Homily - Tony Lynch - Father Peter Murphy

I just met Tony a couple of times, just recently when he was in the hospital part of Summerset. He was naturally polite but quite definite that he didn´t want the sacraments of the Church which we offer to people. Sickness and old age are times when people particularly appreciate the comfort the sacraments bring. I suspect what was going on within him was the struggle between atheism and belief. That is in fact a universal struggle, particularly these days when the faith one received as a child is totally out of sync with what we know from the experience of life. However, there was no question about where he was to be buried from. It was to be from a Catholic Church; that was right and proper. He did strike me as being at peace with himself, which is so vital in one's final days. The rest is between him and his maker.

I am rather impatient with the modern conception of funerals as a celebration of the person. A celebration is when you have a few drinks and tell stories afterwards. A funeral, in our tradition, is praying for the deceased. I prayed for Tony at mass this morning. What happens after death is a mystery to us. Death is the moment of truth, where our whole life comes together. It just is what it is. It is not a time for judgement or regret, but a time of thanksgiving; a moment when we can let our lives go and head toward the light. That light is Christ. “I am going to prepare a place for you and when I return. “  This is a gospel that is universally loved for it speaks to where we are all at, that is no matter how vast our universe is, I have a special place in it. I am here for a purpose and discovering that purpose is a key part of my journey. We are spiritual beings on a human journey, not the other way around.

The other side to this is the way we live. There is the Golden rule that is found not only in the Bible but in all the major religious traditions; “do unto others as you would have them do unto you” Our first reading read by Stella builds on this,

Prepare yourself for testing.

Is that your heart right and be steadfast,

and do not be impetuous in time of Calamity.

Except whatever befalls you,

and in times of humiliation be patient.

For gold is tested in the fire,

and is found acceptable, in the furnace of humiliation.

These are words of wisdom and wisdom is honored and valued universally. That too is a key part of our life journey: growing in wisdom. So it is with these thoughts that we commend Tony to God that he may be forgiven for any wrong he may have done and that you continue on his journey to the light.