The Burial of Elvira McMillan

Proclaimed on August 4, 2004

Inspired from John 14:1-6

In England, in the small town of Tewin, just a short distance from King’s Cross Station, there is a churchyard where you can see a huge four-trunked tree growing out of a grave. Its presence there has given much speculation among the residents of that community. The grave from which this tree grows is that of Lady Anne Grimston. The question that is raised regarding this tree is whether it is a monument to her disbelief, or, did it happen to grow there merely by chance? You see, Lady Anne Grimston did not believe in life after death. When she lay dying in her palatial home, she said to a friend, “I shall live again as surely as a tree will grow from my body.”

Following her death she was buried in a marble tomb. A huge marble slab, surrounded by an iron railing, marked the grave. Years later the marble slab was noticed to have moved a little. Then it cracked. Later, from that crack came forth a small tree. The tree continued to grow, eventually tilting the stone and then breaking the marble masonry, until today it has surrounded the tomb with its roots and has torn the railing out of the ground with its massive trunks. Today, the tree at Lady Grimston’s grave is one of the largest in England. The question remains, however, was it mere chance that caused the tree to grow there? Or, did God Almighty take up her challenge?

That is one of the reasons why we are here today. We are here to contemplate whether there is life after death. For many of us Jesus and his death and resurrection is the foundation of our belief in God, as well as our understanding of the afterlife. During his life Jesus did not do funerals very well. On at least three occasions Jesus came upon a death. In each he raised those who died to new life again. Jesus never meant a corpse he did not raise. One of these occasions is that strange story given to us in the Gospel according to John where Jesus raises his friend Lazarus from the grave. This is one of the most detailed and revealing stories about Jesus in all of the Gospel accounts. Unlike the other encounters Jesus had with death--in which all the victims had very recently died--the story about Lazarus reveals that Jesus had waited for a long period of time before coming to his friend. By the time Jesus arrived, Lazarus had already died and he had been dead for over three days. His body had already been prepared, buried in a tomb, and was stinking from the deterioration that had set in. It is also at this gravesite that we get an inward peek into the heart of Jesus; for it is here we are told, “Jesus wept.” Jesus wept, real heart-rending tears; the tears of one deeply moved by grief. But they were also tears of anger; anger that death had taken from him a very dear friend.

So it is with us. We mourn the loss of a mother, a grandmother, great grandmother, matriarch, and most importantly, a friend. Unlike the Lady Anne Grimston, Ms. Elvira was a person of faith. Indeed, she came from a family of faith. Her father was the Treasurer of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama for fifty years. Her parents first met in an Episcopal Church. Their faith was passed on to Ms. Elvira--making her one of those rare cradle Episcopalians. She loved her Lord Jesus Christ and revealed this love in her love for her Church. Indeed, Ms. Elvira is the last of the original founders of this parish. While not all of her children attend the Episcopal Church, she passed on to each of them her love for Christ that they also share. Today Ms. Elvira participates in the greater life. She knows without any doubt that her faith was well-grounded. While her health prevented her from attending church services with us through most of this past year, today she is once again among us as we worship. Indeed, when we celebrate the Holy Communion, she will be present with us, joining our voices with the Angels, Archangels, and with all the company of heaven.

This brings me back to Jesus as he stood outside the tomb of Lazarus and proceeded to raise him from the dead. Not too long ago Eugene O’Neil wrote a play--one of the few that did not do very well on Broadway. It was called Lazarus Laughed. The play is about what happened to Lazarus after he was raised. In O’Neil’s characterization, Lazarus was always laughing. Wherever he was, no matter what he was doing, or whomever he was with, Lazarus was always found laughing. This laughter made the people around him fearful, for they thought that he was crazy. Therefore, Lazarus had to move around a lot. People just did not understand. In one scene Lazarus is in the town square of Athens, Greece. Here he is confronted by Caligula--the Emperor of Rome--who tells Lazarus how much people hate him because of his laughter, as well as the supposed reason behind the laughter. Lazarus responds to him by saying, “Caligula, let them hate!” At this Caligula threatens him with execution. Once again Lazarus laughs; the laugh of one totally in love with God. Then he answers the Emperor again, “Death is dead, Caligula! Death is dead!” Lazarus knew, for he had met Jesus--who not only conquered death in his own body--but who had never meant a corpse he did not raise.

Today we may weep, not unlike Jesus who wept at the tomb of his dear friend Lazarus. But today, Ms. Elvira--if she is not laughing--she is certainly smiling real big, for Ms. Elvira is with the Lord! As certainly as the tree grows from the grave of Lady Grimston in England, just as certainly does Ms. Elvira live today!