2019-12-01 Hope Can't Wait

Hope Can’t Wait

Matthew 24:36-44

God’s Promised Day Can’t Wait

There are few things in life harder to do than to wait.  The waiting exponentially increases if that for which we are expecting is a particular person.   Remember the agony of wanting to make everything perfect for your specific person's arrival.  You shop to get the right food.  Your search to find the right music leads you to those songs you share.  You layout the perfect clothes to wear.  Set up your plans.  Make your arrangements.  And at every moment along your journey of preparation, you can't help yourself from sharing your anticipation with every friend and stranger.  You cannot contain your enthusiasm. You cannot wait!

Then, the unthinkable happens!

[AT 11:11 Watch the video: "Plans."]

The person for whom you are preparing everything shows up a day early!  We can't wait; then, what we want shows up at our door - and we are not ready!  We have been "out surprised" by the very one for who we prepare a surprise.   Like a young lover who is caught off guard by the early arrival of his girlfriend, he wants her there but not until he is ready to pull off his surprise.  

Waiting for hope is a lot like that.  We make all kinds or preparations, then, without notice, it’s standing outside our door.  

God’s Promised Day

We know this time of year as "Advent," We watch for the salvation of God to come into the world.  We are summoned to "be on the look-out" for the signs and stories that point us to a greater future than we could ever have imagined.

For what are we looking? For what are we watching and waiting?  We sing about a "noel," a natal, a birthing.  Like parents knowing the end of the pregnancy is at hand but not the exact day or time, we wait. We anticipate.  Though we expect the birth, the birth is not the focus of our yearning.  We are awaiting the person whose delivery is eminent. 

In this week's First Testament text, Isaiah 2: 1-5, the prophet introduces his listeners to the promise of a new reality, a new existence beyond anything the people could have ever envisioned. Isaiah does not just speak about some new military triumph, a majestic show of force that will liberate Israel from all of her enemies. Instead, Isaiah proclaims that there is coming, in some undisclosed future, the birth of a new world and a new reality. A Day of the Lord when "He Shall Reign Forever and Ever." 

In this new reality, "all the nations" shall recognize the Lord's sovereignty and shall "stream" to the Lord's mountain without gladness and jubilation.  Isaiah's vision the pathway to the Lord's mountain, to live under the reign of God's righteousness, is open to all peoples, for all are hungry for God to "teach us God's ways" so that "we may walk in God's paths" (v.3) of peace and justice.

In this newly envisioned world, God will act as the "judge between the nations." This divine arbitration shall lead the nations of the world "to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks" (v.4). Peace will reign, for this world that follows the reign of the Prince of Peace "shall not learn war anymore."

Isaiah's promise is the first proclamation that Yahweh will act as Redeemer, for this world, delivering it from all its misery and injustice.

Handel’s Messiah

The most famous solo in Handel's oratorio masterpiece is the soprano solo, "I know that my redeemer liveth." Handel's "Messiah" is every bit as Christmas as eggnog and Santa. From the very start, people sensed how vital it would be, and the organizers behind its world premiere were so worried about the crowds that women were told not to wear hoop skirts and men were told to leave their swords at home. It premiered during Lent because Handel conceived it as an Easter piece, but the first third of it is about the birth of Jesus, and it quickly became associated with Christmas even more than Easter. 

The words "I know that my redeemer liveth" comes from the celebrated passage in Job 19:25: "I know that my redeemer [go' el] liveth." The Hebrew word for "redeemer" is "go' el."  The "redeemer" in Hebrew tradition was the nearest relative of another, and so was charged with restoring the rights of another and avenging any wrongs perpetrated upon that relative. "Go-els'" "rescued" those who were in dire straits and helped to put them back within the mainstream of community and commitments to shared relationships. A "go-el" brought one who was lost home again.

Micah (4:1-4) quotes this prophecy from Isaiah, and we have already seen how Job declares (19:25-27) "I know that my "go-el" (my Redeemer) lives and that in the end, he will stand on the earth." This message of a divine redeemer, of a God who would deliver the people from death to life, from a world of oppression and injustice into a world of peace and harmony, was paramount to the people.

The Economist

Today opens up before us, this season of "watchfulness" and "waiting" for the first signs of our new "go' el," our new "redeemer" that God reveals to us. 

