I have officiated at many funerals and memorial services in my years of ministry, but today was a first for me. I was able to serve in my pastoral role for my fellow birders as we gathered at the Old Pines observation platform at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge to remember Steve Leonard. It was a great opportunity for me to don my "alternate plumage" and have people in attendance actually able to identify the American Goldfinch and Rose-breasted Grosbeak on my stole. I also shared a scripture that I sometimes share at funerals and have those gathered further appreciate the deepness of the meaning for me. I read Matthew 6:25-34, where Jesus reminds us not to worry about our lives by pointing to the birds of the air and reminding us that they don't worry because God cares for them. In relation to remembering Steve, I tried to share the assurance that being carefree in the care of God was something that Steve taught us, in no small part by chasing things with feathers.
Steve had a wonderful and ancient quote that he used as a signature for his email; "A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they will never know." This reminds me of the words of Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped, the conviction of things not seen." Sometimes those things with wings that we birders chase are "things not seen." But that never stops us from chasing them. That never stopped Steve either, because he had the assurance of things hoped for, yes, he had faith.
And so we gathered today to take some solace in the community of believers. We may not all have shared the same religious beliefs, but I know enough of those who gathered well enough to know that they believe in the goodness of life, the value of kindness and the spark of divinity in creation. Those are the things that sustain us regardless of what we name them. We also all believe in hope, otherwise there would have been no reason to gather. The hope that we shared today is that Steve now is also a "thing with wings." And just like those feathered creatures we pursue with our expensive optics, we won't always see our newly winged friend. But we will catch glimpses in our remembrances and we will smile. I hope we will also realize how our lives have been changed by knowing Steve and thus keep him alive not just in our thoughts, but also in our actions.
One thing that would have been nice to share with those with whome I share an ornithological passion is my "trademark" benediction, which mixes the ornithological with the theological. Since a benediction is a parting word, it seems fitting to share it now as a farewell to Steve.
Go in peace and in your life give glory to God the creator. May this creator God, who knows even the sparrow that falls, lift you on gentle breezes that you may soar with the eagles. Give glory also to the Christ, who comes to you still, and challenges you, in the form of the least, the last, and the lost. And give glory to the Holy Spirit. May God's spirit of love, gentle as a dove, be with you all, and all those whom you love, and all those whom nobody loves; now and forevermore, world without end. Amen.
