Funeral Eulogy Lillie Jackson 11/29/2015
Psalms 116:15-15 Ecclesiastes 3:1-14 Romans 8:28-35
God took notice and smiled on Monday morning, and all that great crowd witnesses that surround us gave out a loud cheer as Sister Lillie Jackson rose up out of her bed and took her place among the saints who have gone on before us.
There was no question as to whether or not she had a spot, because she believed the promises of Jesus, when Jesus said in the word of God, “I am going away to prepare a place for you and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am.”
Knowing Lillie, as soon as she heard the cheers, she probably said, “well it’s about time, I’ve been ready to go for a while now.” Lillie had already decided she did not want to reach 90 and after 89 years and two months, she was getting a little impatient that Jesus had not called her home yet.
The word of God says in Psalms 116:15 "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." This means that on November 23rd , Lillie brought joy in a special way to the heart of God.
Lillie Jackson was more than a daughter, more than a wife, more than a mother, more than a sister, more than a relative, more than a good friend, and more than a strong Black woman. Brothers and sisters I submit to you this day, that Lillie Jackson was, and still is, a servant and a child of the Most High God.
Jesus said, , "If any of you would come after me, you must deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their lives will lose it, but whoever loses their lives for me will find it. What good will it be for a you to gain the whole world, and yet lose your soul? Or what can you give in exchange for your soul?
Sister Lillie Jackson picked up her cross to follow Jesus Christ, thereby making her death on Monday just a means of passing from one form of service to God to another.
There use to be a beer commercial ad that said, "you only live once, give it all the gusto you can in life." That slogan actually comes from the Old Testament in the bible. Only the beer commercial stopped halfway with the verse. The verse goes on to say, give it all you got, but realize that God is going to hold you accountable for the way you live it.
If you were to die today, would you be ready to give God an account for the decisions you have made, and would you know with a certainty that you would spend eternity in heaven with God? If the answer is not yes, then perhaps your life is being lived in vain.
God gives each of us an assignment to work with in this world. God provides us all with a gift to offer. In thinking of the verse which probably captures the essence of the ministry and mission of Lillie Jackson , “I think of the verse found in Romans 12:15. Rejoice with those who do rejoice and weep with those who weep.”
The wins and losses she suffered during her life made her a perfect candidate to develop the gift of empathizing with and encouraging others as she journeyed through life. Some of the words used to describe Lillie were, feisty, very truthful, active, compassionate, humorous, friendly, strict, direct, and fashionable.
Now there are some people who look good in what they wear, but they don’t know it. Lillie never had that problem. She was convinced she looked good in whatever she put on. Some would think, wow that dress really makes be look nice. For Lillie it was more,” that dress sure looks good on me.” There’s nothing wrong with a little self confidence.
Do not believe the old cliché, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. If that had of been true, Lillie never would have gotten to marry the love of her life, Robert Jackson. Lillie was not known for her good cooking, so she did the best thing since she liked to eat, and that was to marry a chef. Her husband Robert, not only loved to cook, he was the head chef down at Stouffers, back when we were not allowed to hold those kind of jobs in those kind of places.
I guess Robert knew that as long as he kept cooking, he didn’t have to worry about his wife ever thinking about another man. They had each other and they had God in their lives. They were charter members together in the birth of Glenville Presbyterian Church. They celebrated 24 years together before his death in 1970. They did a lot of things together, but one thing they didn’t do was to teach Lillie how to cook. Countless stories could be written about burned up greens, not to tasty this or that, and “maybe we should just get a pizza.”
Lillie had to make a choice. She knew she could never give up cakes, pies, and other sweets. She could either find another chef to marry, or she could get some of you to cook her food for her. She chose the latter, and that’s why some of you had to cook the cakes, the pies, the meats, and the meals for her. To all of you who cooked something for her, she has remembered you in her will with a big thank you.