What this "go' el" will do for this world is spelled out in Isaiah's prophecy, and its nothing less than a complete transformation of this world and its ways. 

We are not looking for a world changer.   The Economist did a unique international feature called "We All Want To Change The World" (16 November 2019), 41-42. The editors of the #1 global magazine for politics, economics, and demographics call this the new status quo: the global rumble of revolving protests by people who want to change the world.

 Jesus doesn't come to "change the world."  Jesus comes to "save the world." We are not preparing for the arrival of a change-agent. We are preparing for the coming of the Savior of the world. "We all want to change the world." But there is only one who can save the world. "The Redeemer."

            The world needs a Savior. We cannot save ourselves, although Pelagianism teaches "you-can-save-yourself-if-you-just-try-hard-enough" Christianity. 

I need a Savior. 

You need a Savior. 

The world needs a Savior. 

Check out he adds, companies say, "Let Us Save You." They want to save us from pain, money wows, old age, wrinkled clothes, corrupt politicians.  

The market can't save us. 

The government can't save us. 

We can't save ourselves, either. 

The definition of someone who spends more than he/she makes as a "negative saver." We all become "negative savers" when we try to save ourselves.

No, we need a "go' el," we need a Redeemer. We need a Savior. And Jesus saves us not by some magic trick of a god machine, swooping down as some super-hero and rescuing us. 

Jesus saves us by entering into our story, becoming one of us, and suffering with and for us. Jesus did not parachute onto the world on some clean, cushy, puffy clouds from heaven. Jesus was born INTO the world in painful bursts of blood, sweat, tears on a bed of hay where itchy mites and other insects lived and were his first greeters. 

“God so love the world”…

The Redeemer began life in pain. He ended life in pain.

No ear may hear his coming,

But in this world of sin,

Where meek souls will receive him, still

The dear Christ enters in. 

("O Little Town of Bethlehem")

Enters into to... 

A world of slavery, sex-trafficking, pedophilia, 

A world of Hitler, Stalin, Idi Amin, Mussolini, Mao Zedong, Pol Pot, 

A world of lying, cheating, stealing, trolling, bullying, slandering.

The Redeemer enters our world of sin and death, not to defeat the powers and principalities of our society on their terms. 

The most beloved passage of Scripture, John 3:16, makes it clear that the salvation of the world is caught up in the salvation of every person in the world. And, John 3:17 makes clear our Redeemer does not meet evil with evil.  “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

The Redeemer came to set you free from sin and death. 

The Redeemer came to set me free from sin and death so that you can sing, I can sing with you, "I know that my Redeemer liveth." 

The event you are waiting for, like a birth, is really a person you are waiting for.  The hope that you want to carry you through is knocking at your door.  The Redeemer is here to save you. 

But in saving you and saving me, our Redeemer is saving the whole world, and the whole of life, the whole of history.

"For God so loved the world" that God saves it. 

Christ saves the world in you and me.

We do not have to wait for this hope. It’s here. 

2019-12-08 Peace Can't Wait

Peace Can’t Wait

Matthew 3:1-12 

You can't wait for peace any longer.  

Is there a heaviness to your spirit today.  Maybe you just cannot wait for peace.  Peace is a spiritual fruit.  “Bearing fruit” is the key to John’s message.  The only way to know if there has been repentance is with fruit.  Radical message that being a descendant of Abraham was not enough.  One had to have faith and action like Abraham as well.  John warns against “resting on your laurels.”  It is not enough to just claim Abraham as your Father.  A changed heart has to follow.  “The Christian equivalent of ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ Is ‘We have Christ as our savior.’  While trust in Christ’s salvation is a first requirement, it is not the last” (Douglas Hare, Interpretation: Matthew).

Do you want peace in your life? Bear the fruit of repentance.  

Repentance leads to reconciliation and grows peace.

Think of it like this; you may have a bad memory chip on your motherboard.  While replacing the damaged microchip, you may rid yourself of the defected part, you still can't operate well.  You need something else.  You need a software upgrade.  It’s a two-step process.  

Repentance (The Renewing of the Mind)

Let's start with the message of John the Baptist from today's Gospel lesson.  John meets us out in the wilderness. 

"I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."

