Homegoing Service—Juanita Conners 7/14/2014
We don’t often recognize it, but each one of us was in the hands of God, before we were born. The Scriptures tell us in Psalms 139 Psalm 139:13-16 (NIV) 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Not a single one of us was in our Mother’s womb worrying about what to do next. God took care of all that. If God was working with us, before we were born, why is it strange to think God won’t be there after we die. God has a plan for each of us, and part of that plan is for us to get to know how much God loves through coming to know God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
There is a book in the Bible called Hebrews. In Chapter 11, they list the names of people who are in the faith Hall of Fame. All of the people listed there, lived their lives with the expectation that they would see God face to face in the end. The interesting thing about that chapter is that some people had great faith to see God intervene in their lives and outstanding miracles happened. Others in that chapter had great faith, but instead of seeing miracles we find Hebrews 11:35-40 (NIV)
“ Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated-- 38 the world was not worthy of them.
They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.”
The key to understanding who Jaunita Conners really was is to know that she put her hope in the reality that Jesus Christ died for her sins and then rose from the dead so that she could have a living relationship with Him. Christ was alive in Juanita’s life and she allowed him, to live in her, so that we could be blessed. Her life was not always easy, but her testimony was the Psalm 27:1 (NIV) The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid? Let’s take a moment and go back into time to see what God was up to.
God’s love often comes to us through the gift of people. On August 2nd 1952, God decided that it was time for Mary Conner to stop crying out in labor pains and to bring forth the gift of Juanita. She was the fourth child to come out the womb. Mary may have been shouting Hallelujah it was done, but little did she know at the time, there were still eight more on the way down the line.
Now I can tell you this, not too black families born in Cleveland with eight children had a lot of extra money in the bank. The Connors were not called the Rockefellers of Glenville. But what they didn’t have in the bank, they did have in their hearts, in that they learned to love each other. When a mother has 8 kids, at some point the first group is going to have a role in helping to raise the last group that comes along.
I am told that Juanita took her role seriously in helping her younger brothers and sisters by demonstrating great administrative skills which they did not appreciate. They simply saw her as being bossy. Little did they know that God was using them to train and to prepare Juanita to one day help lead a nation by using those some administrative skills in the service of one of our great congressional leaders, former congressman Stokes.
I am told that Juanita was a very responsible child in that she wanted to make sure her parents had the facts in order to make wise parenting decisions. When something happened, Jaunita was the first to tell so that she did not get a whipping for something that the others were clearly responsible for. On one occasion, the girls missed curfew, by not being on the porch before the sun went down. Their father came home to catch them in this predicament. Juanita made a mad dash to the bathroom and got in the bathtub to separate herself from the disobedience of the others. It might have worked, except she forgot to take off her clothes while sitting in the tub.
Juanita was born in the year the Olympics took place in Finland and during the time of the Korean War. So it was not hard to understand that she had a spirit of competition and warrior inside of her. She loved playing games, but even more than that she loved winning games. She did not mind taking your money when you lost.
She had a very polite invitation for those willing to challenge her. It went like this “come on and sit down, so I can whip your butt.” She was good enough at most of what she played to do just that. I don’t know if you could call her a gracious player, in that she was queen of smack talk throughout the game when she was winning. It was only when she was losing that she got quiet. But even then she had to work in “you’re cheating”, because she did not like to lose.
Juanita was bright as child, and she was one of those who loved school and loved to read. She had visions and hope for her future and did not mind working hard to see things happen. Her sisters thought she was going to keep going to school forever. She was a dynamic burst of energy that could keep you laughing with her one line zingers and her comical nature. You liked being in her presence. If you didn’t accept one of her challenges, she didn’t mind calling you “chicken.”
God gives us different gifts and talents in life. Some people are blessed to be fantastic cooks and some are fantastic eaters. Juanita could warm up something in a minute, but her talent was in being a great eater. When asked, what was her favorite food, her family replied everything. One thing Juanita learned from reading all those books is that you don’t have to be able to do everything, you just need to know where and how to get what you need. She knew which sisters would be cooking the good soul food and that’s where she went. I can tell you, her sisters took care of their Nini. She didn’t complain about missing any meals.
Juanita fell in love as many young girls do and Anthony Phillips won over her heart. They were too of the most outgoing people I had known. When they started having difficulty in their marriage, they came to me for counseling. Juanita wanted so desperately to make her marriage work, but sometimes even with faith, things do not always work out.
I remember in our last sessions Tony made the statement, “When a marriage gets in the way of your dream of making money, its time to let the marriage go.” I knew then, it was over. Juanita was crushed, but she found her faith in God to be a life preserver that kept her head above water. She didn’t lose her sense of humor of the love she shared with others.
I ran into Anthony down at the Justice Center about a decade later. I asked him how he was doing. He said “fine.” Then he added. “You know Pastor Rick, “Juanita was a good woman. I just was too blind to see it.” The next time I saw Juanita, I told her I had seen Tony. She said, “Huh, what did he have to say.” I told her, “He said that you were a good woman, and that he was too blind to see it.” I could tell she appreciated those final words of affirmation from a painful period in her life.
When Juanita was hit with a loss, she didn’t sit around moping with “woe is me.” She invested herself in the life of others. We did a big sister program at the church and Juanita was one of the first to volunteer. She poured herself into more than one of our little girls at church including our own daughter, and they all were the better for it. She set the standard so high for being a big sister, that too many of the girls wanted her for their big sister.
