Patsy Edmiston
Notes
Transcript
Scripture
Scripture
Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.
Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
“All this I have spoken while still with you.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
Pray.
Remembering Patsy Edmiston
Remembering Patsy Edmiston
My dear Aunt Patsy, it is an honor and privilege to offer words of comfort and hope today. In so many ways she has been a presence of these qualities in all of our life.
Really preparing for these moments can be difficult in many ways. But I was confident that the words of Charles and Chloe and others would make it easy. Without know what they would share, it was easy to know what they would share. Because we have all been touched, influenced, encouraged in some way by Patsy.
I was consulting with a family of my church for a funeral recently. Charles and Judy Hill… JudTy Hill has been fighting cancer for a long time. And when I heard her tell parts of her story, they talked about living in Crockett for 10 years. I perked up and asked them about the Edmistons and they immediately exploded with love and admiration for Patsy and Charlie
They both lived a life that reached wide and deep.
My earliest memories and some of my favorites of my childhood were at the lakehouse:
snipe hunting with Charlie
Patsy playing wonderful host
scategories in the living room....
Aggie and longhorn game at the clubhouse
Frankly between the game and scategories I saw a side of most of you adults that well…let’s just leave it out there.
My favorite personal memories of Patsy....coming to stay at the lakehouse and being alone with her. Meeting people she knew in town.
She visited my brother logan in Prison.
came to church often and was such a supporter of me.
And I know she has been a constant presence to my family.
Friends, that is a special life that continues to give at the end and beyond. Even in sharing today we know that she lives on in special ways. Lessons and characteristics that she passes on. Impactful, purposeful, full of love.
And of course, that is what makes this so difficult.
Peace I leave with you
Peace I leave with you
The text I read from John 14 would have the disciples feeling the beginning of a similar emotion. Jesus is preparing them for his death, resurrection, and departure. He is trying to teach them and prepare them for the mission that Jesus is now passing on to them. In the next few days they would see their leader die and that would be excruciating. Then Jesus knows they will have difficult days ahead as well and Jesus promises Peace….His peace.
A few observations, from the text:
His peace is unlike peace of this world
He has conquered death itself and is the resurrection. He has walked through the darkest valley so that in our dark valleys, we know we are not alone. Jesus has the last word…this is the only way that he can say....peace I give to you and it can mean anything really with our hearts are broken.
His peace is comprehensive. Not just a rest…but deeper than that. Biblical peace is about a setting things right that are wrong. Rebuilding and restoring. The world promises allusions of peace…but goodness we know anything resembling peace is fleeting and difficult to grasp. God’s peace, even if hard to grasp right now is comprehensive.
He is sending the advocate, the Holy Spirit, the testify to our hearts.
And he is preparing a place for all of us that are in Christ Jesus. Patsy is with the Lord. To be absent from the body is to be with the Lord.
· Peace conditioned only by God’s presence with his people. Not on circumstances
“Total well being, prosperity, and security associated with God’s presence among his people.”
· It’s the peace that even when things are not all alright…we still know he is with us.
I was thinking of the passage that reminded me the most of Patsy and God led me to 1 Corinthians 13....
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
Now, Patsy, no doubt failed, dishonored at some point. kept record of wrong, or got angry easily.
But the Patsy I knew, it would have been hard to find an example. I look at this list and it is overwhelming. But see Paul in this text is talking about the love of God that never fails. And when that love pervades all that we are....we can begin to live into this calling. Patsy did that. And she can be an inspiration of us all to live that way too.
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.
Pray.