Russell Glass
December 2, 2004
Sympathy to family & friends…
Today is a sad day for Russell’s family and friends. He will be missed a great deal. It is my hope that we find consolation in our faith which allows us to entrust Russell to the mercy of a God who loves us so much that he sent his only son to suffer and die on a cross so that those who believe in him can live forever. So we entrust Russell to our loving God, but what about those who are left here on this earth. What about us. We are experiencing loss and grief, sadness and pain. When we experience the loss of a loved one we are confronted with questions about the meaning of life and the meaning of death. And what about all the sickness and suffering in the world, how do we make sense out of it all?As we gather today with heavy troubled hearts we hear Jesus say to us, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me.”
When our hearts are troubled Jesus invites us to turn to him and see with eyes of faith. Faith is a free gift given to us by God in our baptism. It is in living out our faith that we have a relationship with Jesus. As Christians, we believe that living a life of faith, centered on Jesus, is living life to its fullest. Faith may not allow us to understand or give meaning to death and suffering. God does not promise life without suffering. God does not promise us that life will always be fair. So what exactly is it that we see when we look with those eyes of faith?
Let me share a little love story to help answer that question. On September 30, 1946 Russell Glass and his red headed sweetheart, Jeanette Vaudrin, stood before a priest, looked lovingly in to each others eyes and promised to love and honor one another in sickness and in health; in good times and in bad times. They were united in the Sacrament of Marriage. Fast forward with me 57 years to Russell and Jeanette’s living room last winter. As they were preparing to receive communion, standing with their arms around each other, Russell shared with me – as was frequently his custom – the love story that is the courtship and marriage of Russell and Jeanette. He talked freely about how God blesses him with such a good wife. And then they received Holy Communion. So what does this love story have to do with what we see when we look with eyes of faith? I would like to suggest to you that because Russell Glass could look at a piece of bread with eyes of faith and see the body of Jesus - his Lord and Savoir in Holy Communion, he could look lovingly with those same eyes of faith and see his bride of 57 years and recall the vows he made on their wedding day to love her and honor her in sickness and health, in good times and in bad times. With eyes of faith he could see his redheaded sweetheart, the mother of his children, the love of his life, the woman with whom he was blessed to grow old.
You see, when we look with eyes of faith we see the world from a completely different perspective. We see the world through the eyes of a God who loves us passionately. We see the world through the eyes of a God who loves us so much that he sent his only son into the world to suffer and die on a cross so that those who believe in Jesus will have eternal life. We see the world through the eyes of a God loves us so much that he sent the Holy Spirit into the world to guide and direct our lives in the way of faith. When we look with eyes of faith we may not be able to answer all those weighty questions, but we will see the hand of God at work in our lives.
Russell will be missed by those who love him. We will continue to grieve and feel loss in our lives. But I pray that when our hearts are feeling troubled, we can find consolation as we to turn to Jesus in our time of personal prayer – as we turn to Jesus present to us when we celebrate the sacraments of church, especially Reconciliation and Eucharist – as we turn to Jesus in the words of sacred scripture – as we turn to Jesuspresent in our church community – as we turn to Jesus present to us in the love and support of family and friends. When our hearts are troubled, we need to turn to Jesus because when we look with eyes of faith we will see our risen savior walking with us, consoling us, and showing us the way. And this is the faith that empowers us to find consolation when we entrust Russell today to the mercy and forgiveness of our loving God.