God poured a lot of love into Juanita and Juanita allowed the love to flow through her to be a blessing to others. Family always meant a lot to Juanita. She remembered the birthdays. She brought the Christmas gifts for the kids and the adults. Like God, she was seeking and searching for someone to bless and someone to love. That opportunity came to her once again when she met April, a beautiful young girl who would grow to call Juanita Mom.
Juanita had an unconditional love for April. She was there for her as the best of mothers could be. They had a lot of fun together. When April hit that period in her life, when she decided she knew what was best for her, and went against the wisdom of Juanita, Juanita was still there for her. There were a lot of roller coaster moments, but again it was Juanita’s walk with Christ that kept her standing by April when others would have let go. It was Juanita’s unconditional love that brought April back into the life of the church.
As April matured, she would call Juanita, and say “mom, it’s time we spent some time together.” Juanita would respond, “Girl, you must not have anything else to do.” But she looked forward to that call, and being with her girl. Juanita was thrilled as a grandmother to Antwan and Iona. They could not have been loved by any one anymore than she loved them.
Just when it seemed as though all the pieces were coming together again, and her prayers were being answered, Juanita felt the crushing blow of April’s sudden death. Having lost her mom just three years earlier and now losing her daughter, it would have driven some people to despair, but Juanita had a faith in God who had promised, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Somehow she knew that in the same way God’s eye was on the Sparrow, God was still watching over her. Her faith stood strong.
Juanita not only poured herself in the life of her family and friends. She loved her animals. Bandit and Spike were two little dogs that ate better at McDonald’s than some of us. They got their own shakes, fries and ice cream.
Juanita also loved her church family, that she has been a part of for 42 years. She was part of the Gospel Gems that brought us gospel music to our church back in the 80’s. She was one of the liturgical dancers, dancing to the glory of God. She was one of the deacons caring faithfully for the least of these. She was an outstanding elder who knew how to speak the truth in love. The kids who acted up in church, were going to get a word from Ms. Juanita and sometimes they had to come sit with her. She was a peacemaker in the church with eyes looking out for the unity of the church.
She was faithful in her giving actually giving 10% of her income to the work of the Lord and then some. She gave a pledge in every campaign that we had. She had our backs as pastors, and did all she could to let us know she loved us. When she had a problem with something we said or did, she came to us and said, “I have a concern.” She was the real deal for Christ. What she was in your presence, she was in your absence.
Juanita knew her time was coming to an end and she wanted to leave just a few more precious memories behind. This past Mother’s Day, she was in quite a bit of pain, but she was still thinking of others. She gave each of her sisters little flowers as her way of saying remember me. The last Sunday she was at church, she struggled with getting into the electrical chair, but she made it because she wanted to be in God’s house, worshipping with the people of God. She said that Sunday, “I am so tired.”
God in God’s great mercy and love said, “it’s time for you to receive your rest.” And then something precious happened in the eyes of God, in that the Scriptures tells us Psalm 116:15 (NIV) 15 Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. Juanita went home to be with the Lord. As she left, her name was added to the list of heroes in the Hall of Faith there in Hebrews.
You might think it was because of all the good that she did, that caused Jesus to welcome her to heaven. How good she was had nothing to do with it. For Juanita like each of us here today, was a person lost and on her way to hell in need of a Savior. For all of us have rebelled against God and chosen to do our own thing.
The Scriptures teach us that the price for our rebellion is spiritual death. But even in our rebellion, God wanted to love us in an unconditional manner so that anyone who wanted to leave their life of disobedience no matter how bad they had been or what evil they may have committed, they still would have a chance at being brought back into a right relationship with God.
We are told John 3:16-18 (NIV) 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.
All of us here are going to die. The good news is that God does not send anyone to hell. The bad news is that we choose to go there on our own, by not choosing to follow Christ.
The proof that Jesus Christ died in your place and was accepted by God for your sins and mine is that God raised Jesus from the dead. Jesus didn’t rise and disappear. He appeared to over 500 people in one setting. He was with the disciples for nearly 40 days after the resurrection before he went visibly back up into the heavens. Those disciples died for their witness of saying Jesus actually rose. People don’t die for a lie when they know it’s a lie.
Juanita Conner accepted the death of Jesus in her place. She then lived her life for Him in this world. Her choice to choose Jesus then, is the reason she was a blessing to many during her life, and the reason she has eternal life today. If you have any hope of seeing her alive again, you too will have to come to know the God she walked and talked with in her life. For we are told, there is no other name by which we can be saved, other than Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.”
To accept Christ into your life, you have to first agree with God. Agree that you have done wrong. Agree that you cannot give God anything for your sins. Agree that Jesus did all that was necessary to cover the cost of your sins when he died on the cross. Agree that God raised him from the dead. Agree that you need Jesus Christ in your life, to be in a living relationship to God. Then invite Jesus to come in and change you. God’s spirit will take over from there.
We are going to miss our dear sister Juanita, and all that she had to offer. It’s okay to cry and it’s okay to grieve, but for those of us who know Jesus, we know that story has not ended for we find in God ‘s word in =1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NIV) 13 Brothers and Sisters, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. 14 We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.
15 According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
18 Therefore encourage each other with these words.
