"Consider the Lilies of the Field"

 “Consider the Lilies of the Field”

In Celebration of the Life of Bill Graham

A Meditation by Fr. Paul Bresnahan

Matthew 6:25-29 ~“Consider the Lilies of the Field”

‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these.

“Consider the Lilies of the Field”

“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow”.

This Gospel was written for an occasion like this.

Bill Graham spent a lifetime making things beautiful. He dedicated all that he had and all that he was so that he could scatter comfort and joy all around the North Shore well beyond anyone’s ability to calculate or measure. What a blessing he was to us. 

Even now I imagine him in a field of flowers gathering up a bouquet for his beloved. But that’s the friend and the priest in me talking. I can’t imagine anything better, unless, of course it were a shop on Essex Street in Salem. That really was lovely.

“Beautiful Things”. That’s what he called the shop. And it was exactly that. You could stop by anytime and there he was out back, surrounded by a grand clutter of flowers and greens and vases and what not of every manner under heaven. And by some miracle he’d pull things from hither and yon and voilà: there was something very beautiful indeed; a bouquet for the eyes and the nose and something about it all moved us to love.

That’s because Bill loved us. And so does Phil. In our particular case, when Cindy and I fell in love and married, Bill prepared the flowers for the wedding. Those flowers adorned the altar at Christ Church, Hyde Park on October 13,1979. And Phil sang. It was a glorious and unforgettable day! Thank you both!

Day in and day out. Year in and year out, you could count on Bill to be there and Phil too ready to greet you with warmth and affection Whatever the occasion, all you had to do was call in and tell Bill what you needed and he would go straight to work, his hands a blur and out of a menagerie of living things he’d gather another bouquet and prepare something special just for you.

So it was for many unforgettable days and special occasions for so many people. It could be the birth of a child, a wedding or an anniversary, the illness of a fried, the death of a loved one, a gesture of kindness, an expression of love, a request for forgiveness. You could always stop by or call in, and Bill was on it. Before you knew it there they were, delivered by my friend Phil. My best friend Phil. What a delight it was to to open the door and see that smile and those flowers.

Talk about beautiful things!

Thank you Bill

Thank you Phil

What a precious thing is life, friendship, love!

And family. I feel like I know you all well. You included Bill in all those Holidays; Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter and so on. Phil described those days to me in detail. In infinite detail. He knows every name, every important day in your lives, every school and workplace, every joy and sorrow. He loves every single one of you and so did Bill.  You made Bill family to you. Your kindness and love meant everything to him.

Thank you all. 

And to all his friends too many to number. How often you would stop by in the store just to say hello. You are a tribute to him and thank you for being here. I know how much you cared for him because I know how much he cared for you. 

Every single flower and every single one of us he touched spoke of that love. Not even Solomon in all his glory was arrayed as even one of these.

And then there came the illness. Even then he resolutely continued making beautiful things for as long as he could at the shop, in public speaking engagements, then at home. Only weeks ago he was baking cookies, doing needlepoint. Always something to make this old world a little more beautiful. 

The day he died, I visited Bill one last time. He was in extremis so I stayed with him for some time and said some prayers from my Celtic Prayer Book. I recited some lines from Morning Prayer

“One thing have I asked of the Lord. This is what I seek. 

That I may dwell in House of the Lord all the days of my life.

To behold the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his Holy Temple."

I have no idea whether he heard me or not but it always puts me at ease to pray. And besides the words seemed fitting.

I got up to leave but just then my buddy Phil arrived with some flowers, naturally. We visited. A kindly woman stopped by with a Golden Retriever named Rosie. It was delightful. Finally, I asked one last blessing: “The Peace of God which passes all understanding” Later that night Phil posted a picture of the seashore; “Good night my handsome” it said.

What next my friends? The priest in me must now speak to our faith as well as to our skepticism in all honesty, in all truth, and with a note of authority. 

You know my story Phil. You know what my grandmother said about all this. When my dad died at Christmas in 1953 I was only 8 years old. I wanted to know if I’d ever see him again. The “christians” in the family said my dad couldn’t go to heaven because he didn’t go to church. Thank God my uncle was an atheist. He told me not to worry because he said my dad would get to heaven a whole lot sooner than anybody in that crowd would.

My grandmother was the authority in the family on all matters theological. After all, she was the one who sent me to church.

So I asked her

“Ma, is there a God?"

“Of course there is” she said

“Ma, is there a Heaven?”

“Of course there is” she said.

Then I said; “Ma, Is my daddy there?” 

Ah there was a moment’s hesitation. After all she was a Yankee from Downeast Maine and my dad was an Irishman from Butman St in Beverly. And there was that nasty divorce. The prospect of spending an eternity with that man must have given her pause.

A lot was riding on what she did next. 

I remember it like it was yesterday

She knelt down right there on the kitchen floor in Somerville and held me close and said;

“Of course he is”

Because of that here I am today to proclaim the power of love over death whether we believe it or not, understand it or not.

There is a special place in God’s heart for Bill.

For you and me. For all. No exceptions. 

To prove it, here I am to embrace you with these words.

So consider the lilies of the field how they grow. From the dust of the earth they rise and live again. And not even Solomon in all his glory is arrayed as even one of these. That’s not just my uncle or my grandmother or me talking. That’s Jesus.

“Good night Bill”

“See you on the other side”

“Amen”.

In the Name of God, the Most Holy, Undivided and Everlasting Trinity. 

Amen.