i have been taking an independent study course this year called psalms and grieving. as part of the class, i wrote a sermon and the following is the sermon i would have preached if i had
been able to preach at my grandmother’s memorial. instead of preaching on a psalm, i wanted to structure
the sermon as a psalm of lament.
the scripture are listed at the beginning and the parts of the lament
are marked out, though in preaching they would not be stated explicitly.
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| granny and i when i visited her back in 2011 |
scripture:
(address to god)
spirit of comfort and consolation. god of hope and mercy.
be with us now.
we come today to bear witness to a life lived in faith—to a
woman who knew the maker of heaven and earth—the one full of loving kindness
and saving grace.
(complaint)
we have lost a mother, grandmother, friend, minister, and
sister in christ. marguerite marie
darcey hoffmann worked hard in her life.
as the certificate states, she successfully raised 4 kids, 1 husband, and
3 dogs, and—i would add to that—1 more dog and 5 grandkids.
peggy or, as i knew her, granny was born in waterbury to
james and margaret darcey on march 3, 1921. in her baptism, god claimed marguerite marie as a beloved
child and called her into the world and into a life of faith.
at the age of seven, granny came to paul ney rd, where she
would live out the majority of her life.
in 1944, while on vacation in florida, peggy met a young navy lieutenant
from reno, nevada. their
relationship was as scandalous from the start as it was a romance made for the
movies. granny and grandaddy fell
in love and once they figured out how to navigate their distinct faith
traditions and prior commitments, it seemed that they lived happily ever after.
peg was a great support to fred when he was in the south
pacific and they worked well together as architect-builder and interior
designer for miniature mansions of cheshire.
her life wasn’t perfect. granny faced her share of struggles—she battled with and
conquered more health problems than i can count and each time she exceeded doctors’ expectations, but we always knew that granny was a
fighter; determined to live life and
to love others. granny loved her
family and her church. she worked
hard to love and care for her own 4 kids as well as the rest of the
neighborhood kids. she cared for
her friends and those around her.
she also cared deeply about her faith.
i don’t know if she would’ve sought ordination if she could
have, but i do know that she was a minister throughout her life. granny lived out her vocation as a
eucharistic minister and a child of god.
so much so that i used to tell people that when i came to
visit granny every august we would go to church “every day but sunday”—faithfully
attending daily and saturday afternoon masses.
each morning, if i was still in bed when granny was getting
ready, she’d come into the room my brother christian and i shared, and nudge me
awake to ask if i was coming with her to mass.
granny brought me to jesus—even having me baptized here at
st. bridget’s may 15, 1987—and letting me tag along with her for daily mass.
granny also brought jesus to countless others. i remember the countless times i joined
granny as she brought eucharist and led a short worship tuesdays at marbridge convalescent
home. after daily mass at church
or at marbridge, granny and i would then go out for coffee and pastries with
the coffee klatch—a group of strong and deeply faithful women granny and i have
been blessed to know throughout our lives.
so we gather here, to mourn the loss of our mother,
grandmother, friend, and sister in christ.
after over 91 years journeying with us, granny has joined
grandaddy, pete, nonnie, goggie, and all the saints in that mansion in the sky.
while we were with her in the hospital, mom, ghiq,
christian, carrie, and i talked with granny about a variety of things. one thing we all agreed on was that
grandaddy was putting the finishing touches on their miniature mansion so that
it would be ready for her. jesus’
words to his disciples ring so true for granny. jesus has gone to prepare a place for each of us and as our
loved ones bring us to god and can be christ for us, encouraging us in our
faith and lives, so too, grandaddy has been at work on that miniature mansion in
heaven, preparing it for when jesus would bring granny home.
(confession of trust)
granny wasn’t perfect—she did her best to love others and
remain true to her words, but it was in her baptism that she was set free. as paul states, “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 granny from
the love of god in christ jesus our lord.”
in our baptisms we are all set free so that the power of
death no longer rules our lives.
granny was ready to be with grandaddy again. she lived a full life with no shortage of struggles and her
faith was a big part of it even until the very end. we who are left will miss her and we begin today to figure
out how to live in the world anew now that her physical presence is gone. by god’s grace, she is indeed in a
better place and we can now await the time when we will join her and all the
beloved in a place far from pain and sickness, sorrow and fear.
(petition)
so we pray for her welcome reception in the church
triumphant. we pray that she and
grandaddy would prepare our rooms in the miniature mansion just as they worked
here on earth to prepare the miniature mansions of cheshire. we pray that god would console and
accompany us as we relearn the world without her. and perhaps most of all, we pray that her spirit and love
remain with us until we can join her and all the saints in heaven.
(words of assurance)
and so,
may the god whose grace and love is bigger and more
powerful
than all the forces of evil and death
than all the forces of evil and death
guide us, and carry us into the future.
may god embrace granny in loving arms.
may god inspire in us acts of love and service to others,
following granny’s example. and
may god be with us always,
may god be with us always,
(vow to praise)
as we once again pray, and praise the god of love and
grace—the god who chooses each one of us and calls us, with granny and all the
sinners and saints, beloved children.
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