Even in Death, the Hope of Advent Rings Strong, The Burial of Mary Eleanor Anderson Isaiah 25:6-9, Psalm 121, Revelation 21:2-7, John, 11:21-27 December 9, 2005 The Rev. William V. Livingston, Rector Church of the Resurrection, Starkville, Mississippi I am not foolish enough to stand before you and pretend that a void does not exist in many of you today. For those of us who knew Mary Eleanor as a friend, through the Starkville Community Theater, through her bridge club there is an empty spot in your heart today. She has left a vacant spot in the pew she sat on each Sunday and Thursday. Others may sit in that same spot, but the vacancy will always be there. Ruby Jean and Laurine have a void only a sister and aunt can fill. And certainly, there is a chasm in Bob’s heart today. Yes, we each had our own unique relationship with her, and we all have our memories of Mary Eleanor, memories that will grow more precious over time. Briefly, I share one of mine. I first met Mary Eleanor 3 1/2 years ago when I interviewed with the Vestry about my call as Rector. However, my first memory of Mary Eleanor goes back some 30+ years when I was a MSU student. And, no, I never had her as an instructor. I never even met her. However, when I was student, I frequently noticed a tall, distinguished woman walking with a bald, not as tall, not as distinguished man (sorry Bob). What always caught my attention, what I most remember was that each time I saw them, they held hands as they walked across campus. If I ever saw them apart, I did not recognize them. So ingrained was this memory, that when I first met Mary Eleanor, I made no connection. No, I connected her to this memory at my first healing service when, yes, some 30 years older there was that same distinguished woman and bald man holding hands as they walked down the aisle, and then holding hands as they did each time as I anointed them with oil. Diane and I spent our Thanksgiving on the Gulf Coast doing relief assistance. We worked in homes with nothing remaining inside except the stud walls. The storm surge of Katrina washed everything else away. We may feel, after the storm surge of the death of a loved one, as though nothing remains but the stud walls of our life. Nothing is as it once was, and it will never be the same again. So, today, we don’t come to deny or to fill those voids, those empty places. To do so would do a disservice to Mary Eleanor and a disservice to our emotions. However, we face a choice. We can believe that devastation is the last word, and that nothing more will happen. Or we can believe that this devastation is not final, but is in fact, a first step toward renovation and rebuilding that will result in something even more useful, more beautiful, than what was there before. For those of us who come from faith traditions that observe the Christian liturgical year, we aren’t that involved in the debate about the political correctness of what to call our current holiday season because it’s not Christmas, it’s Advent. Advent is the time of year when we focus most on hope for when Christ will come again to reunite all things and make all things new. Thus, it is fitting that we come today, in this season of Advent, to celebrate the life of the one who left those crevices and unfillable spaces and to celebrate her resurrection and in the sure and certain hope and promise that we will be reunited in that resurrection. We come with the promise that in her own suffering, Mary Eleanor participated in the suffering of Christ, and Christ participated in her struggles. We trust as she suffered with Christ, so also will she be resurrected with Christ. After her patient waiting that Advent asks of us, Mary Eleanor has heard personally the words we just heard Jesus speak to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live.” And whatever physical suffering she experienced in her life is now past, and as proclaimed in the Revelation of John, “God is making all things new.” And God promises to raise us also; not as we once were, but renewed, renovated, made more useful, more beautiful, than ever before. We will be a delight, a reason for rejoicing for ourselves and each other and for the God who finds pleasure in us. One of the symbols of Advent is the Advent wreath, a circle, a sign that God is without beginning or end. Like every one of us, Mary Eleanor is meant to be within that circle, one whose witness to life is unbroken. Today that is our prayer and our hope. As so this day, in the midst of our very real feelings of grief and loss, that we cannot deny or avoid, we assert that this grief can coexist with hope. Therefore, even in our grief, in this season of Advent of hope we offer thanks to God. We offer thanks for Mary Eleanor, for all she meant to us, and all she continues to mean. We offer thanks for her devoted service as instructor on the MSU campus, her active leadership with the SCT, and the many many roles she assumed in this parish, and as devoted spouse. And we offer thanks that what we face today is not a final devastation, but instead a first step toward renovation and rebuilding that will make Mary Eleanor an even more useful, more beautiful, more delightful child of God than ever she was before. We all know Mary Eleanor’s ability to organize and coordinate. When she rotated off the Vestry, we had to redistribute her duties among three people because no one could do all that she had been doing. She also had no hesitation whether at a restaurant, at the Community Theater, or at church to offer her feedback and suggestions as to how things could be improved. Therefore, while we have the assurance of her resurrection, some have expressed their hope that Heaven is ready for Mary Eleanor. If not, she’ll have it well organized in no time. As her health somewhat restricted her diet, Mary Eleanor frequently said that if she knew she only had days to live, one of her final wishes would be for a box of Krispy Kreme donuts. Today we heard the prophet Isaiah promised, “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will bake for all peoples a feast of rich food.” I imagine right about now, there ought to be a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts coming out of Heaven’s oven. Thanks be to God!