It's a two-step process.  Clean up and fill up.  You have to clean up before you can fill up.  You may think that the water baptism, the baptism of John, is a clean-up.  The water represents the cleansing power of God.  It also represents dying with Jesus.  It washes us clean as we die to ourselves.  When I die to myself, I give up.  I am in John’s wilderness.  

The wilderness is where we find ourselves after cleansing before we are where God wants us to be.  The wilderness is where we learn who God is and who we are to God.  The wilderness is when we are our most rebellious.  The wilderness is where we empty ourselves of the shame, blame, pain, name, and game.  We lay down the shame of past actions and thoughts; we lay down blaming others for our situation.  We lay down pain, physical, emotional, or imaginary.  We lay down our ego and need to have our name blazed on everything.  And, we lay down our game playing that keeps us victimized and everyone else the persecutor.  

The wildness is where we lay down our lives.  If we lay down shame, blame, pain, name, and game, we may be cleansed yet still feel unsettled and powerless to live our life for God.   Left in the wilderness, we may say, "if this is all there is God, then I don't want it."

It's the second part of the message that fills us up.  John baptizes to clean.  Jesus baptizes with Spirit to fill!

Let me run around this tree one more time. 

"The Greek word metanoia, poorly translated as 'repent' in the Bible (Matthew 3:2, Mark 1:15), quite literally means 'to change your mind.' Until the mind changes the very way it processes the moment, nothing changes long term. 'Be transformed by a renewal of your mind,' Paul says (Romans 12:2), which hopefully will allow the heart to follow soon. —Fr. Richard Rohr. "Changing Our Minds." Published on the Center for Action and Contemplation online. March 29, 2016. https://cac.org/changing-our-minds-2016-03-29/

Repentance leads you to change your mind about the condition of your life.  When you change your mind about your life, you lay down all that is a barrier between you and God.  Like a freshly washed, empty coffee cup, you are open to the pour of coffee.  Jesus pours the Holy Spirit. Jesus gives you your second baptism.  

Reconciliation (the indwelling of the Holy Spirit)

We often have been told and say that Jesus comes into my heart.  Jesus sitting on a throne in my heart is a beautiful thought but not biblical.  If Jesus is sitting anywhere, he is seated at the right hand of God the Father as by biblical testimony.  It is the Person of the Holy Spirit that is within us.  Of course, I am splitting hairs because Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are all three the Godhead of the Trinity.  Putting your finger on any part of the triangle is to put your finger on the triangle. 

Jesus taught us that when he leaves that he would send another to be in us.  So, which is better to have Jesus with us or to have Jesus in us as the Holy Ghost?  In the Gospel of John, Jesus breathes the Spirit into his disciples.  In the Book of Acts, the Spirit comes and enters each person all at once. Jesus' baptism is having the Person of the Holy Ghost, burning a fire in your gut.  

We often think of reconciliation as the righting of relationships between people and groups. I am going out on a limb this morning, church until you are in touch with, and until you are nurturing a relationship with the One that lives within you, reconciling with others shall be difficult at best and impossible most of the time.  We need is to pay attention to the One who dwells in us.  Tim Johnson puts the question this way, "Am I intentionally cultivating a deep and profound relationship with the Person living within me?"

If you say no, reconciliation needs to occur in you.  

If you say yes, you already know.

John cleans up the vessel.  Jesus pours in the Holy Ghost.  When John and Jesus finish, God reconciles us.  

Peace (completeness, wholeness, and restoration).

You may be stuck in the wilderness.  You may feel burned out, resigned, just waiting for your graduation to heaven.  Or, you may be singing the old Peggy Lee song, 

Is that all there is?

Is that all there is?

If that's all there is my friends, then let's keep dancing

Let's break out the booze and have a ball

If that's all there is 

Or, like so many Christians, you may think that the church is a social service club.  Here is the Goods News of Jesus Christ.  You do not have to wait for the peace of Christ anymore.   You can develop a relationship with the Person who lives with you.  You can activate the fruit of the Holy Spirit that Jesus has given you.  Paul teaches, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control."  These are the signs that the Spirit is doing its work in you.  Do strangers experience these in you?  More importantly, do the people who know you best and are around you most know you in these ways?  Yes, No, most days, some days?

