Funeral Sermon for The Reverend John Howells

Transcription

1 Funeral Sermon for The Reverend John Howells preached by The Reverend Jim Pilmer PSM at St John s, Camberwell on Monday 26 th September May I take this opportunity to express my sympathy to Helen and to all of John s family; and to do that also on behalf of John s clergy colleagues present here today. As clergy we will have a continuing memory of John as a respected friend and as a faithful priest and servant of God; pastor, teacher and guide to many. Such appreciation of John s life, ministry and uniqueness is not limited to the clergy of course, and your presence here in such large numbers expresses that in ways which words cannot. You are a living symbol of John s relationships, covering many aspects of his life (both personal and professional) and together we offer up a remarkably diverse corporate prayer of thoughts, memories and thanksgiving for what he has meant to us. I came to know John more closely in retirement than I did during our active ministries, and that was assisted largely through our sharing in a regular clergy lunch group. It s in such times of hospitality, social interaction and reflecting on each other s experiences that one gains insight into one s friends which might not otherwise be revealed in the more fleeting acquaintances of day to day ministry. At such times together John shared his humour, his theology and insights into both life and ministry, but also (amongst other things) his knowledge and enjoyment of the arts. John quite recently selfpublished a very interesting book called My Gallery, describing 6 Australian paintings that hang in he and Helen s home.

2 The text which accompanies each painting shows John s gift of being able to see into an image, to look beneath the surface and to not be hoodwinked by the literal or superficial. Such insight came from his understanding of symbolism, metaphor, and a natural quest for meaning, which he placed fairly and squarely in the context of the Christian Faith. In fact, in the notes accompanying the photos of the paintings, John says that he often gave a painting a new title when he saw some new meaning in it. I like that and I m sure the artists themselves would be delighted to know that someone would draw that much pleasure and fulfilment from contemplating their paintings at such depth. In the readings which John chose carefully for this service I can only imagine what he was painting in his mind, but paintings I think he would like them to be, and I thought we might reflect that aspect of John s personality by considering them in that way this morning. Catherine read to us the poem Night. Not the night of the suburbs, with street lights and cars and light pollution of other kinds, but perhaps the night of the Outback where dark means black, and stars stand out as wonders of the universe; where the insignificance of our planet is awe inspiring in the deepest sense and where simply to be and to wonder is inevitable. Perhaps John wanted us to think about the dark, not as a brooding darkness, not as darkness that overwhelms or frightens, but as darkness that you look into rather than at; the birthplace of life, the place from which the light comes, the place in which the light is to be found. The Psalm which John chose (and which Peter read) takes us to a much more active mental image or painting. Here the writer is speaking with the God who emerged from that darkness. He is speaking also about that God.

3 And whilst there are many attributes of God described in the psalm (especially that he is everywhere and all-knowing) a sometimes overlooked point of the reading is that God knows about us (cares about us) as individuals. This passage of scripture is about relationship. And when we think through various circumstances in our own lives when we have feared that the darkness will cover us and the night will enclose us we discover that the darkness and the light are both alike, to quote the psalmist. We are known about wherever we are, and in whatever circumstances. We are loved. God is already there. Where shall I go from your spirit, the writer asks? Well, what sort of a painting would you make of that? I think that I would want to depict a warm and protective presence surrounding an individual (no matter how small that person was or where he/she happens to be placed in the picture). And I think I d make it a very big work with lots of light, and a gold frame for good measure. Finally, Stephen read to us a resurrection narrative from St John s Gospel. This painting is of a very different kind. It s no abstract and it s not allegorical. It s a depiction of the discovery upon which our Faith as Christians is based; that Christ is Risen! Mary Magdalene has been through at least 2 days of profound grief. She stoops and looks into the tomb. Jesus is not there. For an instant this must heap grief upon grief, but suddenly she is aware of someone standing close by. She begins to pour out her distress to the man she thinks is the gardener (for some reason unidentifiable at that point) but then everything changes. And it changes because Jesus simply says her name: MARY. (John!) Again, we are reminded that we each have identity in the sight of God. How would you want to express that artistically?

4 Well, there s a lot going on in this final depiction: people grieving, angels responding, a tomb provided by Joseph of Arimathea in a garden setting, a woman being the one to whom this extraordinary truth of the Resurrection is first revealed. If I could paint at all (which I can t) I think I would just paint the scene as is, and then (like John Howells) our loved one, priest and friend, I d ask people to look into it rather than at it, and discover the depth of meaning and of new life which is available to us all, through Christ s death and resurrection. I think that in choosing those 3 readings (those 3 paintings if you like) John was wanting us to both hear and see the strengthening and comforting truth that: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was made flesh and dwelt amongst us, and knows us and surrounds us, whether in this life or the next. Today we commend John into God s care, giving thanks for his Godgiven uniqueness and his faithful proclamation of the truth that God is with us and that Christ is Risen. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the tender mercy of God, rest in peace and rise in glory. Amen.

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