Minister James Grant's Homily at Wei's Funeral
Minister James Grant's Homily at Wei's Funeral
Thank you, Mike. And, thank you, each one of you for your thoughts and prayers and sharing of your reflections on Wei’s life.
As you’ve noticed, there was a constant theme whether we’re talking about government or business or flying or personal friendships; Wei was a dreamer. He lived his life with zeal constantly pushing you, others to pursue their dreams. Even today sitting out on one of the tables is a small wooden plaque that has one of his favorite quotes. “If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.” As we’ve heard in these wonderful reflections on Wei’s life, we’ve heard this constant theme of the importance of dreams and goals and hopes. I’m convinced that we cannot survive our journey in this life without our hopes and dreams. Our hopes and dreams are the essence of what gives us strength and power and keep us going.
In my own faith tradition, the scriptures recognize the importance of these hopes and dreams. The Bible presents us with people of faith who look to God for their hopes and dreams. And these people changed the world around them. One such story is the story of Abraham. God gives him a vision, a dream about the future of his people, the Hebrews. And when God called Abraham to leave his homeland and go to a new place, Abraham went. Not knowing where he was going, not knowing exactly what he was going to do when he got there; he just knew that was what he needed to do. God had given Abraham a vision and a promise that his descendents would be as many as the stars of the heavens, and as innumerable as the grains of sand by the seashore. And Abraham believed. And for many generations after him, they were blessed because of his faith.
As I was preparing for this and reading Wei’s book, my heart was warmed by the way he starts and ends his book. You don’t read very far in the book before you get to his explanation of at least one of the reasons why he wrote the book. And it was about his family. I was deeply moved that at the beginning of his book he explains that he was writing this book so his daughters would know why he did this, why he took this journey. And then as you get to the end of the book, he ends it by challenging us on our own dreams, to fulfill our own dreams. And he ends it by coming back to that hope that his daughters will pursue their own dreams as they grow up. What a wonderful inspiration of thinking of others.
Another example from the scriptures is Moses. Moses who led the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt. They were living under oppression and God moved Moses in a vision to save them. The scriptures tell us that he refused the glory and riches of Egypt, and instead chose to identify with the mistreated Hebrews. And although Moses struggles and fails and stumbles at first, after spending time alone in the wilderness, he comes back with that vision that God gave him, with that dream to redeem his people out of oppression and slavery and leads them out. It was a dream about others who were less fortunate.
Another theme that I was encouraged about in Wei’s life and in his book is that as he describe his trip around the world and tells of his dreams and experiences, he always stopped to help those less fortunate. I’m sure you all know of his work with St. Jude’s and the very beginning of the trip and how he wanted everyone to know about St. Jude’s and to help that wonderful organization. But along the way on the journey, he stops and takes time to help school children who were less fortunate as he traveled around the world. And you’ve heard today how he had such a dream and desire to help others.
Abraham and Moses, Wei, we have story after story of people we can appeal to who dream. And over and over in scripture, we have stories of people who dream and long for a greater world. It’s not just true of scripture or our own faith traditions, it is true of life. Some of our most well know speeches in the past hundred years have evoked hopes and dreams. President Roosevelt’s reminder that fear should not eclipse our hopes and dreams, John F. Kennedy’s challenge to defend freedom, and of course Martin Luther King’s “I Have A Dream” speech all point toward a desire that I think we all share of a greater world.
We all come to this service with similar hopes and dreams. We want the best for our family, for our country; we want the best for the world. Even when we disagree, we want equality and freedom and happiness. They are common dreams. And it does not matter where you were born. It does not matter your gender or religion. It does not matter your country. We all share these common struggles and desires, these common dreams. Dreams of a better place of a peaceful world. It’s not just people in scripture. It’s not just political figures and revolutionary reformers. It’s the life of Wei. It’s your life. It’s our life, our hopes and dreams.
They all point to something deeper you know. Just as you’ve heard in the stories of business when you have a failure, you have to pivot and you turn toward what you’re doing next. Don’t let the failure stop you. The same thing’s true in life. As you live this life, you will face moments when the dreams don’t come true. And you’ll have to turn and pivot. And the question becomes where do you turn? At the end in the scriptures, at the end of these long stories of people of faith who trusted God and did wonderful things for others. There’s this passage in Hebrews 12 that says, “Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,” people who have journeyed this life, “let us also lay aside things that entangle us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” And the scriptures say let us look to Jesus. And one of the reasons that the scriptures say that is because according to the Gospel, Jesus fulfills the deepest hopes and dreams that we have.