Do you want to grow the fruit of the Spirit?  Peace, among other things? Intentionally cultivate a deep and profound relationship with the Person living within you.  Repentance is an invitation to a new way of life which is demonstrates the fruit of Spirit. Being a son of Abraham or being born again isn’t enough- your life must change, and your actions must bear out that reorientation. Are you willing to be changed by the good news?  Repentance (Renewing of the Mind) leads to reconciliation (The Indwelling of the Holy Spirit) and grows peace (completeness, wholeness, and restoration).

2019-10-20 Keep At It

Keep At It

Luke 18:1-8

          Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and not to lose heart. 

          He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor had respect for people.  In that city there was a widow who kept coming to him and saying, 'Grant me justice against my opponent.’  For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, 'Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.'"

          And the Lord said, "Listen to what the unjust judge says.  And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long in helping them?  I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

How Not What…

            Earlier in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus teaches his disciples what to pray.  [“On that occasion, he gave them specific words to use in prayer. With this Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus teaches us how to pray, rather than what to pray.”] Think of the Lord’s prayer as a conversation with God.  [“This Sunday’s Gospel is not so much about the proper technique for our conversations with God but rather about our attitude. We are to keep at it. We are not to lose heart. We are to be as persistent in seeking a relationship with God as God has been persistent in seeking a relationship with us. Through thick and thin, we are to persevere.”  Willimon.]

Practice Makes Permanent.

            A world renowned labor mediator once said, “The main thing is to keep talking. Everything’s on the table. The only truly wrong thing you can do is to stop talking.”

            [As a pastor, sometimes when a couple is having problems in their marriage, the couple says, “Our marriage is in trouble because we just seem to argue all the time.”

            Pastors sometimes say, “Arguing can be good. At least you are busy talking, listening, negotiating, understanding. The worst thing is for either of you to just go silent. Don’t shut down. Keep talking!” Willimon]

            In church, we just keep talking. We have to go over the same things every week.  Just like a baseball player in the world series practices the fundamentals of baseball every day, as Christians we practice the basics of our faith every week.  No one is born into faith.  It does not come naturally to anyone.  We have to repeat.  We have to practice. 

            My gymnastics coach in high school, Stephen Gale, would say that practice does not make perfect.  Practice makes permanent.  If you practice the wrong thing, you just make your mistake permanent.  We come to church, we come to worship to practice right things, good things.  We come to church to repeat those good things to make them permanent in our lives.

            When we come to church we confess our sins to God.  Do we do it once?  No, sin, like sludge that accumulates in our kitchen sink, it needs a good regular cleaning.

            We come to experience music together to kindle our hearts on fire for God. Do you tell your loved one once that you love them and if you change your mind you will inform them of the change?  You do this if you want the relationship to end quickly.  No, you enjoy telling them often and in many creative ways that your love is faithful.

We keep at it.

            So what about this story.  Jesus was not using a Jewish judge as the example in this parable.  He was using a Roman judge.  Jewish Judges were called Elders.  In a Jewish legal case, three judges heard the case.  The plaintiff chose a judge; the defendant chose a judge; and, one judge would be independently appointed. 

            This judge was one of the paid magistrates appointed either by Herod or by the Romans.  Such judges were notorious.  Unless a plaintiff had influence and money to bribe her way to a verdict she had no hope of ever getting her case settled.  These judges were said to pervert justice for a dish of meat.  People even called them robber judges. 

            The widow is a symbol of all who were poor and defenseless.  Having no resources, she had no hope of ever extracting justice from such a judge.  She had only one weapon – persistence.  It is possible that what the judge in the end feared was physical exhaustion.  The woman would “close his eyes in sleep”.

            Jesus does not liken God to an unjust judge, Jesus contrasts God to an unjust judge.  If, in the end, an unjust judge can be wearied into giving a widow woman justice, how much more will God, who is a loving Father, give to you what you need.

            We may [“read the parable as a parable of an exemplary, determined woman who claims the power that she has and in the process wrings a modicum of justice out of an unjust judge in an unjust world.” Willimon]

We are called to keep at it in prayer. 

            We just opened up the question that drives people to doubt and drives people to faith.  Jesus opened up the question of answered and of unanswered prayer. 

            It is true that God is a Loving Father who wants to give good things to his children. 

