Funeral Sermon for Matushka Eleanor Margitich - Fr Kirill Sokolov

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and

of the Holy Spirit. Christ is risen. And he is

risen. We gather as what I can only call a church

family on this day for a very important duty

to sing away Matryoshka Eleanor. And in fact,

the way we have been singing this morning and

what we sing about is at its very core the gospel

of our Lord Jesus Christ. And what a beautiful

plan of providence it is to celebrate this funeral

during the Paschal season. If there's any moment

when we should be clear on what we're singing

about, on what the good news is, and how it relates

to Matushka Eleanor and to you and to me, That

moment is now. When Christians say Christ is

risen, we are openly declaring our allegiance

to one who is greater than the most powerful.

The most powerful rulers, no matter who that

ruler is, whether it's Caesar Augustus or Herod

or Stalin or Biden or Trump or whoever. Our allegiance

is to a king and victor who can and did defeat

death. This is amazing. This is the fulfillment

of God's promises to Israel, the defeat of sin

and death, and the launching of a new creation

through Jesus Christ. God's kingdom is being

inaugurated on earth. And yet, here we are at

a funeral. At a funeral of one of this risen

king's loyal handmaids. And it's so natural for

this to be hard. 1600 years ago, St. Gregory

of Nyssa lost his brother, St. Basil the Great,

and was reminded of the words of today's epistle

reading, the one we just heard, by their sister,

St. Macrina. But I do not want you to be ignorant,

brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep,

lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. Macrina

quoted this apostolic saying, but Gregory writes,

And I, with my heart still seething with pain,

asked, How is it possible for me to achieve this

attitude, since there is a natural aversion to

death in every person, and no one can endure

the sight of another dying? There is a natural

aversion to death in every person, In fact, St.

Gregory goes on to say a hard but frequently

proven fact, that those who are dying themselves

flee from it as much as they can. We have a natural

aversion to death in every person. And of course,

that aversion is so heartfelt. When the person

who has fallen asleep is a mother and sister,

and grandmother, and mother in the faith, and

of the parish. We as humans have a number of

ways to deal with moments like these. I notice

how easily we talk about having a, quote, celebration

of life for someone who has died. When I was

thinking about this homily, I even started to

second -guess myself for wanting to use the perfectly

fine word funeral a few times. Probably because

we as a culture have been shying away from that

word. I think we usually mean celebration of

life as something retrospective, something about

the contributions and joys of a dear one's life.

But as I was thinking about Matryoshka's passing,

it occurred to me that yes, in fact, we are holding

a celebration of life. For as we have been singing

over and over again in recent days, death has

been trampled. Christ is risen and life reigns.

This doesn't mean that death no longer happens,

but it has been stripped of its power. It has

been defeated. Its sting is gone. And the fate

of Matryoshka Eleanor and of every single person

here today is in the Lord's hands. As the Lord

Jesus himself said to Martha, I am the resurrection

and the life. Whoever believes in me, though

he die, yet shall he live. And everyone who lives

and believes in me shall never die. The God -man

Jesus acknowledges physical death in his phrase,

though he die. But more than that, he proclaims

eternal life beyond that. Somehow, in ways we

don't and can't and probably shouldn't try to

understand, in the now of God, Matryoshka Eleanor

lives in the resurrection and just judgment of

God. More alive, I dare say, than any of us praying

here today. So we celebrate life, more abundant

life. This is our claim. This is our hope. This

is our thing. This is the key to the Apostle

Paul's words today about sorrow. Death is still,

in fact, the enemy. It is a tragedy. It is not

the way things are supposed to be. It is wrong.

Even if we can't put it into words, we feel the

wrongness of death. We have that aversion that

St. Gregory speaks about because it isn't part

of the plan. It doesn't fit nicely and is full

of impossible paradoxes. A loved one's passing

is sad. but can also feel like a relief. We terribly

miss someone we love, and yet, against our will,

we start to forget. It feels incredibly messed

up to feel relief for the departing or for ourselves,

but that's because, yes, death indeed is messed

up. And so, yes, in defiance of that, we do celebrate

life and life more abundantly. We celebrate it

in rebellion against the power of death, in opposition

to its influence, and in allegiance to the risen

Christ. And in the providence of God, Matushka

Eleanor lived a long life, full of service and

in hope of this resurrection. Others could speak

much more completely about Matushka's life and

work and witness, but since 1928, Matryoshka

has been in the midst of the life of the Church,

in different ways and in diverse seasons. My

own perspective of Matryoshka is an incomplete

one. As the wife of her late husband, Father

Michael, my earliest memories of her include

being in Healdsburg when my own father and Father

Michael were shooting the breeze for way too

long in the middle of the street about whatever.

on a Sunday afternoon in front of their homes,

and Matushka beckoning Father Michael, I think

it was two or three times, ultimately, to return

to the important, full -of -life activity at

hand, the assembly of an extended family, children,

grandkids, I don't know the details, there was

a lot of Margitages in the home that afternoon,

that had gathered that day. Our longtime former

Archbishop John, once pointed out that the priest's

wife bears with her husband the labor and suffering

of service, remaining hidden in Christ, offering

her prayers and life for the sake of the flock

entrusted to her husband. St. John Chrysostom

goes even further, calling for the priest's home

to be a haven of virtue, a fortress against the

assaults of the world, and an image of the heavenly

kingdom. In all of her ministries, wife, mother,

grandmother, sister, or mother in the faith,

or even in her most recent ministry of being

the one cared for, it seems to me that Monteshka

Eleanor quietly proclaimed that heavenly kingdom.

And that strengthens our hope. I spoke earlier

about the saving words from the Apostle Paul.

that we do not sorrow and grieve as others who

have no hope. St. Augustine preaches to us that

Paul didn't just say that you may not be saddened,

but that you may not be saddened as those who

have no hope. He continues, it is unavoidable

after all that you should be saddened, but when

you feel sad, let hope console you. St. Augustine

goes even further to encourage us by reminding

you and me that we shall come to that same life

as Matushka Eleanor and all our departed loved

ones, gone to rest before us, where, more than

ever, this is St. Augustine, their dearness to

us will be proportional to the closeness we shared

on earth, and where we shall love them without

fear of parting. It's a blessed thing to mourn,

as we also hear in our Lord's own Beatitudes.

But we mourn at this temporary parting with hope.

And that hope is the hope that Matryoshka Eleanor

and each one of us have in the source of life,

the risen and reigning Christ. And that hope

is, as we proclaim, that hope has blunted the

sting of death. Christ is risen and death is

overthrown. Christ is risen and the demons are

fallen. Christ is risen and the angels rejoice.

Christ is risen and life reigns. May the same

Christ, who has become the first fruits of those

who have fallen asleep, forgive his handmaid

Eleanor for any failings and grant his eternal

life to his faithful servant who has fallen asleep.

and to each one of us. To him be glory and dominion

unto ages of ages. Amen. Christ is risen. Indeed

he is risen. Let us praise the Lord. Lord, have

mercy. May our Lord Jesus Christ, through his

divine grace, gift, and power,