Death, someone said, is a defeated enemy... and for people of faith, it most surely is... but it still carries a punch- a punch that leaves us empty, sometimes remorseful; a punch that shatters our tomorrows and mocks our promises; a punch that challenges our faith; and a punch that often seems unfair to us, especially when the one who died... wasn't allowed to finish the dance! Burying our children isn't the normal course of things, and its pain is known only to a small and sacred club- a club that includes a few members of our church, Mother Mary herself, and our dear friend, Karen, whose son... is now in a place of full acceptance. We grieve today. We shed tears, even as our Lord shed tears over Lazarus' grave, because our pain is real... and because the people we love are worth crying about. We grieve today... in a way which our awkward words cannot express... but our focus is on life- abundant life, meaningful life, eternal life. Like all of our other services of hope, our focus this morning in on life... because it is such a precious gift... and because, in faith, it goes on and on.
Today, we celebrate life, knowing that life is never entirely easy, and instead is filled with ups and downs, hills and valleys, laughter and tears. chaos and- if we're blessed- serenity too. As we've already heard, Kyle's life was filled with activity and drama. He had trouble settling down as a kid, and he had trouble fitting in as a adult. He always had his mother at his side- she never let him go- and he always had his grandparents rooting for him. He was blessed with these things, and with a great gift for both poetry and music... but even so, he always seemed to be marching to a different drummer than others heard. He was loved, no doubt... but he needed to find a place where he would be accepted for the person he was! Like the rest of us, he needed to experience the joy of being known and loved anyway, and he did! Praise God, he did! He found a group of friends who loved him as they found him and who never once judged him- not for his faith, not for his appearance, not for his assets, not for his way of thinking, not for anything at all... and he fit in. He was at home!
When I was 30 years old, my own life was filled with chaos. I was consumed with being "good enough", and I seldom let others know who I really was. I was doing okay on the outside, but I was desperate on the inside. I had learned to bluster and bluff, and I was pretty good at telling people what they wanted to hear... but I was always alone and never at peace. I was always... a step early or step late... and I was spiritually and morally bankrupt. Like Kyle and other lost poets, I was desperate for acceptance... and then I discovered a group of people who didn't care at all about titles and money, or gated neighborhoods. They didn't want to hear about all the things I had done, would do someday, or could do for them... but instead, they embraced me as simply "Ken." They invited me to share in a new way of life... which was based on truth, surrender to a power greater than myself...and on real, hands-on service... to others who were in the same boat. For me...it was like heaven... and I mention it today because this is exactly the same group of souls that gave their love to Kyle.
In the end, Kyle was surrounded with people who really loved him, and Karen was there when they held a candlelight memorial service for him. It was something like we're doing here, but their service involved one speaker after another telling how much Kyle meant to him or her... and they were telling the truth because BS is something they gave up a long time ago... and because Kyle not only took love from the group, he gave it as well. In fact, he gave himself and his heart to this group, and he challenged others to do the same thing. To love and to be loved- to forgive, to be forgiven and to forgive ourselves - this is what it means to be fully human- and when we see the world through these eyes, we can sometimes get a glimpse of God. Ordinarily I would close by claiming our faith in Christ Jesus... who is my Rock and personal Savior, and by whose grace we are all blessed...but there are people out there... who discover God's grace and unconditional love in another way. They gather in the basements of many churches because they don't feel comfortable in our sanctuaries, and I want to honor their journey of by not being too "churchy" at the moment. So as the pastor of this church, I will just assure you that the same God who saved "a wretch" like me can easily save Kyle Chambers... and as a man who shared at least some of Kyle's journey, I applaud his victory... because he has entered a place.. where there is no pretense, no fear, no judgment, no masks of any kind- just love, and grace, and acceptance, and joy, and a deep, abiding, honest-to-God peace. Amen.
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