A bit ago I posted about the death of a professor of mine at the University of Richmond. One of his children is an Episcopal priest in Ann Arbor. Susie knows him and let him know about the blog. In the comments of that post he was kind enough to share the remarks he made at his father's funeral. I found them moving and asked for permission to post them here. He agreed. Read on if you wish.
On behalf of the Rhodenhiser family, thank you for coming to celebrate the life of my father, Dr. Bill Rhodenhiser. My father knew that as we live life out of relationship to the Holy One, the more we live as Jesus lives, the more grace-fully our lives resonate profoundly, as songs of praise and meaning.Posted by tripp at June 24, 2005 09:31 AMI want to share a bit of his exploration. Particularly to bless and challenge his grandchildren and the rest of us to make our lives resonate with the God of wonder and blessing. My dad was fond of quoting the prophet’s promise,
Be still and know that I am God. My dad challenged people to experience the holy more fully. To be liberated from neat theories, of the right or the left, that ignore messy complexity and close doors to growth, greater reality, and the human compassion we owe all people.
My dad used to preach country revivals at Baptist churches. He also taught hundreds of people and college students to meditate, borrowing freely from eastern faith traditions. Not many college professors were comfortable in either of those contexts. But for 37 years at the University of Richmond, my father spanned a variety of context, teaching Bible, Psychology and Religion, and Eastern Religions .
My dad was critical of all groups and ideologies, and generous with all people. When Longwood College in Farmville integrated and a black pastor’s daughter wanted to attend the local Baptist church where he was interim, he was not allowed to speak at an emotionally charged church meeting. After the congregation voted not to welcome black students to worship with them, he was then asked to give a benediction.
He declined, saying, how in good conscience could you ask any Christian minister to bless this assembly? And walked out, pursued by angry and upset people into the street. He did return to preach on Sunday.
My dad saw God at work in all the great faith traditions of the world. He saw Jesus as the ultimate revelation of God. He took me to the most Pentecostal gathering of my childhood in Richmond, which was led by orthodox Hasidic rabbis who danced and sang before God with hundreds of our Jewish brothers and sisters. And culminated in all of us numinously, joyfully dancing in the in the aisles. We were the only Christians in the room.
My dad saw God in India, and his beloved Hindu mystic and guru, Baba Faqir Chand. In the Buddhist Dalai Lama, whom he was privileged to meet. In his teacher and mentor, the great Baptist preacher Dr. Cousins. In his long time Baptist foreign missionary friends, Anne and Lloyd Neil. In his former student and personal confessor, Pastor Ray Allen. And in all of you.
To those who wanted to restrict God’s love and activity to one in-group, or one religious system, he would quote Acts 14:17, God has not left himself with out a witness in doing good among any of the peoples of the earth.
My father knew that God was the transcendent other, beyond our feelings or ideas. As the Holy Spirit within, and beyond, God leads us into more resonant lives of grace.
In this 21st century, post 9/11 world, fruitful people learn to love and relate across boundaries of ideology and faith tradition. And to stand with Jesus in loving embrace of the outcastes. In the words of Jesus, the measure we give will be the measure we receive.
Gut check: which outcastes are you afraid of? Muslims? Religious liberals? Fundamentalists? Gays or lesbians? Democrats? Republicans? In the words of 1 John 4:18, God’s unbounded love casts out fear. We who lives as captives to oppositional energies have not yet been perfected in that love.
I pray that in each of his god-gifted grandchildren, and you his god-gifted friends, my father can behold lives dedicated to knowing and serving a generous God. Who defies our attempts to tame or limit his love, justice, and holiness.