A faithful servant of God died this week. I was honored to preach his funeral Mass.
You see, Tom knew that in the face of death, the Church confidently proclaims that God created each person for eternal life. Tom knew that God sent his only Son, Jesus Christ, to reconcile all of humanity with God, to open the gates of heaven to all so we can enjoy a life of perfect love, happiness, and peace united with God forever. And Tom knew that we celebrate the Paschal mystery, Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection, at every Mass, including a funeral Mass, to offer our praise and thanksgiving for God’s great mercy, for Jesus’ selfless sacrifice, and for the gift of eternal life.
Tom also knew that Jesus didn’t just open the gates of heaven and leave us to our own devices to figure out how to get there. In his teachings and his own example, Jesus showed us the way—a way of living that can be summarized in one word: love. Jesus makes clear in our Gospel that the greatest commandment is to love God with all our hearts, all our souls, and all our minds. And though he was only asked for the greatest, Jesus throws in the second greatest as well because they’re so closely linked—the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves. Again, Jesus didn’t just talk the talk, he showed us by living in perfect, loving fidelity to God and in selfless, loving charity to all of humanity.
Our job, then, the very meaning of our lives, is to love, and Tom knew that. Now, I’ll be the first to admit, and I’m sure Tom would agree, that it isn’t always easy to love God and our neighbor. Life has no shortage of hardships, illness, and suffering, and the death of someone so dear to us makes it hard to believe that God really loves us, and it challenges our ability to love him back. Add to that the fact that sometimes we just don’t feel very loving, and sometimes the people around us aren’t very lovable, and this whole love God, love our neighbor thing seems downright impossible. Yet, it’s in these times that we’re called to love even more, to run the race as if to win it—one step at a time. That’s why Saint Paul, in our second reading, challenges us to keep preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ in our words and our actions with patience, courage, constancy, and endurance. As one biblical scholar aptly put it, “The Christian must count every time as an opportunity to speak for Christ,” and the best way to speak for Christ is to love. Tom Eisenhart knew that.
How do I know? I know because Tom Eisenhart loved. While Tom was famous, perhaps notorious, for loving loud and proud at sporting events and graduations, most of the time Tom was the quiet guy in the background loving God and neighbor through simple acts of selfless service. That’s the Tom I encountered the most. In fact, if you were to draw a circle around me with a 20-foot radius, you’d mark the place where I encountered Tom the most. Right here, every Sunday in the Church he loved, I’d find Tom carrying the bags, setting up or taking down chairs, watering the piano (yes, you heard that right), bickering with Diane over the placement of the microphones, making sure the communion tray had a cup for the choir, making sure I knew if it didn’t, and quietly doing whatever needed to get done so we could celebrate Jesus with all due honor and respect.
And that’s just what Tom did in this 20-foot radius circle. He also served our Church as a catechist for 30 years, as a Eucharistic minister at Mass and for the homebound, and in countless ministries. Tom served the country he loved as well, seeing active duty in Vietnam, where, not surprisingly, he was awarded the Bronze Star for Meritorious Service. And if a wife, six children, fifteen grandchildren, one great-grandchild, parents, siblings, nieces, nephews and in-laws weren’t enough to serve and love, and he loved you all with every ounce of his being, Tom still found time to love countless friends, friends of friends, and complete strangers, offering his help and support to anyone who needed it. He even found it in his “Iron Heart” to love this poor deacon. Whether he was just saying hello, asking me a question, challenging something I said in a homily, telling me I did a good job, or telling me what I did wrong or what I failed to do, Tom always treated me with the loving respect that every child of God deserves.
Diane said it perfectly, “Tom was truly a servant of all and yes, sometimes maddeningly so.” Tom was a servant of all not for any earthly glory, but because he knew that this life wasn’t about him; it’s about Him—Jesus Christ. It’s about living the way Jesus taught us to live so that we can share in the great gift of eternal life that Jesus purchased for us with His life. Tom knew that life is meant to be lived loving God through selfless service to others and that there’s no other way. So if you want to honor Tom, believe. Believe that because He lives, Tom lives. Believe that through a life lived in loving, selfless service to others, we, too, can win the crown of righteousness that awaits us. If you want to honor Tom, don’t imitate Tom. Imitate the man Tom modeled his life after, the man we celebrate today—Jesus Christ. Tom would have it no other way.
Readings: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; 2 Timothy 4:1-8; Matthew 22:34-40
No comments:
Post a Comment
God is listening . . . comment accordingly.