And as a Christian minister, one of those dreams that has given me strength and peace in the midst of loss, one of those dreams that gives me courage to face the next day is this one at the very end of the Bible. It’s one that is particularly important to me as I have faced moments like this in loss. The Bible ends with this ultimate dream, this ultimate vision. In Revelations 21, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more. I saw a new city coming down out of heaven.” Then the writer of the book of Revelations says that the voice of God says, “Behold the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them and they will be His people. God Himself will be their God.” And the very next verse says this, “He will wipe away every tear from our eyes.” I think that is one of the most ultimate dreams, isn’t it? A moment where every tear is wiped away from our eyes. And the very next phrase is, “And death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning or crying nor pain anymore. For the former things have passed away.”
In the midst of our journey of life as we dream dreams and follow those dreams, let’s not forget the deepest dream of all is the faith that looks to the One who makes all things new, Jesus, and the day when God will certainly wipe away every tear from our eyes.
Pray with me if you will. Heavenly Father we would ask during this day of celebrating Wei’s life, reflecting on our own dreams and accomplishments that in the midst of our pain and struggle that we would look to You, that we would trust in You and Your Son. And that we would believe that one day You will wipe away every tear from our eyes. And there will be no more death or mourning or crying. And I pray that in the midst of this grief that You will fill us with hope and peace by believing in you. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen
James Grant牧师的陈玮葬礼讲道
谢谢,迈克。谢谢在座各位对陈玮的追思和祷告,谢谢大家分享回思他的生平。
我们注意到,无论话题是政府,商业,飞行,还是个人友谊,每个追思都有一个不变的主题:陈玮是一个梦想家。他毕其一生,热情不断地鼓励并帮助身边每一个人去追求梦想。这张桌子上 有一块小木牌,上面写着陈玮最喜欢的一句话: “如果你的梦想不能使你心惊胆战,那你的梦就不够强大。” 我们听到的每一条对陈玮一生的美好回思,都涉及到这样不变的重要主题:梦想,目标,和希望。我坚信,如果我们没有希望和梦想,就不可能在人生的旅程中得以生存。希望和梦想赋予我们坚强和力量,是陪伴我们奋勇前行的精髓。
