Gospel: John 20:11-18

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” —¨

You might very well ask yourselves, Jim, why are you here, dressed like that, providing a Catholic funeral service for a man who considered himself an atheist?

Seems a bit odd, don’t you think?

I will give you an answer a little later.

First, I want to reflect on *********’s life. On the remarkable traits ********* displayed.

********* lived a life of note, and he lived it as a man. He stood for what he believed in, Country, family, hard work, brotherhood. A real man’s man.

When I remember *********, I remember a man of remarkable dignity and elegance.

He was well read, a dashing figure. He loved history, the news, sports, his community, and the things of the earth like his garden and nature.

Certain events illustrate the kind of man ********* was.

Think of family dinners, especially dinner on Easter Sunday. ********* would come to the dinning room table, well dressed. He sat at the end of the table. He never needed to speak loudly. He never demanded anything. He was perfectly polite, calm, and dignified.

More than that he watched his family around him. He took pleasure in their interaction, especially that of the children. He watched them eat the steak he had grilled, with his own special blend of marinade. He watched his family as it blossomed and grew. He didn’t interject himself into the process of seating arrangements, or getting grandma to sit down.

A lot of men would try to control the events going on around them. ********* never needed to, because he was in control of himself.

In the Gospel of St. John, Chapter 21 we read:

When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish lying on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred and fifty-three of them; and although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

I recall too the look on *********’s face as his grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and assorted nieces and nephews would sit around him in the sun porch, in the living room, or out at a restaurant.

They would ask questions or tell stories. He would listen attentively, providing little glimpses into his life; the things that would interest a child.

He told them of his childhood, his love for his family, a love he lived in looking after family members. He told them about the one room school house he attended, and about the farm where he was raised.

If you had a chance to look at his face during these times with children you would see a smile, a smile of pure joy.

In the Gospel of St. Luke, Chapter 18 we read:

Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them; and when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”

In these passages we hear of Jesus the teacher, Jesus the fisherman, and in the Gospel passage, I read of Mary Magdalene seeing Jesus as the gardener.

All traits that ********* possessed. All the things he loved in his life. All these things were images of God, and ********* carried them well.

So that is why I am here. I am here to attest to the fact that ********* carried the image of Jesus Christ within himself.

Now of course he was not perfect. He had weaknesses like any man. But isn’t that our hope.

It is the hope in which we all share. That even in our imperfection, even with our foibles and mistakes, we still carry the hope of everlasting life.

The Christian religion, regardless of the brand of Christianity, gives us the opportunity to put into practice the things we know we believe. It connects us in a regular pattern of practice to the figure upon which our humanity is modeled, Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters, family,

********* has been called home.

He will stand before Jesus and he will see Jesus the fisherman, Jesus the carpenter, Jesus the teacher, Jesus the gardener.

********* will recognize in Jesus all the things he was. Most assuredly, he will recognize in Jesus the hope to which he has always been called. When he sees that hope in Jesus he will enter the heavenly kingdom.

When Mary met Jesus in the garden beside His tomb she was not meeting a ghost. She met the resurrected Jesus. She met Jesus in whose image she, *********, and all of us will be resurrected.

Jesus told her:

—go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”

********* has gone up to God. He has gone up to his God and our God, to his Father and our Father.

So I am here to tell you that news. To reassure you, in the Christian faith we all share. To let you know that you carry *********’s legacy within you just as you carry Jesus’ image within you.

Remember our brother *********, and remember to develop the image of God that is within you; to practice the faith that assures us of our hope.

*********’s life has not ended, it has been perfected. By our hope our lives will not end, they will be perfected. Amen.

For our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed;
the night is advanced, the day is at hand.

It is tough being a Catholic. I have to hand it to each of you.

You sit here year after year. You listen to the readings and the Gospel.

After Easter you hear readings from the book of Revelation. Before Advent we read from Daniel. This First Sunday of Advent we hear that the day of the Lord is neigh, He is coming, be prepared.

These readings, these books, and these words all point to the last things. So we wonder, when are they coming?

With the growth in Evangelical Churches in the United States, and with their economic power, we find the religion section at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Borders, as well as our local library shelves filled with all sorts of books that want to give us clues about the last days.

We hear about Millenialists in all their shades, premillennialist and postmillennialist, the folks who like the Left Behind series. These are the folks who talk about the rapture and the time of tribulation.

We hear about dispensationalism, and Evangelical Christian support of Israel, not for any political reason, but for the sole fact that by their support of Israel they will cause a cataclysmic Middle Eastern war, the war of Armageddon. They tell us that that war will bring about the second coming of Christ.

And here we sit, Catholics, not all so sure about such things.

Its tough being Catholic, you know, leaving things like that to God. Always being prepared, thinking that we will never be sure about what the next moment will bring.

Evangelical Christianity draws people because it is so self assured, so right on, and inerrant about things. People like certainty.

Of course none of that is true. Within Protestant Christianity there are “over 33,000 denominations” and every year there is a net increase of around 270 to 300 denominations. No one among them can agree on what the Holy Scripture teaches, so all that biblical certainty isn’t so certain.

Even among some Catholics you have tales of visionaries and apparitions foretelling the end of things; the sun spinning out of the sky right toward earth.

As Polish National Catholics we teach Scripture as enlightened by the Fathers, Holy Tradition, and the Unified Councils of the Church. Still in all, that leads to the next honest question: For all the Fathers, Tradition, and Councils, why are we so unsure about the last things?

It is tough to admit, that we do not know, but remember, Jesus admitted the same:

In Matthew 24:36 He is recounted as saying:

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

St. Mark records this statement in Chapter 13, Verse 32

—But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.—

My friends,

As Catholics we know no certainty other than the certainty of our hope.

Our hope lies in this alone: We will live with God forever in the Kingdom of heaven. We will rise as Jesus did, and we will be transfigured. We will worship the Lord forever in His eternal kingdom.

Certainty is not a story about Armageddon, fantasies of rapture, scary books, or the fear of getting left behind. Certainty is knowing one thing only.

Brothers and Sisters,

Here is the secret.

Our Holy Church, the Polish National Catholic Church, teaches hope. The Holy Catholic Church teaches hope.

Jesus Christ opened the door for us. He crushed Satan under His feet. We are His children, by our baptism and by our adult acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

We need only this, to accept our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Based on our acceptance our life is changed. We live in accord and unity with the One we have accepted as our hope.

With Jesus there is no fear of the end. That is why we pray so universally Maranatha, Come Lord Jesus.

We have prayed it since we were children: Thy Kingdom come; Przyjdz Krolestwo Twoje; venga a nosotros tu reino.

The prophet Isaiah saw this hope when he proclaimed:

many peoples shall come and say:
—Come, let us climb the LORD’s mountain,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
that he may instruct us in his ways,
and we may walk in his paths.—

So I tell you. You are here, in the house of the Lord. Listen to His teachings and walk in His paths. Do not be unsure, never loose hope, the Lord will not be long in coming.

Amen.