+The prophet Isaiah says: “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines,
of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear” To all who loved Jane I say: today she is rejoicing at a feast that would even make her 10 course Christmas dinners seem like a snack, for today, Jane is in paradise.
At the beginning of this service I read:
“Happy from now on
are those who die in the Lord!
So it is, says the Spirit,
for they rest from their labors.”
As I understand it, Jane emigrated from Scotland to the US when she was 3 years old. I also hear she worked at Tops just until a couple of years ago. Oh how familiar this sounds to me. You see, I had a grandfather who was a Scot. He worked as a pediatrician until he was 85 years old. His daughter, my mother, worked as a teacher until she was 78 years old. The work ethic of these Scot immigrants is something to behold isn’t it?
Today, in the nearer presence of God, Jane is finally resting. But not the kind of rest that would make her stubborn side mad or uncomfortable---you know how it was whenever you suggested to her that perhaps she slow down or you offered to help her with something---no this rest she now enjoys is, in all truth, blissful. It is a comfortable rest, a refreshing rest, an eternal rest.
But don’t think this rest is all angels playing harps…I have no doubt that in heaven there is a whole lot of story-telling and laughter. Endless, delightful, glorious laughter.
Today Jane is right there in the midst of it all, telling her stories, listening to others tell theirs. Laughing and joking and smiling all the way. Today, in paradise, Jane is in her element.
The psalmist writes:
The Lord shall watch over your going out and
your coming in, *
from this time forth for evermore.
Well guess what, the Lord has help now.
For those she has left behind know this…she is right here, right alongside you. You can no longer see her, touch her, but you will in ways too mysterious to explain, be led by her. The tears you shed today are testimonies to the love you had for her and you should shed them. The tears you shed today are also expressions of your sadness that you and Jane will not be together in the flesh anymore….but please do not cry for Jane, for even at the grave she is making her song Alleluia Alleluia Alleluia. Why? Because on this day, at this moment, Jane is in the presence of a love and a light that no longer surpasses her understanding. On this day at this moment, all has been revealed to her. On this day and at this moment Jane is fully, truly and eternally, home. Amen+
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