在我的信仰信条中,不乏重视希望和梦想的话语。圣经中众多信仰神的人,他们把希望和梦想寄托于上帝。这些的人出现改变了他们的周围世界。其中一个是亚伯拉罕。上帝给亚伯拉罕描绘了一个关乎希伯来人的未来梦想的愿景。当上帝呼召亚伯拉罕离开家乡前往一个新的地方时,亚伯拉罕去了。他不知道去的是哪里,也不知道到那里后他要做什么, 他只是坚信他要去。上帝在给亚伯拉罕的愿景里,承诺他后代繁茂会像天上的星星一样多,像海边的沙粒一样不可胜数。亚伯拉罕信了神的话。亚伯拉罕的子孙后代都因为他的信仰而得以蒙福。
在我准备这个讲道时,我读了陈玮写的书,我的心被书的开篇和结尾而感动。不用翻过很多页,你就会知道陈玮写这本书的原因之一是为了他的家人。我深受感动的是,在书的开头,陈玮解释说之所以写这本书,是为了让他的女儿了解他为什么走这样的旅程。然后在书的结尾,陈玮挑战读者去追求实现自己的梦想。他的书以希望他的女儿在成长过程中大胆追求自己的梦想结束。陈玮和他的书激发了为他人着想的美好情怀。
经文中的另一个例子是摩西。摩西在埃及引导以色列人脱离奴役。当时以色列人生活在压迫之下,上帝让摩西拯救他们。经文告诉我们,摩西抛弃了做为一个埃及人的荣华富贵,选择做一个受虐待的希伯来人。摩西经历了挣扎,失败和跌倒,但是在旷野中独自度过一段时间之后,他带着上帝赐给他的愿景,带着拯救他的人民摆脱压迫和奴役的梦想回来, 率领大家走出埃及。这是一个关于帮助关怀贫困和不幸民众的梦想。
陈伟的生平和他的书也有这样一个激励我的主题。无论是在他飞跨世界的旅途,还是在他为梦想奋斗的经历中,他总是停下来帮助贫困或不幸的人。我相信大家都知道他与圣强德儿童医院合作的慈善工作,他在飞行世界的旅程起航时说,希望每个人都知道圣强德儿童医院,帮助圣强德儿童医院。在环球旅途中,他不时停下来帮助世界各地的贫困学童。今天大家的回顾显现了他的梦想就是热诚助人。
亚伯拉罕,摩西,陈玮,都是动人的梦想者故事。在圣经中,我们读到一个接一个这样的故事,故事的主人公梦想和渴望更美好的世界。这不仅是圣经或其他信仰的真谛,也是人生的真谛。过去一百年里一些最知名的演讲,无不激起了人们的希望和梦想。罗斯福总统 的恐惧不应该阻碍我们的希望和梦想的告诫 ,约翰·肯尼迪捍卫自由的挑战,马丁·路德·金 “我有一个梦想” 的演讲,都表达了一个共同的愿望 — 让世界更加美好。
我们带着这个相同的希望和梦想参加今天的送葬仪式。我们把最好的渴望给予我们的家庭,我们的国家, 给予我们的世界。即使在我们观点分歧的时候,平等,自由和幸福依然是我们同样的渴求。无论我们出生在哪里,无论我们的性别和信仰,无论我们的国籍, 我们的这个梦想是共同的。我们分享一样的挣扎和渴望,一样的梦想。我们梦想着一个更美好的和平世界。这个梦想不仅仅属于信仰圣经的人,不仅仅属于政治人物和革命改革者,这是陈玮的生活,是你的生活。这是我们的生活,我们的希望,我们的梦想。
所有这些都指向一个更深刻的层次。我们都听说过这样的故事,当你在商场中失败时,你必须转向专注于下一件要做的事,不能让失败阻止你。人生也是如此。我们一生中,总会有面临梦想不达的时刻。这时我们必须转动调整方向。向哪里转呢?在圣经的最后,神的信仰追随者们的长篇故事结束时,他们信靠上帝并为他人做了美好的事情。在希伯来书12章中有一段话说:“因为我们周围有这么多的见证人,” 历经了人生之旅的见证人,“就当放下各样的重担 ,奔那摆在我们前头的路程。” 圣经说让我们仰靠耶稣。根据福音书,耶稣实现了我们所拥有的最深切的希望和梦想。
作为一名基督徒牧师,有一个梦想在我失去亲人朋友时给予我力量和平安,给我勇敢面对明天的勇气,这个梦想在圣经的结尾。这个梦想对我特别重要,因为我同样经历过痛失亲友的时刻。圣经以这个终极梦想结束。在启示录21中,“我又看见一个新天新地,因为先前的天地已经过去了,海也不再有了。我又看见圣城从天而降。” 然后,启示录的作者写道,上帝的声音说:“看哪,神的帐幕在人间。他要与人同住,他们要作他的子民,神要亲自与他们同在,作他们的神。” 紧接着的下一节经文,“神要擦去他们一切的眼泪。” 我认为这是最终极的梦想之一,不是吗?这是每一滴泪都从眼睛里消失的瞬间。接下来的一句话是,“不再有死亡,也不再有悲哀、哭号、疼痛,因为以前的事都过去了。”
在我们编织梦想和追随梦想的生命之旅中,让我们不要忘记最深刻的梦想是我们的信仰。我们的信仰使我们仰靠创造新世界的耶稣,使我们期望耶稣给我们擦去眼中每一滴眼泪的那一天。
请和我一起祷告。天父,在这个纪念陈玮一生,反思我们的梦想和成就的一天,在我们的痛苦和挣扎中,请让我们仰靠你,让我们笃信你和你的爱子,让我们相信有一天你会擦去我们眼中的每一滴眼泪,并且不会再有死亡,哀悼或哭泣。我祈祷,在这个悲痛时分,因我们对你的信靠,赐予我们希望和宁静。以基督耶稣的名义祷告。阿门。