Face To Face
Preaching
The Life Of Christ And The Death Of A Loved One
Crafting The Funeral Homily
A Funeral Homily For TheTransfiguration (August 6)*
Canticle: Nunc Dimittis
Picture, if you will, a small child learning to walk. The parents stand a few yards apart. The first parent directs the child toward the other parent. At first the child looks back to the first parent for encouragement. But at a critical moment near the middle of the journey, the child starts looking ahead to the second parent, puts out his or her hands, and hurries into the welcoming arms (borrowed from Demetrius Dumm in Flowers in the Desert, page 95).
Such a critical moment in Christ's journey happened shortly after the feeding of the 5,000 and Peter's confession of Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus had just finished explaining to the disciples that he must suffer, and be rejected, and die, and after three days rise again. But they could not hear it. Peter flat--out argued with him, and Jesus had to say, ''Get thee behind me, Satan.'' Jesus' heart was heavy. His death was imminent; his disciples were so slow to understand. The Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus went up to a mountain with four of his disciples to pray.
Luke tells us that, as he was praying, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and talked with him. The subject of their discourse was Jesus' forthcoming death, his departure, his exodus from this world. But Jesus did not shrink from what lay ahead of him. He did not succumb to the fear of his mortality.
Scripture tells us instead that Jesus was transfigured, literally, metamorphosized, so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
Then a cloud passed over, and a voice was heard from heaven. The voice said: ''This is my beloved Son, listen to him!'' His approaching death did not change one fact, but rather confirmed it: Jesus was the Messiah, the chosen son of God.
The transfiguration marks that critical moment in Jesus' life when he stopped looking back to his beginnings, and began to face forward to the cross and his death, hurrying forward into the arms that would welcome him at the other end.
Such a critical moment, a transfiguration, occurs in our lives. It is that precarious moment when we no longer look back to our source, to earth, to life, but when our gaze is turned and we look straight into eternity, ready to run and fall into the outstretched arms of the Father who is waiting for us on the other side. It is because of such a moment, which we call death, that we are gathered here today.
What does Jesus' transfiguration have to say about death?
First, death is not the end: ''For to God's faithful people, life is changed, not ended'' (BCP p. 382). Jesus, on the mountain, underwent a metamorphosis in which his outer appearance was changed: his garments became white and his face shone like the sun. Likewise, dying is a metamorphosis in which our outer appearance is changed, but our inner nature is renewed and lives on.
Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, testifies to the ongoing inner life: He writes:
So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.
So for the Christian, life is changed, metamorphosized, but not ended.
Secondly, when the disciples woke up from their sleep, they saw Jesus' glory face to face. For the Christian, death is but the gate of eternal life, and when we wake up, we too will see Jesus' glory face to face. When he has raised us from death
by the power of his own resurrection, we shall see him as he is, and we will be changed into his likeness. 1 John 3 says, ''When he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.'' This is what we pray for in the collect for Evening Prayer when we pray: ''O God, grant that we may at length fall asleep peacefully in you and wake up in your likeness'' (BCP p. 123). Seeing Christ is what will metamorphosize us. That is what the Christian longs for, waits for: ''Vouchsafe to bring us by thy grace to see thy glory face to face'' (''O Wondrous Type!'' The Hymnal 1982, 136).
Jesus' transfiguration was a critical moment in his life. Our death is a transfiguration moment: the moment our life is changed by coming face to face with Christ's glory. It is the moment when, like a child learning to take its first steps, we let go of what is behind, and fall forward into the waiting arms of our heavenly Father.
Amen.
*Also appropriate for the Last Sunday after Epiphany
Canticle: Nunc Dimittis
Picture, if you will, a small child learning to walk. The parents stand a few yards apart. The first parent directs the child toward the other parent. At first the child looks back to the first parent for encouragement. But at a critical moment near the middle of the journey, the child starts looking ahead to the second parent, puts out his or her hands, and hurries into the welcoming arms (borrowed from Demetrius Dumm in Flowers in the Desert, page 95).
Such a critical moment in Christ's journey happened shortly after the feeding of the 5,000 and Peter's confession of Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus had just finished explaining to the disciples that he must suffer, and be rejected, and die, and after three days rise again. But they could not hear it. Peter flat--out argued with him, and Jesus had to say, ''Get thee behind me, Satan.'' Jesus' heart was heavy. His death was imminent; his disciples were so slow to understand. The Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus went up to a mountain with four of his disciples to pray.
Luke tells us that, as he was praying, two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared and talked with him. The subject of their discourse was Jesus' forthcoming death, his departure, his exodus from this world. But Jesus did not shrink from what lay ahead of him. He did not succumb to the fear of his mortality.
Scripture tells us instead that Jesus was transfigured, literally, metamorphosized, so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
Then a cloud passed over, and a voice was heard from heaven. The voice said: ''This is my beloved Son, listen to him!'' His approaching death did not change one fact, but rather confirmed it: Jesus was the Messiah, the chosen son of God.
The transfiguration marks that critical moment in Jesus' life when he stopped looking back to his beginnings, and began to face forward to the cross and his death, hurrying forward into the arms that would welcome him at the other end.
Such a critical moment, a transfiguration, occurs in our lives. It is that precarious moment when we no longer look back to our source, to earth, to life, but when our gaze is turned and we look straight into eternity, ready to run and fall into the outstretched arms of the Father who is waiting for us on the other side. It is because of such a moment, which we call death, that we are gathered here today.
What does Jesus' transfiguration have to say about death?
First, death is not the end: ''For to God's faithful people, life is changed, not ended'' (BCP p. 382). Jesus, on the mountain, underwent a metamorphosis in which his outer appearance was changed: his garments became white and his face shone like the sun. Likewise, dying is a metamorphosis in which our outer appearance is changed, but our inner nature is renewed and lives on.
Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians, testifies to the ongoing inner life: He writes:
So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.
So for the Christian, life is changed, metamorphosized, but not ended.
Secondly, when the disciples woke up from their sleep, they saw Jesus' glory face to face. For the Christian, death is but the gate of eternal life, and when we wake up, we too will see Jesus' glory face to face. When he has raised us from death
by the power of his own resurrection, we shall see him as he is, and we will be changed into his likeness. 1 John 3 says, ''When he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.'' This is what we pray for in the collect for Evening Prayer when we pray: ''O God, grant that we may at length fall asleep peacefully in you and wake up in your likeness'' (BCP p. 123). Seeing Christ is what will metamorphosize us. That is what the Christian longs for, waits for: ''Vouchsafe to bring us by thy grace to see thy glory face to face'' (''O Wondrous Type!'' The Hymnal 1982, 136).
Jesus' transfiguration was a critical moment in his life. Our death is a transfiguration moment: the moment our life is changed by coming face to face with Christ's glory. It is the moment when, like a child learning to take its first steps, we let go of what is behind, and fall forward into the waiting arms of our heavenly Father.
Amen.
*Also appropriate for the Last Sunday after Epiphany
