In Memoriam: Linda McIntyre

A sermon for the funeral of Linda A. McIntyre (1959-2024)
August 3, 2024, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Hot Springs

Readings: Romans 1:8-17

One thing have I asked of the LORD; one thing I seek; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life; to behold the fair beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. (Psalm 27:5-6)

Today we gather to remember Linda, someone who had seen the fair beauty of the LORD. We gather to give thanks for her life. We gather to support her family. And above all, we gather because we have a hope that because Linda was baptized into the life and death of Jesus Christ her Lord, she is claimed by God forever. She is, even now, in the greater presence of that fair beauty, and we will see her again when we are taken into that beauty ourselves. 

“To behold the fair beauty of the LORD.” To be honest, I wasn’t sure why I first thought of that passage from Psalm 27. It’s not one of our readings today. But I think it does get at the heart of who Linda is. Linda is a person who has known beauty. She saw beauty while traveling. She experienced beauty on the back of Harleys and on camping trips at the lake. She shared beauty with her kindness and apparently–now I regrettably didn’t know this–her cooking (I’m going to have to give her a hard time about that one in heaven). She knew beauty in her family and among her friends. But above all, she knew the beauty of God. 

Our reading from Romans is not one suggested for funerals, but it was marked in Linda’s Bible. It was a favorite. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel,” Paul writes, “[for] it is God’s saving power for everyone who believes… for in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith.” This is how St. Paul kicks off his letter to the Romans. Paul’s writing here is rooted in two convictions: First, we have all fallen short and are in need of redemption; and second, God’s grace and love in Jesus Christ are enough to redeem and save us. Our call is to have faith in that, to believe and trust in that promise from God. There is nothing to be ashamed of about this message, he says, because through it the grace and love of God are freely given to all. And through that–through God’s action in Jesus alone–we are made righteous. That, what God has done for us to save us, is what we mean by the fair beauty of the LORD. Faith is living in that beauty boldly, trusting that that beauty is for us. 

Linda lived her faith in Jesus and his grace. She lived it beautifully. She understood that faith was more than just something in your head. Faith is lived. Faith is being captured by the beauty of God’s goodness and grace, being caught up into an intimate relationship with Christ, transformed by the grace and love of God. 

Of course, there was plenty in Linda’s life that wasn’t beautiful. There is plenty in the world that isn’t beautiful. But by faith we behold the fair beauty of God, even amid struggle and pain and trial. By faith we behold the fair beauty of God, even when we can’t lift our head, even when we fall down, even when we don’t know how we can go on. 

Earlier this year, I saw Linda on one of those days. She was down. Her treatment was not going as she expected. She was tired. I had brought her a prayer shawl, knitted by someone in this church, prayed over by those who came forward for Holy Communion. She lit up when I gave it to her. It was as if that shawl had reminded her of beauty, the very beauty of God and what God had done for her so many times, in the midst of pain. 

She called soon thereafter to tell me how much the shawl meant. She had wrapped herself in it and fallen asleep. While asleep she had nothing less than an encounter with Christ. She had peace and knew everything would be alright. 

“To behold the fair beauty of the LORD.” That’s what the psalmist desires. Linda, too. 

In late June, Linda was taken from us suddenly and unexpectedly. I know that has been hard on you. But as hard as it may be for us here, I think it must have been easy for her. For she had known beauty–the very beauty of God. And when Jesus came to her, it was a beauty she already knew, a peace she had felt, a presence so familiar. And now she does dwell in the house of the LORD forever, and she is wrapped in that fair beauty even now.