Sunday, September 4, 2011

9/3/2011 - Homily for funeral of Betty Vaughan Johnson - Wisdom 3:1-9; Psalm 23; Matthew 5:1-12


Rest in Peace - Kathryn "Betty" Vaughan Johnson
Born - Yazoo County, MS - May 3, 1946
Entered eternal life - Yazoo County, MS - Aug 30, 2011
Funeral Mass - St Mary Catholic Church, Yazoo City - Sept 3, 2011

We come here to St Mary’s Church in Yazoo City for the mass of the resurrection for Miss Betty.   As we come here this morning, our hearts tell us that this is a difficult time for all of us.  Betty was just here with us celebrating mass here at St Mary’s last Sunday, something Betty loved to do.  Betty and her friend Alvonia were always two of the first to arrive at church on Sunday.  But, as we were here with Betty just last Sunday, we were not expected to be here today celebrating her life and mourning her passing. 
Our reading from the book of Wisdom tells us: “The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.”  I really believe that Betty is with our Lord right now, at the right hand of the Lord.  I believe that with all my heart.  The book of Wisdom tells us that although there are many in this world who believe that all life ends when our earthly existence comes to an end, we know from our faith that the souls of those who have passed from this life will be in peace with God & have eternal life with him, that those of us who trust in God will abide forever in his love.  As I got to know Betty here at St Mary’s, I so enjoyed getting to know the joy and enthusiasm with which she lived out her faith, not only in the way she was involved here in church, but also in the way she lived  out  her faith in her daily life.  Betty loved volunteering at the Manna House soup kitchen here in town.   I stopped by Manna House one day right before they served lunch, and of course Betty had a big smile on her face and she was mingling with everyone.  Betty was gregarious and friendly and loved being around people.  There was a joy about her that was just so evident. When I met with Jeff and Liz yesterday, they told me about how Betty kept in touch with so many of her former students on Facebook, how Betty still gave them advice and was still looking after them.  And I can tell you that as her priest, she always had a kind encouraging word for me, and that really meant a lot to me.  Liz, Jeff, and Debbie were telling me about how when Betty worked as a paralegal, the lawyers would send her to the courthouse on the most difficult assignments, because her friendliness and charm would get them to get the documents and information they needed even in the most difficult of circumstances.
As the comforting, familiar words of the 23rd psalm tell us today, the Lord is indeed our shepherd who leads us to the waters that will bring us repose.  The Lord will indeed be at our side no matter what.  Betty came to the Catholic faith more than 20 years ago, and it brought her great comfort and great joy.  The Lord was indeed her shepherd in life, leading her and guiding her. I remember Betty telling me last week how involved she had gotten in the RCIA process in her parish in Texas, how she loved sharing her faith with others.
          Today’s Gospel reading so reflects Betty, as Jesus proclaims the Beatitudes in the Gospel of Matthew.  You can imagine Jesus looking out at the reality that faces us in our humanity, in the faces in the crowds that he saw in front of him, but Jesus is able to enrich that reality with the promise of hope. You can imagine Jesus looking out at everyone: at the poor, those who mourn & weep, the merciful, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.  Jesus looks out & sees the reality of all those who are assembled before him. He tells them that he recognizes & understands their reality, no matter what that reality is.  With great affection, he tells them that the kingdom of God is theirs.  And I do believe that the kingdom of God is with Betty right now.
           When I found out about Betty last Tuesday morning, I will be honest: I felt confused, numb, and empty.  And I know that so many of us cried out to the Lord in our pain, in our lack of understanding this past week.  Yet, as Father Ron Rolheiser said in a recent article her wrote, when we are faced with a situation like this, in the midst of our pain and our conflicted feelings, we look to God with empathy, and compassion, in trying to understand what Betty was going through. 
            And in the midst of this, we can be assured that the God you and I believe in, that the God that Betty believed in and put her trust in, is a God of love and mercy, a God whose compassion, empathy, and understanding that far excedes anything we as human beings can have.   So, we lift Betty up today to God’s love and mercy.  We celebrate her life as we remember her joy and her faith that touched so many lives.  I have every confidence that Betty is uniting her prayers with the prayers of the Blessed Virgin Mary right now in the everlasting life that Betty has with our Lord.  
 

1 comment:

  1. Father Lincoln -- Thank you so very much for the lovely and personal service you gave my mom. She would have appreciated it as much as we did. My brother and I are going back to Mississippi sometime in the fall, and I will let you know when we are there.

    Thank you again for making this experience bearable. Your kindness and compassion truly helped Jeff and me.

    Liz

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