Lillie had the ability to win over friends easily. She was very upbeat with life. She didn’t like to just sit around. She was a woman on the go. Traveling was something she enjoyed and God blessed her to travel all over this country, Canada and the Caribbean. She believed God gave life for the purpose of enjoyment and enjoy it she did. She carried with her an infectious smile, a nice grin, and a great laugh. I can see those moments in which she seemed ready to explode with laughter.
Even though Lillie liked to go, she also knew how to stop in a hurry. If there was something that needed to be done, that she did not want to do, she became an expert at sitting back and getting some rest until someone else got the job done.
When difficulties hit our lives, we give God the opportunity to make us either better or bitter. Lillie and Robert were surprised when she got pregnant since the other three Kids were older teens. It was a shock at first to discover that Shawn, their new born child had down’s syndrome. Five years after Shawn was born, Lillie’s husband died. It had to have been a frightening time for her, even with the encouragement she got from her now adult kids.
Lillie found her strength in her Savior Jesus Christ. Whereas some would have seen the challenge of raising Shawn to be a hardship, Lillie saw it as a blessing from God. For Lillie knew that we are all created in the image of God, and that all of us have a gift to offer if we would but take the time to seek to discover it. She raised Shawn to be one of the most loving and encouraging members that Glenville had ever known. He was so proud of his opportunities to serve as an usher and to sing with the men’s choir.
In the midst of her struggles, her sense of humor continued to blossom. But the tricky thing was sometimes knowing when she was being joking and when she was not. Lillie did not mind telling you what you needed to hear whether you wanted to hear it or not. If she hurt your feelings, just know, you are not alone.
She may have gotten upset and angry with you, but once it was over, as far as she was concerned, it was over. She was the kind of friend that all of us need, a friend who loves you enough to tell you the truth, if they think you’re headed in the wrong direction. I guess there were a few times when she could have been a little less direct, but if you really knew Lillie, you knew that she was going to do things her way.
Lillie did have a heart of compassion. Whenever there was a special offering in the church for some specific kind of need, she was eager to give. Her compassion for empathizing with others was one of her special attributes. One of the things two of her kids will miss the most about their mom, was the opportunity to go to her in a time of pain or confusion and know there would be either be a listening ear to offer gentle guidance or a bed to crawl in and be comforted by lying next to mom.
Lillie loved her children and her family. It was no secret that they had to remind her that Shawn was not the only one in need of her love and affection. One of the accomplishments of the other three that Lillie was so proud of was that all three graduated from college in the same year. To Deborah, Rochelle and Randy, we say thank you for giving your mother that awesome gift.
Lillie was always striving to be better sometimes it paid off, sometimes not so much. She was a state champion in roller skating and her team went on to win a national title. She tried to learn how to swim for 20 years and never quite made it. She ran sprints in the Senior Olympics and won some medals. I still remember her complaining about some short white lady that kept her from being able to win first place in the sprints.
She took piano lessons from a very gifted pianist, and if you ever heard Lillie play Mary had a little lamb, you had heard everything she ever learned to play. Lillie was determined to be a good car driver. She liked the open road, and she moved enough cars out of the way to keep it open. Her son remembers how many family cars she wrecked.
Of the five love languages, Lillie’s love language was receiving gifts. Christmas and mother’s day were her favorite holidays. She never received a gift she did not like and she was grateful when you were a blessing in her life whether it was large or smile.
Lillie decided she was going to be active until Jesus came or until she died. That’s why she wanted to be gone before reaching age 90. Her grandchildren were not allowed to call her grandma. They called her”Red”. Now the color Red was her favorite color, and the color of hair at the time was Red. But the Red might have represented her feisty personality. Even though she could make friends with anybody, she was not about to let you push her around by any means. She could be ready to fight in a few moments notice. She and Ms. Moffett could love each other one minute and argue the next.
