Homily for the Lynn Scantlin Memorial Service

Dec. 29 2008
Mike, Sarabeth, Craig and David and extended family members our hearts go out to you at this difficult time. There are no words or gestures that can fill the void that Lynn’s death brings. We will make a vow to spare you the hackneyed sayings and platitudes. There are no words that adequately express our compassion and empathy.
In the Presbyterian Church, we refer to the memorial service as a witness to the Resurrection. As Christians we grieve and mourn the loss of loved ones, but we do so with some perspective. In this journey we are all on, we know that there are things that are more eternal. This is what matters most. From the day we were born, our name was in God’s book of life, and it’s a mystery only known to God when we will be called home. Our walk together is centred on building treasures in heaven, where no rust, moths or thieves can take away what God built through our lives and testimony to the Risen Christ.
The family chose this passage from 2 Corinthians for today’s memorial service. The Apostle Paul had his struggles with the churches he planted in his ministry. They struggled as jars of clay. In Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth he had to deal with a pressing issue. What’s going on? We thought Jesus was going to come back in our lifetime. "Our members are dying and still Jesus has not come back!" Paul had a pastoral challenge to resolve. Some scholars see his second letter to Corinth as part of his solution to this faith crisis.
Just as the early Christians in Corinth, we are fragile creatures, who have to come terms with our mortality. One of life questions for us is, “Did we live of quality or mere quantity?” Are we focused solely on our outer nature, and the number of candles on or cake, or are we centred in the growing of our inner nature being renewed day by day by God’s Spirit in us?
Lynn lived out her testimony of faith. She courageously confronted the reality that she was a jar of clay. She was a vessel for God’s spirit to dwell. Like Paul, she had a thorn in her flesh that presented many obstacles and challenges. She endured these burdens with grace and perspective. I can see that she and Mike lived life to the fullest because of this horizon that was always before them. One of the residual benefits of facing our mortality is that it pushes us to live life to the fullest.
One of my favourite movies that I suggested to Tom Kline who is battling cancer is the Bucket List. Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson are two terminally ill patients sharing the same room at the hospital. They set off on an adventure to check off their bucket list. The things that wanted to do before they kicked the bucket. Not many of us have the money to do all the things they did but in small ways we too should set out to live each day with a sense of purpose. Lynn has modelled for us how to confront life’s challenges and embrace our quality of life. To stay focused on our inner nature.
My sense is that Mike and Lynn along with many church family members were actively checking off their bucket lists with Lynn. I have heard great stories about your trips together. You are centred on renewing your inner natures, accepting that our outer nature would one day fade away. You cherished your time together and lived to the fullest because in life there are no guarantees.
We would have loved to see Lynn’s face on the Smucker's jar on the Today Show when she turned 100, but this was not to be. We embrace this eternal truth that it’s not only about the quantity but the quality of the life we have lived.
Did we love others with our whole hearts? Did we make a difference and embrace others with compassion and forgiveness? Part of the legacy Lynn leaves with us is her committed service to others. She pursued higher education to be more effective with the people she help cared for. She walked through the dark valleys with folks who needed a compassionate presence. All along our Good Shepherd was walking with Lynn. God has been with her since she was knit together in her mother’s womb until the very moment she was enveloped God’s light and received into his loving arms.
I have seen in both Mike and Lynn a remarkable testament to sacrificial love. Today, the wedding vow “In sickness and in health, till death do us part” may seem to have lost its deeper meaning. This was not the case with Mike and Lynn. Mike, you have been by Lynn’s side and she was blessed to have you as her life partner. May this be part of Lynn’s legacy for the other couples here? Her journey with her family is testimony of what it means to embrace our inner nature. Build your treasures in heaven together. May the light of sacrificial love in our lives be our testament to the life that Lynn lived so well.
We have many metaphors for God, but the one that seems appropriate today is comforter. God’s Spirit is present with us to bind our hearts burdened with grief. The shortest verse in the New Testament is, “Jesus wept.” Jesus understands what it means to lose someone you love. Our Comforter is the Good Shepherd who will always be with us when we walk through these dark valleys of grief.
Mike, Sarabeth, Craig and David, my hope and prayer is that you will discover that there are family and friends who too will walk with you through these months and years of bereavement. Let’s get off the hamster wheel and take some time to savour our quality of life together. Let’s be present to one another over these years ahead, to celebrate the life and legacy of Lynn Scantlin. A life well lived. Her inner nature remains with us always. That extra sparkle in her grandchildren’s eyes reminds of us her legacy of love.