 Bp. Eric Vawter Menees November 16, 2024 St. Paul’s, Visalia “DO NOT LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED. BELIEVE IN GOD, BELIEVE ALSO IN ME. (John 14:1) Good Morning.
What we do this morning is important. We gather here, in this holy place, at the invitation of God Himself to do three powerful things. We gather to Mark the Moment & Mourn. We gather to Mark the Moment & Celebrate the life of the Reverend Canon Richard Ian James. We gather to Mark the Moment and Place Richard into God’s loving hands with the sure and certain hope that we will be reunited again. We Gather to Mark the Moment and Mourn. I’ve never understood those Christians who argue that we shouldn’t mourn the death of our loved ones because we know that they are with the Lord! Well, indeed, there is no question but that Richard is with Jesus, and hearing those words, “Well done good and faithful servant!” (Mt. 25:23) But friends, we do not mourn for Richard - we mourn for ourselves. I mourn for myself. My life is diminished with Richard’s death and I know that your life is also. Let’s admit it - on November 8th as word went out about Richard’s death - life changed. Most powerfully for Pam, and his family. But also for St. Paul's, the diocese and the community! The reality is that we won’t see Richard at the dinner table or at the communion rail or the Community Foundation Board Meeting. And so we gather to mourn - to cry - and to acknowledge the pit in our stomach and the hole in our heart. But also recognizing that we are not alone. Pam, you are not alone. Alex, Kristen, Jack & Harper you are not alone! Daniel, Jessica, Emma, Timothy & Christopher you are not alone! Ellen, Robert & Ronald you are not alone! Look around this room and recognize just a fraction of the people whose lives were touched by God, through Richard Ian James! And who loved him and who love you! And so we gather to mark the moment and mourn! But, indeed, not as people without hope! Why? Because as we heard just a few minutes ago from St. Paul, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Rom. 8:39) We Gather to Mark the Moment and Celebrate a Life Well Lived. There is no question but that Fr. Richard lived a good life! Married for- 42 years (actually their anniversary was just three days ago) with two handsome sons, and five grandchildren, who serve our community & country. Just a quick glance at Pam and the family and you see people who are also dedicated to the Lord and serving others. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Fr. Richard was so proud of all of you - whenever the opportunity arose he’d talk about what you were doing and beam. And serving others is what Fr. Richard was all about. With over forty years of ministry he pastored three congregations and built two beautiful churches - this one being the second. And while Fr. Richard was rightfully proud of this building, it is the Lord and the people within this church that gave his life meaning and purpose. Fr. Richard picked the scriptures this morning and it is no surprise that the first one is taken from the ordination service. “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord.” (Isaiah 61:1-2a) While these words were spoken by the Prophet Isaiah 2,700 years ago. They were lived out, day in and day out, by the Reverend Canon Richard Ian James. To share the Word of God is to bring Good News to the oppressed… Literally. Fr. Richard loved to lead bible studies and to preach. To be honest I’m a bit intimidated preaching this morning because he was certainly a better preacher than I. To be present at the side of a widow, someone sick or the lonely… is to bind up the broken hearted! And I am confident that there are a lot of people here who were blessed by Fr. Richard’s ministry of presence. To celebrate Holy Eucharist and with each celebration recount how Jesus offered his life on the cross, saying; “In obedience to your will, he stretched out his arms upon the cross and offered himself once for all, that by his suffering and death we might be saved. By his resurrection he broke the bonds of death, trampling Hell and Satan under his feet. As our great high priest, he ascended to your right hand in glory, that we might come with confidence before the throne of grace.” (BCP pg. 133) With every celebration of Holy Eucharist Fr. Richard did “proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord.” … And who are those captives and prisoners? Me, and you, each and every one of us. We are the people that Fr. Richard loved to serve. And I know that there is not a soul in this service, or watching the livestream, whose life was not touched by God through the hands and voice of Fr. Richard. Friends, the mark of a life well lived IS NOT the amount of material possessions you have, nor the wonderful experiences that you have. It is the lives that you touch and the grace that you show - in the good times and the bad. Even in the grip of this awful and rare cancer Fr. Richard’s faith, hope and grace were always evident. Just a few months ago I sat right there with him at the memorial service of Randal Lewis, Fr. Richard’s former lay assistant, and watched as he ministered to Debbie, Randel’s widow. It was at that service that he shared with me that he knew he would not survive this illness. But that was OK. He just needed to get a few more things done for Pam and the boys. The Reverend Canon Richard Ian James was not simply a good man, he was an outstanding man. An outstanding husband, father, brother, son, friend and priest in Christ’s One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church! Lastly, we gather to Mark the Moment and place.......Fr. James into God’s Loving Hands. Years ago as a child Fr. Richard’s parents brought him to the church for baptism. As he was washed in the waters of baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit; anointed with holy oil and marked as “Christ’s own.” Richard’s life was literally laid in the arms of Christ. Ever since that moment Christ fulfilled his promise to be with Richard… day in and day out in good times and in bad. And he was there, with Pam as Richard took his last breath. We place him into Christ’s arms symbolically for us - not for him. As a sign of the promise that we can be reunited together again with Richard, gathered around the throne of God. The promise of Christ is that for all who believe in Him, all who receive Him are given the right to be His adopted children and to receive the inheritance of eternal life with Christ in heaven. On November 8th Richard fell asleep in the Lord. As he awakes at the trumpet cry, the sight he will see is that of Jesus’ loving face gazing upon him. That is the promise that Jesus makes to each and every one of us. That like Fr. Richard, if we believe in Jesus and receive him as our Lord and Savior - when we take our last breath and fall asleep in the Lord so too we shall see the Lord’s loving face looking into our eyes upon our awakening. And so, Fr. Richard will have done one last loving act - to invite others to join him in heaven. If you’ve not made that leap of faith and would like to explore what that might look like I encourage you to speak with me or any of the clergy here after the service. And I encourage you to come forward to receive Holy Communion or to receive a blessing. Not only will you be blessed but you will bless Fr. Richard and his memory and you hear once again… The body of Christ. The Bread of Heaven. And to that I say… AMEN. |
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