Anita’s life was all about music. She gave us two kinds of music.
First, the music she played for all of us. Often right here in this cathedral. And that music was beautiful indeed. She brought Bach’s cello music alive on her own instrument. Bach said: “the end of all music should be the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul!” When she played, it was to the glory of God and the refreshment of our souls.
But even more beautiful was the Music of Anita’s Life! The music that she lived. Her very life was an inspiring musical composition. She didn’t just play music. Music permeated her life and refreshed her soul. And then refreshed the souls of all who knew her. And all the while, without needing to talk about it, she allowed God to be the conductor of her symphony. The close God! The God she saw and cherished in all humanity, and in you.
There were four great passions of her life: her family and friends, her music, her motorcycles (anything with wheels), and her beloved pets. These great passions were the Music of her Life. We might call these four great passions the four movements of her beautiful symphony:
HER FAMILY AND FRIENDS: The first movement of the great symphony of Anita’s life: Family and Friends. You know I don’t need to say a whole lot about that. Here you all are. A cloud of witnesses to the love that Anita generated all around her. The love she gave, the love she received. A love that now fills you all and will never go away. Thanks be to God for a love like that.
HER MUSIC: The theme of “music itself” is the second movement of Anita’s great symphony. Music was not just a profession. It was a calling imbued with love. She loved to play beautifully to refresh not just her own soul, but the souls of all of us. She was passionate about teaching music. Students of Anita’s (some here today) were not just taught; they were inspired and loved. Her love has launched careers. What a sacred tribute that some of her students played for her in the hospital as the end approached and even at the very end. Music imbued with love.
HER MOTORCYCLES: (or maybe I should say “anything with wheels”): This was a musician on the move! Far be it from her to compose anything that wasn’t exciting. She needed to jazz it up a bit. Variation. Change of tempo. Motorcycles, trucks, you name it. Living her life with passion and gusto. Reminds me of the saying that “God’s greatest glory is a human person fully alive.” And that certainly described Anita. She lived her life to the fullest.
HER FURRY FRIENDS: Her beloved pets, especially her dog Bartholomew, were the fourth great movement in her symphony. The music of her life reached out to all God’s creatures great and small. They were loved and they loved her. And the music of her life was energized by her enjoyment of God’s gift of the natural environment. She loved to take rides, sometimes all on her own, surrounded by the beauty of nature.
What a person. What a life. What a great loss. But also what a legacy for us to cherish. A legacy of inspiration and meaning for us. A legacy of Love.
My sermon is redundant. Anita already preached it loud and clear by the way she lived her life:
Her life was about being human in the best possible way. That’s why God, through Jesus, reminded us of the sacredness of our humanity. This doesn’t need all the complicated theological explanations. It’s as if God is saying through the human Jesus: “It’s simple folks. You got it already. You’re human, so BE human. Cherish each other’s humanity.” Anita’s life endorsed that simple message: The sacredness of our humanity and the need to live our humanity as sacred. With honesty, mutual accountability and love! Love of all creatures great and small. Love of all people especially those who are hurting. So. What will be the message of Anita’s life that YOU will always carry in your heart?
A bishop in our church once called us to a beautiful formula for our lives. And I think Anita calls us to the very same formula:
Live Fully,
Love wastefully,
Have the Courage to Be all that you can be!
(Amen)