and to die for us.

The Syrophoenician Woman

That’s in part why I chose the Gospel reading that I did from Mark chapter 7 which tells the story of a gentile a woman… a Syrophoenician… a woman who was not a Jew. She was an outsider… a foreigner in a land to her, and her daughter was sick. She had heard Jesus was around… but he had come to care for the Jews and she most certainly was not a Jew. But regardless, she had the tenacity and orneriness to come to Jesus seeking crumbs of grace for her child’s sake.

As Jesus and his disciples had attempted to discretely enter a household to finally get some rest after their long journey, this Syrophoenician woman comes in after him. Her daughter is sick with a demon, she says. I’ve heard a few parents say that before.

But jokes aside, this daughter of the foreigner needed healing. And Jesus at first responds to her that those who are Jewish are the ones who should be cared for first… they are the “true” children of God… it wouldn’t be right for Jesus to take food meant for God’s claimed children and give it to outsiders… to dogs is what he says.

But the woman is not deterred, even by what would seem to be an insult. She puts on HER stubborn pants and she persists with Jesus. “Sir,” she says, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

This woman from scripture was seeking after those crumbs of grace in order that her daughter might be included at the table with the other Children of God. That’s important to note… because she isn’t seeking the grace for herself here… she’s seeking it for her daughter. Maybe that’s why she is going into mama-bear mode with Jesus. She WILL make sure her child is cared for. And because she’s in mama-bear mode, it’s obvious that she won’t let Jesus go until he relents and expands the table to include yet another mouth to feed.

Now we could go into all kinds of directions in a sermon about why Jesus said what he was saying here. But what I want us to notice today is the tenacity of this woman as well as seeing Jesus answering her persistence. At this end of this short story, Jesus says, “Yes. Alright. She’s healed.” The woman persisted in her call to Christ, and Jesus heard them and yes… he responded.

Two Stubborn Women

I think Loretta and this Syrophoenician woman from the Gospel of Mark would have gotten along together quite well. Loretta believed profusely in the power of prayer. And while I don’t believe that we can force God to do anything, that’s not what prayer is about, after all. I do believe God hears our prayers even as Jesus heard that Syrophoenician woman 2,000 years ago.

And I believe God has heard Loretta’s prayers these last 80+ years as she has prayed for those crumbs of grace for her own family… all of them. From the day the joined the family whether by birth or by choice. Her prayers for them were lifted to God.

I believe God has heard Loretta’s prayers for the communities she invested herself into… for Sumner, Morrison, Perry… and others. For the kids that she gave suckers to at the bank.

I believe that God has heard Loretta’s prayers for the congregations that she loved… for the folks at Sumner Baptist and yes, for Zion Lutheran as well.

I believe God has heard her prayers over the years, and I do wonder just how far God’s love shown through the life of Loretta Longan. In a Christ-like way, Loretta was always expanding who was included in the scope of her prayer life as she sought crumbs of grace for all whom she claimed and loved. Crumbs which carried with them the hope and the promise of God’s love generously poured out to all people… even those that didn’t seem to belong.

Yes, Loretta was a sinner, like you and me. And she also held close to her heart the promise of those crumbs of grace from a Savior that died that we might indeed still be able to proclaim and even sing about victory even on a day such as this.

When Loretta asked to hear about God one more time, she wanted hear once again those promises of the God she had stubbornly prayed to for decades. She wanted to hear the story of the love that inspired her over and over because she truly could not get enough of that story of God’s redeeming love. She could not get enough of the story of the God that listens to prayer and answers.

Psalm 118

I think our Psalm today, Psalm 118:21-29, speaks the story of Loretta’s relationships to her creator beautifully:

Let me highlight three of the verses:

The psalter starts off in verse 21, “I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation”

Then, one of Loretta’s favorite verses, verse 24 “This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

And finally the Psalm ends in verse 29, “O give thanks to the Lord, for God is good, for God’s steadfast love endures forever.”

Conclusion: Breath Forever

And so today, as we remember the goodness of God, as we rejoice in the creation that we have been made a part of, as we look to God for salvation in this life and the next, we entrust Loretta to the crumbs of God’s grace. We entrust her into that steadfast love that is not marked by the limited breaths that we take in this life but the love that is marked by the eternal breath of the Spirit that endures beyond all time.

Today, Loretta is celebrating life not on a straw mat in Malta but among the other saints of God’s eternal kingdom. She stands strong and stubborn, and likely with a huge smile, as she finds herself reunited with JD and in the hallowed presence of the Lord God who inspired her into life and walked faithfully alongside her through it all.

Peace be with you. Amen.