John 14:1-6
Nov. 27, 2012
***
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in
me. 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? 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.
“And you know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to
him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus
said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me.” (John 14:1-6)
***
I first met Barb
about a year ago when I had been pastor of Ebenezer only a couple of months. Her home at the time was the Golden Living Center, a nursing home in Benson.
Kentt introduced me to his mother as he wheeled her into a sitting room
for nursing home visitors. I had come with
my husband, Jim, and two of Barb’s longtime friends, Alice and Lawrence
Beekman.
Kentt seemed to be the tallest man I had
ever seen, at least that was my first impression. I think he may have had to duck his head
underneath the doorway as he entered the room behind his mother’s wheelchair. And his mother seemed tall and regal, as
well, despite the fact that she was confined to a semi-reclining position and
would not walk again. Surgery to mend a broken hip was not an option for Barb,
who had had 2 strokes and suffered from Alzheimer’s.
Kentt shared his
story as his mother sat quietly, her hands occasionally fluttering like
butterflies. He told us how Alzheimer’s and the strokes had, in a way, stolen his
mom bit by bit. Barb no longer knew Kentt was her son, though he visited her
often and showed her pictures to try and stir some memory of their family and
their life on the farm south of Sacred Heart—before her husband, Lyle, lost his
battle with cancer in May 2010. And
suddenly Barb, who did not always remember to take her medications or eat
right, could no longer live in the place she knew, loved and called home. Her
children moved her to the assisted living and nursing care center in Renville. And
when her health became more fragile, they moved her to Benson to be closer to
Kentt.
We brought
communion for my first visit with Barb at the Benson nursing home. She could not speak, but she made happy bird-like
sounds in her throat. Though she did not remember Alice and Lawrence, who
regularly visited her, her face showed signs of recognition when she saw the
bread and cup. And I told her how Jesus had said, “this is my body broken for
you… and this is my blood given for you …do this in remembrance of me.” Her eyes sparkled and her body seemed to
relax when the four of us sang, “Trust and Obey.”
It was later I
learned that Barb had had a beautiful operatic soprano voice and a passion for
sacred music. She had sung all her life, beginning with a solo performance at
the age of 4. At Ebenezer and in other places, Barb sang with her husband,
Lyle, and in a quartet with friends who were also members of her church. Their voices blended in perfect harmony.
Barb performed in
Christmas and Easter pageants and for community theater and concerts. She
didn’t shrink from dressing up in costume and managed to bring elegance, grace,
and beauty to every role she played.
Digging through
old photographs on Sunday, her family discovered a picture from 1951, when Barb
sang Handel’s Messiah with a chorus
of 1,000 voices and the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. She wore a lovely,
flowing evening gown.
But her gifts weren’t limited to music. She was a humble leader in our church who
served as an elder when she was asked to serve.
She and Lyle also had gifts of hospitality and compassion and a
reputation for making newcomers feel welcome and loved. They could and would talk to anyone and were
often the last ones to leave a social gathering at church or at a friend’s
house. They were “at home” wherever they
were—as long as they were together.
After Lyle’s
cancer surgery in 2007 and Barb’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis in 2008, they made a
pact. They promised that they would take
care of each other when they could no longer care for themselves. He would take care of her; she would take
care of him.
When Kentt called
me Thanksgiving Day and told me that Barb had passed, my first reaction was
sadness for Kentt and his brothers. They have lost both parents in less than 3
years. And while they had already been grieving the loss of their mother since
the strokes and Alzheimers began stealing her away, bit by bit, now their loss
is complete. Her mortal, earthly life has come to an end.
But then, I imagined
Barb and Lyle together—healed and made whole by their Savior, in resurrected
bodies with Him—more wonderful than we can imagine. And I thought most likely they are making
beautiful music together—singing songs of praise to our Lord, face to face.
We can grieve our loss of this graceful,
elegant, charming, gifted lady. But we
can also find comfort in our faith. Finally, she is in a place that will always
be home for her. Heaven will feel warm
and more familiar than any home we have ever known. God is a more loving parent
than our minds can comprehend. In heaven, there is no suffering or pain,
no sadness, loneliness, or tears. There
is only joy.
Christ has
promised that He is preparing a place for all of us in His Father’s house. He
says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.
Believe in God. Believe also in
me.”
God sent Jesus to be our Redeemer. To live among us as one of us and to suffer
and die in our place. To take our sins away.
We must only
believe.
Christ has promised to come back and take
each of us to live with Him in His Father’s house. So wherever our Lord is, we
will always be.
If only we believe.
Our Lord assures
us that we know the way to the place—where He has gone to be with the Father. Christ is the
way, the truth and the life.
Only believe.
Let us pray.
Heavenly Father, thank you for your promises to us of a life of joy to
come—a life when we are reconciled with you and one another through your
Son. Reassure us when we are grieving or
fearful that your promises are true. Let
us hear our Shepherd’s voice telling us, “Do not let your hearts be
troubled. Believe in God. Believe also
in me.” Help us to live each day confident that we know the way to the place
Christ is preparing for us. Grant us
your joy and peace. Amen.
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