A Reflection for a Celebration of the Life and Ministry of Warren Cameron Judge III
November 13, 2016
Thomas E. Wilson
I
want to start off by thanking St. Andrew’s Church for joining with All
Saints’ to celebrate Warren’s life. St Andrew’s was the church to which
Warren
and Tess belonged before they came to join the
new mission first envisioned by as an act of faithful generosity by St.
Andrew’s Parish and an act of courage by those who entered into the
early life of that mission. They met in living
rooms and elementary school cafeterias until they built the building -
which is still too small to accommodate all the people we expected for
Warren’s service.
I
would like to also thank Gail Sonnesso of the GEM Adult Care program
who had planned a service here at this particular time, but graciously
postponed
that service because, as she said, “Warren was such a supporter and had
attended each yearly service since the beginning that the people who
usually come would have wanted to pay respect to his faithfulness.”
Warren had a lot of friends in this county.
I
first met Warren when I came to the Outer Banks for an interview for
the position of Rector of All Saints’ more than 13 years ago. I had
driven in
from Georgia and the church put me up at a hotel at which they
apparently had “an arrangement”. There was this huge man behind the desk
who welcomed me just as if I was an old friend. I did not know he was one of
the owners and he didn’t tell me he was a member of
the church. He did not try to interview me, or pass judgment, or push
an agenda; he just welcomed me as if he believed what Jesus had said
when he said those who welcomed followers of Christ welcomed Jesus. Now
we could say that welcoming was part of his job
in the hospitality business, and that is fair. Yet, welcoming was part
of his very soul. It was a spiritual gift that he brought into play in
the material world, which is what we are called to do with all of our
gifts. Warren did not live into his last name,
for he did not judge others because he knew that God’s judgment is
always tempered with welcoming Grace. Welcome, that is what Jesus said.
That is what Warren,
in following Christ, did. This is who Warren Cameron Judge III is.
Jesus
never asked us to worship him; he told us to follow him. That is what
Jesus said. That is what Warren did. This is who Warren Cameron Judge
III
is.
Jesus
said to love your enemy. Jesus gathered his followers from all sorts
and conditions of people. Scripture tells us that Jesus called Matthew
the
tax collector, who was working for the occupying enemy, and he called
Simon the Zealot who was a warrior against the Romans - two people who
had nothing but hatred for each other and yet Jesus bound them together
to work for a common goal. One of things that
Warren did was to keep saying that he didn’t care who got the credit as
long as the job got done. I remember when Warren’s party lost the
election for control of the County Commission and Warren was then a
minority member. Now, if he were not Warren, he would
have been instrumental in trying to block any attempts by the other
party in order to make them look bad. But he
was Warren, and even when he would lose a vote, he would
work to implement the program as legislated. He had not signed on to be
right, but to help govern. He understood that Public Service was not
about who has the biggest ego, but about the
public being served so that this Dare County could live into John
White’s words of 1587, that this is the “goodliest land under the cope
of heaven.”
Warren could be counted on to serve. Jesus said,
“Let your yes be “Yes” and your no be “No”; anything else comes from the
evil one.” That is what Jesus said. That is what Warren,
in following Christ, did. This is who Warren Cameron Judge III is.
Jesus said,
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has
anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim
release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the
oppressed go free.” That is what Jesus said,
and when Warren followed Jesus, that is what he did. If you had a
program that would help people, you could count on Warren being there to
work with you. He did that at our church, he did that in our community
tirelessly. I used to joke with him that I could
count on two pictures of Warren in every edition of the local papers
because he was there to lend his strength and support to any cause that
made peoples’ lives better.
The prophet Micah said, “What does the Lord require of you but to
do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.” Jesus said “Come
to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I
will give you rest.” This is what Jesus did.
This is what Warren, in following Christ, did. This is who Warren
Cameron Judge III is.
