Priest

In our first reading from the Book of Wisdom, we are reminded that no matter what stage of life we are in, we must be prepared for our final encounter with God. In our second reading, Saint Paultells us of the heavenly dwelling where that encounter will take place, where, our Christian faith teaches us, we will experience the total fusion of God in us and us in Him.
But to achieve this goal wemust follow the recommendations that the builder and homeowner has left us, expressed in the Beatitudes in Matthew’s Gospel. We must live the commandments, help those in need, encourage the sorrowful,and feel the inner joy that is our gift as children of God. In this sense, Good Shepherd as a community of faith would certainly say that Jeff walked on his life’s journey certain of his finaldwelling. He was to us a man who reflected his love of God in the way he lived - loving and serving others.
For those who lived with Jesus, experiencing his words and actions first-hand, his death wassomething that at that moment they could not explain or understand. Only after the passing of days did they realize the real meaning of what had happened. This was the moment that the spirit of God madethem remember all the words that the teacher had taught them. For us, too, Jeff’s life cut short is difficult to explain or understand. But his life lived, like Jesus’ life, should serve to help uslive and spread the great good he made in his family and community.

Let me remind you, my dear community, our days are numbered, but we know neither the day nor the hour. Dearest, I am notspeaking as those preachers who seek to instill terror; I am speaking as someone convinced that God is love, and as someone who knows that everyone deserves to experience the love that God has in store forus, as Jeff experienced in this life and enjoys now in his new dwelling with God. Although this is a very painful moment for Becky, Kimberley, Hannah, and Jeff’s family and loved ones, I recall a...