Keeping the Faith

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Homily delivered by Rev. Reuben Cediño, pastor of the

Filipino-American United Church of Christ in Richmond Hill, New York

(www.FilAmUCCNY.org) during funeral services held on Saturday, February

16, 2013, Celebrating the Life of Jennifer Villanueva-Pal (d. Feb. 9,

2013).

 

2 Timothy 4:6-8, John 14:18-23

Blessed are you O God, Source of our life and our ultimate destination
You are our hope and our home. Amen.

The death of Jen was a surprise to many; only a few knew what she and Joel and the rest of the family went through in the past 4 years. In hindsight, if we use Paul’s metaphor in his letter to Timothy, we can say, it was such a good fight and a race worthy to be pursued.

Many of us did not know because Jen and Joel made it clear that they did not want Jen’s name in our prayer bulletin. Not that they did not want our prayers but for Jen it was not about the cancer nor about herself… There were larger concerns that we need to focus and where we should put our strength and energy.

Only a few of us knew the situation and we agonized in each step along the way. So when we come to worship today after all the loving recollection of who she was as a person I believe Jen would love us to focus on faith — our faith… faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. For apart from knowing Jen as a friend, it is our faith that brings us together in church to celebrate life, to celebrate life that conquers death — a life lived in faith.

When a Christian community gathers to bury the dead it is a worship service defined by gratefulness and thanksgiving. We gather to say thank you to God first and foremost for God’s faithfulness and also for the faithful witness of those who died in the Lord. Jen was one of those who died as soldiers would say, “with her boots on.” In the language of Paul, Jen is now counted with those who fought the good fight, who ran the race and those who kept the faith.

There is no doubt that she fought well and good — and she finished the race determined up to the end. But all through the whole duration she kept the faith in a steadfast fashion. And for this, we honor Jen and we thank God. The last week of her life was tough. She was brought to the hospital two weeks ago, and there were several moments when we thought her body would just give in. The family and our congregation prepared ourselves, processed the whole experience, and braced for impact, as they say. But for Jen it was not anymore a fight to live but the patience to wait — to patiently wait — for God’s call to go home. God was good because the transition period allowed the family and all of us who stood by them to embrace death graciously.

I had been through many situations when a church member died either in the hospital or in their homes but Jen’s dying was just beautiful and beyond words. When everything settled down, Joel said: it was as if everything was choreographed.

Jen died hearing the assurance of our faith in Romans 8
Who will separate us from the love of Christ?
Will hardship, or distress, or persecution,
or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

As we sung the prayer response:
“Into my heart, come into my heart Lord Jesus…
come in today, come in to stay, come into my heart, Lord Jesus”

Jen slowly breathed her last. It was just a wow moment, a blessed moment for all of us present. It was like Jen saying at the end… YES, come Jesus today, come in to stay; this I believe… this is my faith.

At the end — it is not about the pain, it is not about the cancer, it is not even about death. It is about keeping the faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

To have faith in Jesus, to walk in his way, and be true to him and live his life is what we were taught in Silliman University, the place that means so much for many of us. Silliman was where Jen and many of us graduated.

We were taught not just to be competent in our chosen careers but also to be compassionate like our Lord. We were taught not just to be persons who pursue excellence but also persons who excel in character and in the conduct of our lives…

We were taught through the devotions and the convocations and the Galilean Fellowships that there is guiding star that remains constant wherever we are. And whatever situation we face in life we can rely on this guiding star, who is Jesus Christ, the Way, the Truth, the Life.

We have come to this land far from where we were born and raised. Here we discover that this is a land not only of opportunity but also a land of freedom. The freedom that includes NOT to believe in God… NOT to live according to what we were nurtured and taught in our faith traditions.

Here we can fulfill our dreams and just be on our own. This is a land where our assumptions are challenged… where the easy answers that we knew are not enough… where the powers and the privilege we enjoy are not the norm…

This is a land where we are invited to think critically and to reflect deeply what it means to follow Jesus… what it means to confess that he is Lord… what it means when we say he is our Savior.

What Jen and Joel went through is a theological challenge to many. It is like reliving once again the experience of Job. If you have a faith that only promises wealth and health you will be devastated if you are in Joel’s shoes. If you have a faith that assumes that God will protect you against cancer through prayers and by giving your tithes you will be at a loss if you were in Jen’s shoes. There is more to our faith in Jesus than having a good time and a happy life.

The pursuit of happiness, which is foundational in our society is not wrong, but as followers of Jesus we pursue not just our own personal happiness — we pursue God’s righteousness, we pursue the Kingdom of God, we pursue the rule and reign of love and justice and peace.

Two things can happen — we fail to keep the faith because we discover that we can achieve our dreams even if we do not believe in God…. or because we believe in God for a long time and we have not achieved our dreams at all.

We will fail to keep the faith because at the end of the day, it is always about us. But keeping the faith is always about God — the God larger than our dreams and desires, the God larger than our happiness, the God larger than the easy and the neat answers we love and we have.

To be in a place like New York and follow Jesus is not an easy task. It calls for dedication and commitment to study the Bible and hone the skills to move beyond being literal but also literary. It calls for discipline of corporate worship and personal devotion. It calls for faithful stewardship of time, talents and treasures.

There are many things we remember about Jen: her toughness, her strength, her courage, her higher threshold of pain. But today we remember her faith and her faithfulness. This is what the church celebrates — faith that is rooted in the here and now.

Mother Teresa was quoted saying:

At the end of life we will not be judged
by how many diplomas we have received,
how much money we have made,
how many great things we have done.

We will be judged by
‘I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat,
I was naked and you clothed me.
I was homeless, and you took me in.’

Hungry not only for bread – but hungry for love.
Naked not only for clothing —
but naked of human dignity and respect.
Homeless not only for want of a home of bricks —
but homeless because of rejection.

Joel and family decided that in lieu of flowers we give something that blesses the lives of students who desire to pursue education. At the end of Jen’s earthly life — it is still about others… about those who seek to pursue the Way, the Truth and the Life.

At the end of life — it is about keeping the faith — faith in Jesus Christ, the Via, Veritas, Vita. Jesus who said:
“Those who love me will keep my word,
and my Father will love them,
and we will come to them
and make our home with them.”

Jen is now home with God. Or we can also say, God is now home with Jen.

Just as she prayed with the song… come in today, come in to stay, come into my heart, Lord Jesus, God can say to Jen, “welcome home.” And Jen can also say, “welcome God.”

What a faith!

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