            Luke 11:13 teaches us that [“God is eager to grant our petitions for the gift of the Holy Spirit so that we might be more faithful disciples. Before we launch into a sermon on God’s eagerness to answer all of our prayers, we might note that the parable specifically says that God is eager to grant our request for the Holy Spirit, not necessarily all our requests.”  Willimon.]

            However, [“If you have suffered an injustice, say something! Step up and complain. You beat on the door of justice until it’s opened to you! If this lousy judge, who cares not for God or for suffering humanity, finally gives in, how much more so will God respond to your persistence.”  Willimon.]

So, we keep at it in prayer.

            There is a broader context for this parable.  The point of this parable is not so much in the receiving, the point of the parable is in the persistent asking.  Jesus has just finished a lengthy discourse on the coming of the Kingdom.  The religious leaders have asked him point blank when the Kingdom of God will come.  Jesus’ answer is so Jesus.  Jesus answers with two seemingly contradictory claims. 

            The first claim is that the Kingdom of God is already here, “in the midst of you.”

            The second claim seems to contradict the first claim.  Jesus tells of his suffering and rejection.  He tells of people going about their daily business like in the days of the flood, like in the days of Sodom, and like in the days of his own suffering.  He then speaks of a radical and unforeseen event that requires immediate response as the Son of Man is revealed.  More and more curious, the religious leaders change their question from “when” to “where”.  “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” Jesus answers.

            Bam.  Then, Jesus tells this story of the widow.  The wrap up to this teaching comes with these words, “when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”  Rethinking the question, will the Son of Man find people who like the widow continue to pray for justice against all odds?  Will Jesus find people who will pray without ceasing?  Will Jesus find people who will pray for justice wearing down the corruption of this world? 

Jesus calls us to keep at it in prayer.

So, lets pray…

            Lord Jesus, you warned us that the way you walk is a narrow way. Even as you called us to be your disciples, you also told us to take heed and be sure that we wanted to follow you. And in spite of your warnings, we came forward, we said yes, and we walked with you.

            But Lord, walking with you is not always easy. Sometimes you say things that are hard for us to understand. More frequently, you say things that would be very difficult for us to put into practice in our daily lives. Sometimes we come to church with great expectations, but we are bored by the sermon, are unmoved by the music. We set out to read our way through the Bible, but our eyes glaze over, and we lose interest. We long for the way to be easier and for the rewards of discipleship to come more quickly.

            Therefore this morning, we pray, Lord, for persistence. Give us that deep, dogged determination to keep on. Strengthen us so that we might keep going even during times of doubt, disillusion, disinterest, boredom, and fatigue.

            Give us half as much persistence in talking with you, in walking with you, and in living for you as you have persisted in loving and calling us. Amen.

2019-10-12 Remembering Toby Joe Yoh

Service of Remembrance

&

Celebration of Life

Toby Joe Yoh

Sunrise, May 27, 1972 – Sunset, October 6, 2019

Judas Priest, Eulogy (3 minutes)

https://youtu.be/2UBRkn-kB6I?list=PL4U_9EEhdfe1kdTnyYY9sQ2eK8aGMcAr7

Greeting

Friends, you have given to Toby Joe Yoh the greatest honor that you can give to any person.  You have put your lives on hold.  You have travel miles to celebrate his life. 

“Hope” is the thing with feathers - (314) 

BY EMILY DICKINSON

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

The Word of Grace

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,

            And saves the crushed in spirit. (Ps 34:18)

Th Lord heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. 

            Great is our Lord, and abundant in power, 

            Whose understanding is beyond measure. (Ps 147:3,5)

Toby, as we honor your memory and the love you leave behind, we offer your Spirit this old English blessing:

May your joys be as bright as the morning, 

your years of happiness as numerous 

as the stars in the heavens, 

and your troubles but shadows that fade in the sunlight of love.

Do not go gentle into that good night

Dylan Thomas - 1914-1953 39 when died

Do not go gentle into that good night,

Old age should burn and rave at close of day;

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,

Because their words had forked no lightning they

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright

Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,

And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight

Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,

Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.

Do not go gentle into that good night.

Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd.  I shall not want;

He makes me lie down in green pastures.  

He leads me beside still waters; 

he restores my soul.  

