Go Beyond

Today, I attended the funeral of my friend Mary Lee. The service was a three-hour celebration of her life. The music, remembrances from family and friends, resolutions from area churches, and the eulogy were uplifting. The Reverend Vern L. Cooper served as the officiating pastor and Bishop G. Emerson Scott delivered a stirring eulogy.

In his opening remarks, Rev. Cooper said, “I am not here today because Mary Louise Lee died. I am here because she lived.” He told us that the service would be long because there was much to celebrate about the life of Mary Lee, a life well-lived. “If you want to hear the Lord say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant’,” said Rev. Cooper, “then there had better be some well-doing in your life!” Mary’s life was filled with well-doing. So, it wasn’t difficult to have a three-hour celebration.

Following the service for Mary Lee, my friend Elmo Johnson, Pastor of Rose of Sharon Missionary Baptist Church, and I went to visit a single mother. Pastor Elmo and the Uplift Fourth Ward Foundation have worked in cooperation with city officials to get first-time home buyers into affordable housing. This initiative between the church, the city, and local builders is helping to transform neighborhoods. Replacing dilapidated blight with single-family homes has driven drug dealers out of urban areas because home owners will not tolerate drug deals in front of their homes.

When Elmo told me that Mrs. Washington was short just a little bit of money to realize her dream of home ownership, he arranged for us to meet at the small new home she wants to purchase. She is a hard-working mother who has never owned a home. When I told her that some folks at Kingsland wanted to make her dream come true, her eyes filled with tears. If all goes well, she and her son will be in their new home within a couple of weeks.

On my way back to Katy I received a call on my cell phone. I am the minister on call this week and I received word about an 18 year-old boy from Katy who has been living in his car for the past week. He attends one of our local high schools. He had made some poor choices that resulted in a stern wake-up call when his parents kicked him out of the house.

It took most of the afternoon, but this situation was sorted out. The boy was allowed to return home under certain conditions. I am grateful for the Kingsland folks who alerted me to the situation. This is just another indication that the people of Kingsland are sensitive and responsive to the hurt that others in our community are experiencing.

It’s been a long day.

As I sat to eat with Pastor Elmo, he looked at me and smiled as he said, “Man, you are doing a lot of Reverending today.” I am grateful for friends like Mary Lee and Elmo Johnson. They have taught me the importance of “Reverending” — Elmo’s made-up word for missional living — for being Jesus with skin on.

Mary Lee cared for mentally challenged homeless and impoverished adults. Elmo Johnson pastors both his church and the people in the surrounding neighborhoods. He is working to give families in need a hand-up instead of a hand-out. I saw Jesus in Mary Lee and I see Jesus in Elmo.

Like Mary and Elmo, I want to live in such a way that others see Jesus in me. I love days like today because I feel like I have truly lived. And, I want to continue living and serving others so that when I die the folks who attend my funeral will say that they have come because I lived, not because I died.