In Memory of Margaret Sue O”Neill
A Homily on Wednesday, October 8, 2008
By The Rev. Thea Keith-Lucas

You can take a handful of flour, add a little water and oil, and mix it together into a simple dough. If you put it over a fire, it will become edible, a flat and chewy bread that will fill the belly. But if you add the leaven, just a little pinch of yeast, something wonderful happens. The loaf bakes up into light, fluffy, delicious bread that comforts the soul.

Margaret was the leaven in our life. She was just one woman, but her spirit ran through every part of our lives, easing our burdens and bringing us joy.

When I came to Calvary, people told me, “we love to have a good time,” and “we never do things halfway,” and “we love everyone who walks in these doors.” All those things are true. They are true because Margaret made them true. She worked so hard to make everything go smoothly so we could all relax and enjoy ourselves. She loved to add a little specialness, whether it was a fancy dessert for the senior lunch or a beautiful new frontal on the altar. She invited everyone to take part, finding a use for every gift and a place for every talent to shine. And her laugh. Just with a laugh she made every gathering into a good party. Just with a laugh, she could transform the most disappointing mess into a good story.

We relied so much on her, as she moved through each day finding countless ways to love us and make our lives better. I know you all have thousands of stories where Margaret appeared at just the right moment with exactly what you needed. I will tell you just one. She found me in the parish office one afternoon, exhausted from preparing for a tough funeral. I was worn out, but I couldn’t go home because the visiting hours were that evening. “Can I get you a little dinner?” she asked. “Thank you, Margaret,” I said, “but I just don’t feel like food.” “But you want soup, don’t you?” she said. And before I knew it, I was eating a bowl of hot tomato soup and feeling much better for it.

After the bread is baked, the leaven is gone. The yeast give their gift of lightness, making all the dough rise up, and then they die. But the bread does not fall. It stays round and good to the taste.

Margaret has given us her gift, and she is gone. Today all we can feel is her absence, the empty places in our lives where once she gave us such comfort and so much fun. But as she leaves us, we will not fall. The spaces she leaves behind are still filled with her spirit. Her memory will continue to sustain us and fill our hearts with her energy and her goodness.

In times like these, our faith seems like a tiny thing. We have just a little twig to hold onto in the face of a terrible storm. But Jesus promises us that it will be everything we need. It will be enough to know that God has gathered Margaret up and given her a much-deserved rest from her labors. It will be enough to know that God will never abandon us to walk alone. The smallest mustard seed springs forth into a great and leafy tree, large enough protect us from the wind and rain. With God, and with each other, we will find our way home.

A few chapters later in Matthew, Jesus tells us that faith as small as a tiny mustard seed is strong enough to move mountains. If anyone had told me we had a mountain to move, I would have called Margaret and asked her how to do it, and the next day she would have dropped by to ask me if I had any other major landforms that needed relocating. Her faith was a mighty engine, keeping her going through all her struggles, and we marveled at what she could do.

But she too started out small, and was nurtured by the love of her family and the care of her community and years of service to the Lord. Let us learn from her and offer our own hearts to God, trusting the Lord to take our small offering and use it to create something greater than we can ever imagine. Thanks to Margaret, we can become the leaven that makes this world rise up to God. Thanks to Margaret, we can be the seed that brings forth a mighty tree. Thanks to our sister, we can learn to move the mountains ourselves.

Goodbye, dear friend. Thank you for everything. God bless you.