October 12, 2006
The Rev. Karen Siegfriedt
St. Jude the Apostle Episcopal Church, Cupertino,
CA
What do you do when life turns out to be hard? What do you do when your spouse dies early, leaving you alone as a widow? What do you do when your body refuses to heal and life becomes a struggle? Well, some folks become bitter and lose hope. Others become fearful and close down shop. Some become angry and lash out at others. Many become discouraged and feel sorry for themselves. But Marie Erlebach refused to be crushed by the challenges of everyday life. Instead, she navigated the trials and tribulations with grace and confidence. She faced life head on, using her strengths, her perseverance, and her faith to move forward in the face of opposition. Like St. Paul, there was one motto that Marie really believed in: “Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” [Phil. 3:13-14] Marie has finally reached this goal and is now at peace. For this we give thanks and we have come together today to celebrate her life.
Marie was a no-nonsense person. She was born eighty-six years ago in New Jersey, across from the Hudson River. She married her childhood sweetheart and moved out to California where she worked hard in various positions as bank teller, bookkeeper, and organizer, serving customers with care and efficiency. She was an avid reader, a cook, an anglophile, a lover of music, ballet, & golf. She had an active mind, delighted in solving puzzles, analyzing political discourse, and forming strong opinions. Her greatest love of course was her son, Robb, whom she adored and admired for his kindness and musical talent. For Marie, music washed away from the soul the dust of every day life. Without music, life would have been like a journey through the dry desert. As so she surrounded herself with the sounds of music and invited many people to the symphony which delighted her heart and soul.
I came to know Marie eight years ago, as I watch her manipulate the adding machine as she recorded the parish pledges each week, by hand. I was amazed at the speed, accuracy, and seriousness with which she processed all of data, placing the final figures on index cards. In addition to her generous offering of time and talent as pledge secretary, she also served on the altar guild, the newsletter, and the vestry in the early years of St. Jude’s. When she could no longer keep up with the demands of being a pledge secretary, she signed up to coordinate the telephone tree because it was something she could do even if she were bed ridden.
After two years of suffering with a wound that would not heal, Marie finished the race. In one of her notes, she asked her friends and family not to grieve for her death. She believed that the afterlife was a time of peace and joy and she looked forward to being in the presence of God. It is into this context of faith and belief, that we read the today’s passage from the Book of Wisdom: “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died…but they are at peace…and their hope is full of immortality. Having been discipline a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself.” [Wisdom 3]
None of us know what life is like on the other side of the divide; it is so different from this physical realm in which we now find ourselves. But in spite of this unknowing, there are many of us are not afraid to die and to enter into eternal rest. Marie is one of those people. She gave what she could according to her gifts, worked very hard while she was able, and lived each day to the fullest. And so when it was time, she gracefully let go, not fearing the end, but straining forward to what lies ahead. I am grateful for this witness to the Christian faith. Marie wanted this service to be a service of Resurrection. And so our closing hymn will end with alleluias.
None of us here today, knows the number of days or years left in each one of our lives. But we do know that life is precious and that we need to live the rest of our lives in accordance with God’s will. At times like this, it is important for us to ask the important questions like: Am I doing what God has called me to do and am I using my gifts to make this planet a better place in which to live? When it is all said and done, what maters in the end is not how much money we have made, or how many children we have had, or even whether we have reached our vocational goals. What matters in the end is how much we have loved.
Jesus said: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” [Jn. 15:12] So go in peace to love and serve the Lord and love one another as Christ has loved us.
| Updated 10/27/06 |
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