Jesus
said; “Let the little children come unto me.” Jesus’ disciples saw
children as an interruption to their work, but Jesus held them and
blessed
them, seeing them as part of his family, as fellow sons and daughters
of God. Warren would ask the question “How is what we are doing
affecting the children?” Warren was interested in children. He took four
kids and made them his own, creating with Tess a
family where love was the center. But beyond his family, he worked in
the communities in which he served. His children speak of the time when
he was a Town Councilman and, spending his own time, money, and energy,
headed up the effort to make sure that the
children would get uniforms for their Little League teams. Yet, more
importantly he was a coach for over 13 years. He was a coach not just so
kids could play but he was a coach so that young boys could grow up to
be men who respected themselves, respected
the community, respected the rules of life, respected their opponents,
respected women; he showed them by word and especially example what it
means to be a man. He was heavily involved in a community response to
youth substance abuse. And when one of his kids
got into some trouble, he came before the group, walking humbly with
his God, and said, “It can happen in any home; it is not about those
people over there somewhere else, but about all of our families.” Jesus
asked us to follow him in blessing children.
This is what Jesus did. This is what Warren, in following Christ, did. This is who Warren Cameron Judge III is.
You
may notice that I say “is” about Warren, not “was”. In my theology, God
calls each person before we are born for a ministry of making a
difference
in this world. For those who are serious about their faith, they see
their whole lives as ministry to show God’s love, not just in religious
institutions, but in and to the family, in and to our neighbors, in and
to our community, in and to the nations of
the world, in and to our environment, so that God’s will be done on
earth as it is in heaven. This is the prayer that Jesus taught us and
what he did. This is what Warren, in following Christ, did. But we are
also to follow The Christ by giving our lives, even
through death - which does not end God’s love - into a resurrection of
serving God in the deeper life after we have shuffled off this mortal
coil. As we say in our service that life is changed not ended. Life is a
Call.
There is a poem written in 1633 by George Herbert entitled “The Call”:
Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life:
Such a Way, as gives us breath:
Such a Truth, as ends all strife:
Such a Life, as killeth
death.
Come, my
Light, my Feast, my Strength:
Such a Light, as shows a feast:
Such a Feast, as mends in length:
Such a Strength, as makes his guest.
Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart:
Such a Joy, as none can move:
Such a Love, as none can part:
Such a Heart, as joys in love.
You
will notice that all are invited to come to Communion. Neither the
Church nor I are the one who invites you to come forward. God’s love
invites
you, and we are not to stand in the way of a foretaste of being in full
communion with God as we live in this world and the next. Who may come?
All may, some should, none must. The ushers will come to the end of
each row and invite you to come forward.
If you come forward for communion, there will be a clergyperson up front to give you bread and a layperson to give you wine.
If you do not wish to receive, cross your arms and you will receive a blessing.
Jesus gave bread and wine as a small part of his greater ministry of blessing and called us to follow him to bless others.
Blessing is what Warren did. Blessing is who Warren Cameron Judge III is.
Whenever
I have communion in my church or in a hospital or living room, my
imagination, my heart, and my spirit know that I am not alone with just
the
bodies in the room. The energy of all those who have gone before is
present, and I am aware that they are on the other side of the table,
just in another dimension. Fifty years ago my father died, and his love
and strength are still with me. We will miss Warren
when we are not paying attention, when we get too busy with our own
agendas and no longer seeing the spiritual side of this life.
The Love through Warren is with us, for love does
not die, but rather, as Herbert notes, it is the love that “killeth
death.” That is what Jesus did. This is what Warren did. This is who
Warren Cameron Judge III is.
You
may notice that the family has suggested that instead of flowers you
donate to the Mortgage Reduction effort at All Saints. That would be
nice.
But let me tell you what would be better. Jesus said, “In my Father’s
house there is room for all.” Work with your family, friends, neighbors,
and especially your enemies to build a better community, a place where
families are nourished, love is honored, respect
for others is the norm, and all are welcomed, none are judged. That is
what Jesus did. This is what Warren did. This is who Warren Cameron
Judge III is.
Warren Cameron Judge III
He straightens up from behind the counter
And my God he is big, the biggest is his smile
as he welcomes me and signs me in,
as if this is his own home.
Never being there before, me a stranger
who he treats me as if I belong,
a friend he has not met before.
My paranoia wonders about his agenda,
but welcoming is only thing on the table.
He moves, it seems as if defying gravity,
shoulders lift his body, directing his walk.
Learning over the years of how much those
shoulders carried; children, family, friends
church, county, state, but always with that smile.
I was not aware until he died and then I realized,
when the world seems heavier, that I was one of
those burdens he helps carry with a smile
as he follows one who says, “Come unto me . .
“
No comments:
Post a Comment