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; 

for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies; 

thou anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.  

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; 

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.  

Luke 24:32

32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

Telling the Story of Toby Joe Yoh

Toby’s life of was a life of moving down the road.  His years in the military, his years as a long haul truck driver, his silver wing Honda, his marriage to a love across the sea, and even in the adventures that he explored in his imagination through gaming, his life reminded me of Truckin’ by the Grateful Dead.  The first refrain goes like this, 

Truckin', got my chips cashed in
Keep truckin', like the do-dah man
Together, more or less in line
Just keep truckin' on

Toby loved his military service having graduated from West Noble High School, he spent 5 years active duty in the United States Army and spent an additional 3 years in the United States Army Reserve.  

Toby worked at LSC Communications with Amanda.  The work that defined him was his years as a long haul truck driver and his years in military service.  As a truck driver he like traveling west.  He was in the United States Army and in the United States Army reserved.  Keeping with the love of the road, he had a Honda Silver Wing and road regularly until there was a mix up with a deer. 

Amanda, you and Toby are truly a 21^st century couple.  You met through playing games on Facebook a world apart.  From Facebook chats came hours of long phone calls.  Then you took the plunge and came to the US to meet Toby.  After having made the circuit of families for six days, the two of you married on August 23, 2013 in Milford.  Immediately, your relationship was challenged by the immigration rules in the USA.  It took you three years to be given a permanent visa and return to the states. 

Anytime off of work was a holiday for Toby.  Toby, or JThunder, enjoyed playing the World of Warcraft, reading and collecting comic books.  He like to see the movies based on the heroes of the comics.  He didn’t really favor one over another he just liked them all.  He enjoyed his gun collection and loved the cooling weather of the fall months. Toby like biscuits and gravy, pork-n-beans, baloney, lemon meringue pie, pumpkin bread and ice cream.  

Toby did not describe himself as a church goer.  We find this curious little statement in the Gospel of Luke, Luke 24:32, “They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”” You see Jesus shows up on the road meeting and eating with people.  Those with whom he traveled and talked, did not know his identity.  They did record a special moment of grace that came over them.  In the Grateful Dead song a similar experienced may have been describe with these words that come late in the song.  

Sometimes the light's all shinin' on me
Other times, I can barely see
Lately, it occurs to me
What a long, strange trip it's been

I believe that none get through this life without having grace “light’s all shinin’ on me,” as the songs says.  

I asked you, Amada, with what one word will you remember Toby.  You gave me three phrases with a twinkle in your eye, “pig-headed, stubborn and a lovely heart.”  The first two words reflect his resolve to love which manifested in the loveliness of his heart to do what he could for you and for his family as he was able. The last verse of the song, Truckin’, is for you Amanda, 

Truckin', I'm a goin' home
Whoa, whoa, baby, back where I belong
Back home, sit down and patch my bones
And get back truckin' on

Prayer

O God, you have ordered this wonderful world and know all things in earth and in heaven.

Give us such faith that by day and by night, at all times and in all places, we may without fear commit ourselves and those dear to us to your never-failing love, in this life and in the life to come.  Amen.

Bell Ceremony

            For centuries, the church has used the ringing of a bell to mark the passing of the Beloved and to sing God's praises in silent worship. I now ring this bell four times as we join in a silent prayer of thanksgiving for all the gifts Toby brought to our lives. 

Toby Joe Yoh, with the ringing of this bell, we bid you safe journey.

[Celebrant rings small hand bell]

Having committed Toby’s Spirit to eternal rest, we now say to Toby: 

Be free, be strong, be proud of who you have been, 

know that you will be mourned and missed, 

that no one can replace you, 

that you have loved and are beloved.

Move beyond form, 

flowing like water, 

feeding on sunlight and moonlight, 

radiant as the stars in the night sky.

Pass the gates, 

enter the dark without fear, 

returning to the womb of life 

to steep in the cauldron of rebirth.

Rest, heal, grow young again.

Be blessed.

2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word. Amen. 

Thank you all for coming.

Here Ends the Ceremony, 

Here Begins Toby’s New Life.

Grateful Dead, Truckin’ (5 minuets)

https://youtu.be/pafY6sZt0FE

Military Honors for Specialist E4