Homily for the Funeral of the Archpriest Daniel Munn

Augusta, July 3, 2006

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

I had an appointment with the Archpriest Daniel Munn for next February to celebrate with him and with St. Ignatius parish the ordination of two deacons. He was so excited to have again in this church such a holy event after we had last February the ordination to the priesthood of Father Christopher Manuele and the blessing of 2 subdeacons.

I didn’t expect to come sooner, and this time to his funeral. But we believe that he will be with us next February and participate from heaven in our festivities.

1. Death

In our life we are confronted with death. And we ask ourselves: what is death? And why is there death? Death, according to our Christian faith, is not the end of the life. It is rather a passage from a state of being to another state of being. Death is not annihilation or destruction of our being, but a necessary moment in the relationship of the finite human being to God the infinite. Our existence, as human beings, is not only made of the reality which we are now, but also of an ideal which we have to become, and at this level we have to look for the total reality. We are “candidates to the infinity of Being and to the infinity of life”. It would be very demeaning for the human being to reduce him to the material dimension of his being. One of the dimensions of our being as humans is this profound and fundamental tension towards the infinite. Man is not only matter, he is also spirit, and the spirit in him tends to be united to the eternal Spirit. That is the most revolutionary idea of Christianity: There is eternity, there is everlasting life.

How do we know that?

We have first of all the promise of Jesus: He said to Martha, sister of the dead Lazarus:

 “I am the resurrection and the life;

He who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live;

And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die” (Jn 11: 25-26).

 He said also to his disciples: “I am going now to prepare a place for you. And after I have gone and prepared you a place, I shall return to take you with me; so that where I am you may be too” (Jn 14:2-3).

We hear also St. Paul saying:

“Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we shall be seeing face to face” (1 Co 13:12).

“We know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, there is a house built by God for us, an everlasting home not made by human hands, in the heavens” (2 Co 5:1).

A home is not simply a material place, a material location; a home is more than that, it is a state of confidence, trust and security.

St. Paul says also:

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

Nor the heart of man conceived,

What God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Co 2:9).

We may have some doubts about life after death; and we may ask: what is waiting for us after death? The believer says: “I don’t know what is waiting for me after death, but I do know who” (Bill Coffin). We know that there is a Father who is waiting for us.

In face of every death we can say with Jesus: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  (Mt 27:46; Mk 15:34; Ps  22:1).

But we have also to add with Jesus: “Father into your hands I commit my spirit” (Lk 23:46; Ps 31:5).

2. We believe in the Kingdom of God:

Jesus taught us to call God “Our Father”, and to pray for the coming of His Kingdom. And when the Jews asked him: “where is the Kingdom of God?”  He answered: “Behold, the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you” (Lk 17:21)

What does Jesus mean by “The Kingdom of God”? The Kingdom of God is the presence of God. Jesus is the presence of God, so He is himself the Kingdom of God (He is the “Autobasileia”, as Origenes says). But this Kingdom of God is also to come. How? Through us. The Word of God was incarnated and became man, so that we men and women continue by our love the incarnation of God, and the presence of God in the world.

“The Kingdom of God is in the midst of you”. We are called to make present in the world the Kingdom of God. If we live with Jesus, and Jesus lives in us, the Kingdom of God is already in our hearts, and we make it present in the world by our love and our deeds. The spiritual destiny of the world depends on us. It cannot be accomplished without us.

The Archpriest Daniel has lived his priestly life in the Kingdom of God, and helped to make present the Kingdom of God in this parish by his prayer and his ministry. He liked to pray, to celebrate the Divine Liturgy and all the liturgical services. And he liked to serve people. These are the two first commandments: love God, and love thy neighbor. I remembered when I came to visit with the parish last February that he told me that he has to visit some sick people. I went with him, and we spent a whole day visiting sick people and distributing to them the Holy Communion. I was impressed with which love, which peace, which serenity, he was consoling the sick, praying with them and for them, giving them some hope in their loneliness and some light in their trouble and darkness.

We extend our most sincere sympathy to his wife, presbytera Jan, to his children and their families and to all the members of this parish. You have now in heaven not only the founder of this parish but also an intercessor. And we hope that this parish will continue to grow with his intercession and through your commitment.

We start the Creed by proclaiming our belief in “God Father Almighty Creator of heaven and earth”, and we conclude it by proclaiming our belief “in the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting”. God is the source of our being, and our final destiny. He is the Alpha and the Omega of our life.

This everlasting life we pray God that He give to the Archpriest Daniel. May his memory be eternal! Amen

By the Most Rev. CYRIL Bustros