This Treasure in Clay Jars

August 18, 2000

Church of the Crossroads, Honolulu, Hawai`i

A Memorial Homily for David Eng Fao Wong Grossman,
by Phyllis Roe

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not comes from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies...So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. -- II Corinthians 4:7-10; 16-18

We have this treasure in clay jars...We have this treasure -- and this treasure happens to be nothing more and nothing less than life itself -- your life, my life, the life of David Grossmann, which we come to celebrate today. In the Christian affirmation, life is not neutral, it is good; and it is to be treasured. God created the world, breathed the breath of life into us and gave us a world and each other to enjoy. It is important today, in the midst of our grief, to remember this.

If you ever doubt that life is a treasure, there are a few people you can watch. Watch a new parent. I was waiting to get a blood test the other day. There was a man sitting across from me, a big guy, holding a tiny baby, probably not more than a month old. The baby was being a baby, wrinkling its face, opening and closing its eyes, its mouth looking for something to suck on. Every movement the child made was a delight to the father -- he would laugh at her and then look around the room with a big smile to see if everyone else could see how wonderful and charming, what a treasure, this small daughter of his is. Many of you here today remember the similar joy and pride with which Bud and Frances introduced David to this congregation, when they carried him as a baby down this very aisle and he became a part of, not only the life of their family, but also of the life of this community. You will remember that you sang the same hymn then that we will sing today: "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee". Life is a treasure, given to us by God to enjoy.

Of all that it might mean to say we are created in the image of God, one thing I am sure it means is that to live in this world is to go through life as though a pearl of great price is hidden within the folds of our experience, waiting to be discovered in each day. And who knows that better than those among us who face challenge in their health which threaten to shorten their life? To learn to live each day for what it is, to find the pearl which is visible in this moment, because you don't know how many more moments there will be -- that is at the heart of knowing that life is a treasure. David knew that and said it in his own words that you heard read a few moments ago -- "Do not be anxious -- there are just some things that should not be worried about. So, you know, get a life!" Get out there and treasure each moment while you have them.

Paul, in this passage from Corinthians, also said "we have this treasure in clay jars". We know life in this world only through our existence in human bodies and a finite world, subject to disease, to accident, to all manner of chance and change which can alter our dreams, change our hopes, and present us with unforeseen challenges. The life of faith, our belief that life is a God-given treasure, can be severely tested. Paul knew something about this in his own life. Though we don't know what it was that he suffered from, we know that he, too, had a "thorn" which weighed heavily. When he writes, "we are afflicted but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; struck down but not destroyed", he was talking from his own experience, personally and as a Christian, that new religion which suffered from persecution. David Grossmann, his family and friends, and, in various ways all of us, know something about this side of life also. As a community we can affirm that David too was afflicted, but not crushed; sometimes perplexed, but not driven to despair, struck down with muscular dystrophy, but certainly his spirit and his enthusiasm for life was never destroyed.

Yes, David's outer nature, his body, was wasting away, in the words Paul uses. But we could also see that his inner nature was being renewed day by day. God was at work in his life, and in the life of his family, along with a whole troupe of guardian angels special ordered by Frances, to keep alive that sense all along the way that life is to be treasured, to be lived with everything you've got to give it.

The last days of David's life came too quickly, much too soon. His graduation from Waldorf had just been celebrated a few months ago, and perhaps no one was prepared for this next graduation which came so closely on its heels. But in the last few days of his life, I believe that God was at work in David, preparing him for the journey home. Frances shared with me that several times in those last two days David said, "it's gone! It's gone!" with a note of triumph in his voice. At first she didn't know what he meant. Then she caught on; "you mean the muscular dystrophy is gone?" He said, very proudly, "Yes, I beat it! I've always had a fighting spirit!"

To feel that he had beaten this disease at the very moment that it was sapping his life -- what a remarkable testimony to the liberation David must have been experiencing, to the pride he felt in how he had lived his life, and to the Spirit of God at work within him to prepare him for his new home, for a life of glory beyond all measure.

David's words are both a gift and a challenge to us. Whatever the challenges are in your life and mine, we can approach them in the same spirit. To choose, for one's whole life, to fight for life, is to have life, even in the face of death. Yes, David, you beat it! You won the victory! And so can we!

"So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal."

Thanks be to God!