I was honored to be asked to participate in the celebration of the life of Bobbie Cooke, whose service was on Saturday, December 12, 2015. Because the eulogy and homily were covered by someone else, I decided to address my remarks to Bobbie's twin sister Patti, who had looked after Bobbie during the year or so that I knew them.
Scripture: 1 John 4:7-12, 19.
According to the writer of the document the church calls "First John" the love that is the heart and soul of every relationship and every community is not something we manufacture, but is a gift from the God who is Love. We love because God loved us first---not in some emotional or sentimental way, but by acting for our good. God loved us by becoming one of us, by experiencing the grief and struggle that we experience. In the cross and the resurrection, God ended forever the power of Sin and Death to separate us from God's unfailing love.
Patti, I can't imagine what it would be like to lose a twin sister as you have. But I can imagine what it would be like to love a twin sister faithfully, because you have shown all of us what that looks like by the way you cared for Bobbie. Here's what I saw---what we all saw over the time you and Bobbie were among us together:
Love looks like being willing to ask for prayer for Bobbie's health problems.
Love looks like finding a place for Bobbie in the activities you enjoyed: choir rehearsal, Wednesday night suppers, and Bible studies when Bobbie was able to come.
Love looks like spending endless hours in the emergency room and in the hospital when Bobbie had spells of illness.
Love looks like insisting that doctors find out what was wrong and do something about it.
Love looks like trying to help Bobbie make it in the independent living community that was your home together.
And love looks like making the hard, painful decision to find Bobbie a safer, more appropriate place to live when independent living was no longer a possibility.
Love looks like taking care of yourself so you could have more energy and patience for Bobbie.
The scripture teaches us that we recognize when God is present by the love that we see a person show by the concrete, mundane, everyday things that a person does for another. Love is not about always feeling sweet and loving Love is not about never getting impatient. Love is about plugging along, one day at a time showing by your actions that you seek another person's well-being.
Today Bobbie is resting in the arms of Jesus. And as Jesus holds Bobbie, Jesus looks over her shoulder straight at you, Patti Cooke, and Jesus says, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You showed my love to your sister. Well done."
Scripture: 1 John 4:7-12, 19.
According to the writer of the document the church calls "First John" the love that is the heart and soul of every relationship and every community is not something we manufacture, but is a gift from the God who is Love. We love because God loved us first---not in some emotional or sentimental way, but by acting for our good. God loved us by becoming one of us, by experiencing the grief and struggle that we experience. In the cross and the resurrection, God ended forever the power of Sin and Death to separate us from God's unfailing love.
Patti, I can't imagine what it would be like to lose a twin sister as you have. But I can imagine what it would be like to love a twin sister faithfully, because you have shown all of us what that looks like by the way you cared for Bobbie. Here's what I saw---what we all saw over the time you and Bobbie were among us together:
Love looks like being willing to ask for prayer for Bobbie's health problems.
Love looks like finding a place for Bobbie in the activities you enjoyed: choir rehearsal, Wednesday night suppers, and Bible studies when Bobbie was able to come.
Love looks like spending endless hours in the emergency room and in the hospital when Bobbie had spells of illness.
Love looks like insisting that doctors find out what was wrong and do something about it.
Love looks like trying to help Bobbie make it in the independent living community that was your home together.
And love looks like making the hard, painful decision to find Bobbie a safer, more appropriate place to live when independent living was no longer a possibility.
Love looks like taking care of yourself so you could have more energy and patience for Bobbie.
The scripture teaches us that we recognize when God is present by the love that we see a person show by the concrete, mundane, everyday things that a person does for another. Love is not about always feeling sweet and loving Love is not about never getting impatient. Love is about plugging along, one day at a time showing by your actions that you seek another person's well-being.
Today Bobbie is resting in the arms of Jesus. And as Jesus holds Bobbie, Jesus looks over her shoulder straight at you, Patti Cooke, and Jesus says, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You showed my love to your sister. Well done."