When we moved to Shawnee, Oklahoma, to take the helm of the Emmanuel Church there, the first person from the church to make contact was an outstanding layman, Doyal Davis. We quickly discovered that we had much in common. We both had parents named Otis (Odis) and Grace! We both had served in the military at the same time during the Vietnam era. We shared very similar views regarding theology and political science. We became fast friends and soon I enrolled Doyal in the diocesan program which led to his ordination as a deacon, serving at Emmanuel and making a real difference in lives, Doyal made positive contributions to the liturgy, with poignant sermons and even gifting to the church a Hawaiian ceremonial umbrella which, in the style of the islands, which was held over the sacred book during reading of the gospel in today's requiem for him. Doyal was also a truly superlative teacher, taking charge of Sunday School and other educational programs which he pursued in the spirit of progressive Christianity
Doyal declined to design his own funeral service, leaving that to us. As the preacher, I selected the gospel option of Saint John 14 as most relevant to the Doyal I knew. In this passage, Jesus is made to calm his disciples as he faces imminent death in Jerusalem. He tells them not to let their hearts be troubled. Rather, believing in God, they should also believe in him. Belief in the Greek carries the combined sense of spaciousness and room for all in"my Father's House." This is, of course, clear reference to the heavenly realms -- the incomprehensible dimension past our own -- but I beg to suggest that, in an Episcopal Church, we are in the Father's House in this life, here and now, and that we will therefore reflect God's all-encompassing non-judgmental love for all his children. Love indeed is "graduated." The renowned Walt Disney used to say that we graduate from the love of parents to the higher love of a life's partner -- for Doyal that was the love of his life, Jack B. Mathies. After Jack's untimely death, Doyal received companionship from his trusty sidekick, Dudey the dog! Then, in the graduation to eternal life, we shall find the highest love of all in the pure presence of the Divine, and it is to that reality we commend Doyal.
Finally, Jesus states that he is "the way, the truth, and the life," leading to God. This utterance is often employed by our co-religionists as a weapon, as a threat against those who are non-Christians. But is that rational? A way is a path, a journey to follow. Jesus' way is clearly the way of death to the old self, and rebirth to a new kind of life -- turning from a selfish self-centred lifestyle to a loving and self- sacrificial life for others. That, of course, is what constitutes loving God and the neighbour, which is a cornerstone principle of all the world's great religions. It is no surprise that the very earliest name for the Jesus Movement was "The Way." Incarnation is the term we use to describe how the "logos" of God inhabited the person of Jesus, so that, as Ben Herbster said, Jesus is all of God that can be packed into a man. So, if you want to see what God's way looks like in a human life, look to Jesus. If you want to see what the truth walking looks like, look at Jesus. If you want to see what God life, real life, looks like in the human context, look at Jesus.
Jesus cared nothing for doctrine or dogma, except to the extent that he torqued-up Torah to stop people from playing games with it, finding ways around the spirit while keeping the letter of the Law. Jesus called us to build the Kingdom of God, The Kingdom of God is not the Church. This Kingdom of God is not some pie-in-the-sky by-and-by expectation. It is this world transformed so that God's will is done on earth as in heaven. That has an inescapably political dimension. We cannot claim that we love Jesus and then ignore the cruel realities everywhere. Doyal knew that principle, and clearly it pervaded his preaching, his teaching, his very life. So, our best tribute to our dear friend as we go forward is to rededicate ourselves to following the teachings of Jesus and living his life, which is the only life worth living anyway. And with that, I say -- as Doyal often did -- "yee=hah!"
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