A Sermon in Memory of Kay Johnson
The Rev. Patricia A. Gillespie
September 13, 1999
Isaiah 61:1-3
Psalm 23
1 Corinthians 15:51-54
John 14:1-6
Thomas's question in our gospel reading is a good one. Losing two much-loved people in such a short time, leaves many of us feeling lost. While part of us can celebrate Kay's new life, rejoicing that she has once again, in her own time and her own way, followed Doug on a great adventure, another part of us asks, just as Thomas asked Jesus, "What now?"
We don't know how to get there or what to do. We miss those who have loved and cared for us for so long.
Jesus answers, "I am the way." That may have helped Thomas know which way to follow or what to do. After all, Thomas was standing right next to Jesus. But we are not. How do we know where to turn?
Listen. Listen to what we just sang: Amazing grace. "Grace will lead me home."
"Grace." Christians talk about it a lot. We often take it so much for granted that we forget what it means. I looked it up. There was a long list of synonyms: "Beauty, blessing, breeding, compassion, elegance, forgiveness, gentility, goodness, loveliness, poise, style...." Sound like someone we know? Gracious and graceful Kay.
Literally, in the Bible, "grace" means "gift." Kay had that gift, and she blessed everyone she met with it. It shows in her gentleness and her optimism. In peanut butter sandwiches on the dock or wile rice soup with pine nuts. In flower arrangements and Christmas trees. In the warm welcome every one received in her beautiful homes.
"Grace will lead me home." But she's gone now. Where can we find that grace? How can we ever begin fill the empty place in our lives that she once filled so gracefully?
Last Tuesday I read Kay a piece of scripture: Jesus said, "I am the vine and you are the branches. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples." And, indeed, Kay's life has borne much fruit. We only need to look at her family to see that. In her graceful life, Kay glorified God and proved that she is Jesus' disciple.
A branch on the true vine, Kay received God's grace, and in turn unselfishly passed it on to those she loved. She was open to receive: to receive God's love and gifts and forgiveness. And instead of clinging to it for herself, she graciously shared the grace. Her life bore much beautiful fruit: Children, grandchildren, great grandchildren. Hospitality and clover garlands, friends and great stories.
The fruitful branch, Kay, planted seeds of love in the lives of many. Her life produced, in Isaiah's words, "the planting of the Lord, to display God's glory." And she nurtured and lovingly tended those lives.
So, what now? What happens to Kay's plantings, to those she loved and cared for? Kay is no longer with us as she once was, but Jesus, the True Vine, still supports and feeds all the branches, that is, all of us. Here, today, at this Communion table, the grace still flows our way. We need only be open, as Kay was, to receive the gift and to pass it on.
Amazing grace. The gift of God. Even in our grief, we share with Kay and Doug and other loved ones the grace of eternal life.
As we gather in Communion with all believers, past and present, the grace and the love and the life are still flowing into us, the branches.
(Hymn 204, verse 4)
