Philippians 4:1-9 Jim Tormey January 4, 2019
The reading from Philippians isn’t
one we often have at funerals. It’s not
one of the recommended ones. But it is
the one of the two texts that Jim requested.
I wondered why he included the beginning part with all the tricky
names. Most people would have skipped
that part and started with the more familiar, “Rejoice in the Lord
always.” But then I was reminded of the
two voicemails saved on my office phone.
Both are from Jim in the last year.
He called me to tell me that he was sorry he had not been to
church. Then he explained why. I already
knew why because I knew that only dire warnings from a doctor would keep him
and Ann away from church. But what
touched me about the messages was that he went on to explain that he wanted to
make sure I knew how much he and Ann supported me and what I was doing at St.
John’s. It was such a sensitive and
caring thing to do.
Since
I have arrived, I have received periodic notes from both of them, providing
encouraging words. And I am sure I am
not the only minister or church member they have encouraged and supported in
their long tenure here. That is why it
seems right and good that Jim would include these words from Paul, these words
of encouragement to those who have “struggled beside him in the work of the
Gospel.” In some ways, I think this is
one of his last acts of encouragement for all of us here. He wanted to remind his family and friends to
stand firm in the Lord.
I am not here to list his many
accomplishments. Most of us know that he
accomplished a great deal in his life.
Yet like his beloved wife, he was always humble. He was a renaissance man. He was a professional
engineer, but also a writer, a singer, and an artist. And he shared many of those gifts with St.
John’s and the greater community. He
loved St. John’s. On one of my visits
with him this summer he said, “It’s interesting that such a small structure
(the church) can be such a center of love and support.” In that simple statement, he reminded me of
what the church can and should be. Not a
center of power or prestige, but of love and support. And we don’t need a lofty cathedral, we just
need this church, these people.
He
also shared something that surprised me.
Jim and I have had many talks over the last few years-- most were about
the life of the church, the community of Hampton, and history. On one of our last visits he said, “I’m
praying for freedom from fear. It’s an
important prayer, but not as important as freedom to love. I’m still trying to
figure that out.” I was so moved by this, that I wrote it down, right there as
I sat with him. I think I even told him,
“Hope you don’t mind, but I want to make sure I remember this.”
Even with all of his accomplishments
in his career, his books, the Hampton History museum…he was able to admit to me
that he was still trying to figure it out. And I think that is a prayer that we
could all use, praying for the freedom to love.
Not the power, the wisdom, or the right people, but the freedom. In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he
wrote, “Do not worry about anything, but it everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Even at the end of his life, when he could
barely leave his house, he was doing much more than so many of us do. He was praying for freedom to love. He was praying for that pure love of God that
we all yearn for, but so rarely name.
And he was still encouraging people, supporting them in their life in
Christ.
I can’t imagine this place without
Jim and Ann. I really can’t. It seems
like they are part of this foundation.
Yet I find comfort in the example that he left for all of us, in his
prayer for freedom from fear and freedom to love as well as his faith not just
in Jesus Christ, but in the church of Jesus Christ---which is not merely this
beautiful building, but the people gathered here.
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