On the Passing of Myrle Wilson

 Homily- Myrle Wilson's Memorial Service, February 16, 2023

We just heard four scripture readings that are extraordinarily appropriate for this day. One is the 23rd psalm that so many of us know well… It gives us a promise- the promise is that God will shepherd us to a more beautiful place. This is expressed in such images as peace, still waters, cups running over, goodness, mercy, and having a place in God’s house forever.

 Paul in our Corinthians reading says that God has given us His Spirit as guarantee for all this.  This gift is the indwelling Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit empowers us to align our wills with the will of our Triune God.  This guarantee is exceedingly evident in Myrle’s life.

Isaiah gives us the same message when he tells us that God will destroy the shroud that is cast over all peoples. That shroud of course is the curse of death, a curse that finds its way into Creation when we stepped back from our love relationship with our Creator.  This curse that infects the human race manifests itself in evil, self-centeredness and rebellion of our fallen human nature.  The story of our fall away from God is told vividly in Genesis chapter 3.  But for Myrle, the Genesis 3 curse is broken.  It is broken through her relationship with her Lord and Redeemer Jesus, the Good Shepherd.  There is no room for doubt about that for all of us who have known Myrle.

Our Gospel reading goes on to assure us that Jesus has gone ahead of Myrle to prepare her a place.  Jesus has now come back, taken Myrle by the hand, and led her there.  Jesus is has been Myrle’s way home.  In this life Jesus has been her source of a life better that than anything this world could have offered.  

So I say bravo to Myrle’s family for selecting these readings.  They tell Myrle’s story to perfection.  Myrle’s story is what CS Lewis calls “a more beautiful story,” more beautiful than anything we could craft by simply slogging our way through this broken and hurting world on our own terms.  These readings happen to be the same readings we heard at Joe’s funeral over 7 years ago now.  For Myrle and Joe, this more beautiful story is not just pie in the sky by and by; it is cake on the plate for them forever.  We could not have a vision of this reality any more clearly expressed than the way our scriptures did so this morning.

I stand alongside the family and all her friends here who grieve her absence from us today, but Myrle has given us all a great gift that we must celebrate.  She has shown God's “more beautiful story” to all of us. 

Thanks be to God.