Now Lillie was a joy to be with, but Lillie was not always easy to live with. She knew it as well. Deborah if she could speak today, I think she would say, thank you for all the many things she at times put you threw. She could have a stubborn streak once in a while. Her spin on it would be that she was helping you to grow in patience. Everybody needs a rock to rely upon in life, and for these past few years, you have been a strong rock upon which she could depend.
Whether they call her Mom, Red or something else , Lillie loved her family. She loved her church family and she gave over herself to them both. Lillie would be the first to say that her life was far from perfection and that she needed the grace of Jesus Christ as much as anyone. She tried to be a student of the Word of God in Bible Study and Life-Sharing.
One of her fellow students noticed how Lillie came to Bible Study with the answers to the questions written out on her paper. She participated well in the bible discussions during class time. She desired to grow deeper in God.
We thank God for what she did in the life of the church. She served as an elder, a deacon, and church Secretary. We thank God she did not try to cook in the kitchen and did not try to sing solo’s or join the choir. Blessed are those who know what they both can and cannot do.
- Lillie was a gift from God to us. How many of us here know that our lives were richer, because our lives intersected with the life of Lillie Jackson. I thank God for the encouragement Lillie was to me as one of her pastors. I can hear her saying to me, “oh it’s going to be all right.” Lillie often reminded me of mom when I looked at her from a physical perspective.
She never knew how many times she lifted my spirits with one of her joking comments. She was an incredible woman in the kingdom of God. I missed her when we left Glenville, yet I recognize we all must follow the path God is calling us to travel. We only have each other for a season, so we need to make the most of the seasons that God gives.
As we travel through life, we are all writing down a legacy for how we are going to be remembered. Lillie is going to be remembered as a woman who was a special gift from God willing to turn tragedy into triumph. Now she has lain down her legacy and has gone to be with Jesus Christ. You may think, with all the love Sister Jackson has demonstrated through the years, she certainly deserves to go to heaven. But that’s not quite true. You see, according to the Bible, none of us deserves to go to heaven. Did you know that according to Jesus, most people will not go to heaven?
Jesus said in , Mat 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
What makes the gospel of Jesus Christ good news, is that all of us were on our way to hell. A place of eternal torment for all who refuse to live in a right relationship with God. All of us are born with a nature that wants to do things our way, regardless of what God has said. Those actions are called sin, and the penalty for sin is death, not just physical death, but spiritual death as well.
Jesus Christ came into the world, lived a life of obedience to God, was killed on a cross, and raised from the dead by God three days later. It all happened so that anybody, anywhere, in any condition, at any age, could be made right with God by accepting His work on their behalf.
Anyone who invites Jesus into their lives by asking for forgiveness of their sins no matter what they have done can be saved. Hell is removed from the judgment equation and Heaven becomes the only option left to them. Not because of how good the person lived, but because of the work of Jesus Christ. Jesus went to hell in their place. My friends all of us will stand before God to face judgment. Are you going to be ready when it happens to you?
Entering into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is the only way to enter that narrow gate. All you have to do is to admit, "God, I have done a lot of things I should not have done. I realize I cannot pay for all that I have done. I ask you for forgiveness. I accept that when Jesus Christ died on the cross, He being holy and righteous, paid the penalty for my sin. I invite him to come into my life and take control of it."
You will make numerous decisions in your life between your birth and your death. But the only decision that will still be personally affecting you a 1000 years from today, is what did you do with Jesus Christ. The Bible teaches there will certainly be a resurrection of everybody from the dead, and then comes the judgment of God. Life after death is more real than life today.
Lillie Jackson is prepared for that Judgment. Like the Apostle Paul she can say, “the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”
For those of us who die without Jesus Christ, Lillie Jackson will only be a passing memory. For those of us who die in Christ, she’s waiting for us to join her in that great reunion that will certainly take place.
For the word of God teaches, 1 Th 4:13-18 Brothers & 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. 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.
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. 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.
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. Therefore encourage each other with these words.
