Authentic Humanity (Funeral Sermon for Rosina Burgess)

Authentic Humanity (Funeral Sermon for Rosina Burgess)

Hebrews 4:5 (MSG)

Charles called Rosina “A Good Sparing Partner”. Charles attended her sports passion—watching the Devonshire Diamondnites Softball games; and she companioned him to all the boxing events.

· Rosina first started attending Marsden in 1973 joining her husband. Rosina loved Marsden—She partnered with the Marsden Family in various ministries.

· The Sparing Partners were together attending Disciple Bible Study

· Partnered with Flavia in the Soup Kitchen for numerous years/

· This Partnership (Flavia and Rosina) assisted us greatly during our Mission Trip 2008, feeding our 17 volunteers working in New Orleans in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina.

· The Sparing Partners were together attending the BWC, especially the daily early morning Bible Studies and Prayers

· The Sparing Partners were together attending Prayer Explosion Conference (3X)

One of Rosina’s special loves was for her singing with the Senior Choir and United Voices. The music ministry even strategized to have a special microphone for Rosina to sing from the pew (when her mobility became an issue).

During one of my mother’s visits early in my ministry at Marsden, Rosina came by in her car to collect my mother for a “ladies’ outing”. I don’t know what they did, where they went, what they talked about. All I know is that when Rosina brought my mom back to the parsonage, the two of them were no longer acquaintances, they had become bosom partners.

“The greatness of humanity is not in being human, but in being humane.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Rosina was great at being Humane regard for others.

· Bless them, Lord”

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. In its opening chapter, “Down the Rabbit-Hole,” Alice follows the White Rabbit into his burrow, which transports her to the strange, surreal, and nonsensical world of Wonderland.

LikeNeo in the film The Matrix, some of us are willing to swallow the red pill, the pill that shows you the truth, of our human condition—and “see how deep the rabbit hole goes.”

Rabbit Hole of Humanity has Gone Viral: The full-foolish, the bizarre, the good, the bad and the ugly in strange Witches-brew

During my visits to Rosina at home, I discovered that she was one to explore the depths of the “Rabbit hole” of humanity. I came into her room and she had the TV on. “What are you watching”? She replied, ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’.These lot are full-blown foolish!” Bless them, Lord”

Jesus chose to go down the Rabbit Hole of Fallen Humanity.

Jesus didn’t watch the Housewives of Atlanta, but He paid attention to humanity, He knew how deep the rabbit hole of Fallen humanity goes.

We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality.

He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin.

Hebrews 4:5 (MSG)

· Jesus understood humanity

· Jesus was in touch with our reality.

The religious leaders of Jesus’ day viewed the Rabbit Hole through the tented lenses of religious superiority, acting as morality police, zooming in on reality, and quick to call out what they deemed despicable behavior.

Did you hear about the woman they caught in the act of adultery. They dragged her to Jesus to become a spectacle for humiliation and degradation.

Jesus looked at this Live Streaming Reality Show through different lenses. He saw the adulterer, not from the vantage point of the finger-pointers, but as a shepherd with empathy and compassion.

Jesus is ‘El Roi’- (El Roy) The God Who Sees Me

He sees me as a Good Shepherd Sees.

Matthew 10:30 “But even the hairs on your head are all numbered.”

My granddaughter would say, “Babu, what about you?”

Don’t worry about that, God sees MY Humanity, and God sees YOUR humanity…hair, or no hair.

Jesus saw the depth of the “Rabbit hole” of Humanity.

Jesus saw the prostitutes, the tax collectors, and the alcoholics. Bless them, Lord.

Jesus saw the lepers, and the mentally challenged (considered in that day demon possessed); Bless them, Lord.

Jesus saw the poor, the widows, the orphaned children, the weather-hardened fishermen, and the despised ethnic groups who were looked down upon by proper Jewish society,

Jesus saw the radical rebels (looking for the overthrow of imperialistic Roman rule), the activist fighting injustice and for a better way of life for their people; Bless them, Lord.

Jesus saw the adulterers, the backsliders, the least, lost and left out, the masses of sinners with eyes wide open to their wretched condition; Bless them, Lord.

And Jesus saw the blind pretenders, those self-righteous sinners who mascaraed beneath the see-through garments of religiosity. Bless them, Lord.

Rosina had an eye for detecting the full-foolishness decay of humanity.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta—she would shake her head and laugh.

But then she made sure to tune in to the next episode.

Jesus stayed tuned in. He couldn’t turn off the channel of humanity’ reality in full display of the all-seeing, all-knowing eyes of God.

Unlike the characters in one of his parables, Jesus did more than walk over a take a peep, or cross over to the other side to avoid the fallen humanity left as “road kill,” Jesus picked it up and caried it all, all of it (the weight of fallen humanity then and there after—for all time) Jesus caried it to a Roman cross.

Jesus “Blessed them”

With His suffering and death the price was paid. The triumph for ever remembered in the display of His scars—His hands, His feet, His side.

Jesus didn’t hide His humanity, He showed it as marks of Victory.

There is Power in Transparency. Rosina knew this, she would say,

“It is what it is”.

Brene Brown is right, Vulnerability is the true measure of our Strength.

Another one of Rosina’s statements was “It’s gonna be alright!”

When I would visit and the pain and agony of her humanity was pressing her spirits down.

She would punctuate her lament with “It’s gonna be alright!”

Every day in the hospital, as he had done daily in their home, Charles would pray with Rosina. His prayer was a signpost for Rosina, a signpost pointing upward with the message, “It’s gonna be alright!”

This a priest at his or her best—a Poster Child for the High Priest

When you “Comfort one another you become priestly--a Poster Child for the High Priest: “It’s gonna be alright!”

When you “Pray for one another you become priestly--a Poster Child for the High Priest: “It’s gonna be alright!”

When you Simply Show Up as a Listening ear you become priestly--a Poster Child for the High Priest: “It’s gonna be alright!”

When you discover someone deep in the Rabbit Hole of Fallen Humanity...--a Poster Child for the High Priest: “It’s gonna be alright!”

“It’s gonna be alright!” because we have a High Priest, Jesus, who died with the full weight of our humanity—He knows what you are going through, He knows just how much you can bear.

Charles finished his assignment as a Priest to Rosina. She is now fully, solely, completely, eternally, in the hands of Our High Priest

“It’s gonna be alright!” because Jesus has made it right. He has made it right between a Fallen Humanity stuck in the Rabbit Hole of decay. He has made it right by getting us unstuck from the suffocating grip of sin, hell and the grave.

“It’s gonna be alright!” because our God is Right, and makes Right the crooked ways of Left Road travelers bound for destruction.

“It’s gonna be alright!” Jesus saves to the utmost.

“It’s gonna be alright!” Humanity’s Decay is being Swallowed up by Heaven’s Dignity.

“It’s gonna be alright!” You, were right Rosina. It is right. You have made. It is Right! You are resting in the bosom of the Eternal One.