Celebration of Life Service for Raymond Gardiner

(June 23, 1917 – February 14, 2003)

Selected Favorite Scriptures

The First Psalm:

Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not wither. In all that they do they prosper.

The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous; for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

_________________________________________________________

The 121st Psalm:

I lift up my eyes to the hills—from where will my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time on and forevermore.

_______________________________

From the Gospel of John, chapter 8, verses 12 through 15:

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." Then the Pharisees said to him, "You are testifying on your own behalf; your testimony is not valid." Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid because I know where I have come from and where I am going, but you do not know where I come from or where I am going. You judge by human standards; I judge no one."

________________________________

From the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 5, verses 14 through 16:

Jesus taught his disciples, "You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, to that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven."

_________________________________

Again, from the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verses 1 through 4, and 12 through 14:

"Do not let your hearts by troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you. I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going. . . . Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it."

Reflections on Scripture – Allen Gardiner

The Scriptures we have heard today remind us of who God is and who we are, for we know there is only One Life, and that is the life of God—the eternal life of God. We are created in the Allness of God, for God is all there is, everywhere present, and each of us is a unique expression of God. We are made in the likeness and image of God—out of Divine substance! Thanks to modern science we now know that the DNA of any two humans, regardless of race, color of skin, gender or sexual orientation, is 99.9 percent identical. And thanks to science we also know that we are made of the same material as stardust. Thus, everything connects, and All are One, which was the overwhelming message of Jesus!

Why are we here on Earth? We are here to express God and glorify God, which we do when we witness the presence of God in all that we do, by seeing the presence of God in each other. The psalmist understood that when we lift up our eyes to the hill, when we recognize that we belong to God, we attain Oneness with God.

In the passages just read we find Jesus telling his disciples, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but have the light of life." When he delivered the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told those listening to him, "You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid." In these seemingly incongruous passages—"I am the light"/"You are the light"—Jesus reminds us that what he was, so are we for Jesus never set himself apart from his fellow humans. Whatever he claimed, he claimed for us, too, the people of all generations, being fully aware of our Oneness.

There are many references to light in the Bible. The author of the creation story in Genesis said, "God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night." Paul wrote to the Ephesians, "For once you were darkness, but now in the Lord you are light. Live as children of light—for the fruit of the light is found in all that is good and right and true." People with near-death experiences generally recall two striking phenomena: a sense of utter peace such as they have never before experienced, and traveling through a long tunnel to a bright light waiting at the other end.

Something within every living thing moves toward the light. We plant seeds; they germinate in the darkness and they send sprouts upward toward the light. Those who know about plants know that light is within every cell. Likewise, every cell in our body is filled with Divine intelligence, knowing how to function and repair itself. And because God is in every cell of our being, then we must be filled with a bazillion particles of nothing but pure light. How, then, could we ever be separated from God? How, then, could God ever judge us since that would constitute a judgment upon God Itself?

Jesus told the Pharisees, "I know where I have come from and where I am going." And so do we! Because our immortal souls existed prior to our birth, we come from spirit world; when we die we return to spirit world. In God's house there are many mansions awaiting us. Jesus said, "You know the way to the place where I am going." And so we do! When we do the works of Jesus—feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the imprisoned, telling the truth, talking the talk and walking the walk, speaking out against injustice, championing the rights of marginalized and outcast persons—truly, we glorify God.

Those whose lives have been touched by God, those who have experienced the Christ consciousness, fully understand what the Scripture means when it speaks about a knowing that is beyond knowledge. To those who have experienced these moments of cosmic consciousness it is very clear that we belong to God and no other; that, as Jesus said, the kingdom of God is within us all; that God loves us unconditionally and far, far more than most of us can even begin to imagine. I know these things to be true and give great thanks that they are so. Amen.

Blessing

Let us pray: Merciful God, we thank you for your word; it is a lamp for our feet, a light for our path. We thank you especially that in the night of our grief and in the shadows of our sorrow, we are not left to ourselves. We have the light of your promises, given through Jesus, to sustain and comfort us.

O God, our strength and redeemer, giver of life and conqueror of death, we praise you with humble hearts. With faith in your great mercy and wisdom, we entrust to your eternal care Raymond Gardiner, who has released the body temple. We praise you for your steadfast love for him all the days of his earthly life. We thank you for all that he was to those who loved him. We thank you that for Raymond all sickness and sorrow are ended, and death itself is past and that he has entered the place where all your people gather in peace. Amen.

Dismissal

Let us cherish our shared memories; let us hold each other a little closer; let us remember how short even a very long life is and take time to stop and smell the roses. Love one another, rejoice in hope, live in peace—and have fun! Amen.