Funeral for Bill McDonald

The New Revised Standard Version Jesus the True Vine

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command you. 15 I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. 16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. 17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.

The New Revised Standard Version Jesus the Way to the Father

14 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. 4 And you know the way to the place where I am going.”

Greater Love

This is such a tender time in someone’s life.

On the one hand, we are grateful.

Grateful for a life well lived.

Grateful for the memories that we share together.

Grateful that for Bill now suffering has ended, and peace has come.

And yet, we are sad.

Sad that we had to say goodbye sooner than we’d hoped.

Sad that while Bill’s life carries on in the Lord’s care, he is no longer here with us.

Sad that we might not hear that laugh, or get to go on another birthday fishing trip, or have Pap sneak us candy we weren’t supposed to have again.

And maybe just a little bit scared?

Death can be a scary thing.

It’s shrouded in mystery and unknowing.

And yet, in this moment, in this room, I believe Jesus has a message for all of us.

Do not let your hearts be troubled.

As I was thinking about it, I think Bill very clearly displayed what Jesus was talking about when he said that “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for his friends.”

Bill served our country in the Vietnam war.

He took very seriously his duty to country and kin and was willing to lay down his life for all of our freedoms.

Anyone who is willing to engage in that kind of service is deserving of our respect and gratitude.

But Bill didn’t stop there.

Bill also served as a corrections officer at the State Correctional Institute.

I don’t know much about prison, but I bet if I asked these folks who are here with us today they would say that it involves a great deal of putting your life on the line.

But, as you know, Bill didn’t stop there either did he?

One of the phrases I have heard most in the last few days is that for Bill, his family was his world.

His love for Darlene was unquestionable and unwavering.

His love for his children was remarkable and evident to everyone.

His love for his grandkids was such that people have been telling me that they were everything to him.

When you think about it, Bill is the kind of person Jesus was asking us to be.

He was willing to lay down his life for his friends and his countrymen.

He was someone committed to love, and loving big!

And there is not a doubt in my mind that Bill rests in the arms of Jesus today.

The is not a doubt in my mind that Bill is in one of those many rooms that Jesus has told us about.

And, for as much as Bill did in his life, for as much love as his showed the world, he is not with Jesus because of anything Bill did.

He’s with Jesus because of what Jesus does.

He’s with Jesus because Jesus claimed him as his own.

He’s with Jesus because Jesus is all about love too.

And that truth is beautiful and good, but we are still left here today with our own grief and sadness.

But I believe that God has given us a series of gifts that we can share together today to walk us through our grief and our sorrow.

Three Gifts

Words from God

We can be reminded of what Scripture has to say to us about death.

That death is defeated in the person of Jesus Christ, as Paul put it “death is swallowed up in victory.”

That Jesus does indeed prepare a place for Bill, and for each and every one of us.

We can know for sure because of this that we will be reunited with Bill again.

We will see him again for sure.

That Jesus meets us in our grief, comforts us, and reminds us that our hearts need not be troubled.

That Jesus is always with us, in the good times and the bad, in the sunshine and the rain, in the mundane and the sacred.

The Gift of our Memories

One of my favorite things to do as a pastor is to hear from families the stories they cherish about their dearly departed.

Sometimes in acute seasons of grief it can be difficult to get those stories to come out, it takes a little coaxing and encouragement.

But…not this family!

In the last few weeks I have been regaled with story after story of a life very well lived.

I’ve hear about fishing trips, and dating stories, and inside jokes that pastors probably shouldn’t repeat in a sermon...

Those memories, those stories that we carry with each other, those are a sacred gift from God.

Take some time today with these dearly beloved gathered here today and listen to those memories.

Share those stories.

Laugh.

Cry.

Remember.

The Gift of Each Other

And by the way, God has given us the gift of each other.

Take a look around.

This is a room that is filled to the brim with those who Bill has impacted through his life.

This is a room filled with people who have been loved and loved well by Bill.

And this is a room full of people who are feeling similar things, and traveling similar grief.

Know that wherever you are on the journey of grief, you don’t walk alone.

Know that however sad we might be, we can be certain that Bill is at peace.

Know that Bill rests in the arms of the savior Jesus this very minute, this very second.

Know that we will see Bill again, in the great heavenly banquet to come.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit: Amen.