As I begin, first let us remember three main reasons why we are here today:
First, we come to mourn the loss of a loved one. We have not come to deny our grief, but to acknowledge it and understand it: an indication of the love that was felt for Ed.
We come out of respect for a loved one-and to say “farewell” until another time.
Secondly, we come to celebrate the life that has already been shared with us. We come to remember and give thanks for the life God gave to Edward Bursa.
Ed’s life touched many lives: as husband, father, grandfather, father-in-law, brother, brother-in-law, uncle and brother-in-Christ.
Third, and finally, we come here today to acknowledge our faith…to claim the sure promises God has made to Ed and to us.
Today we remember that because Christ lived beyond death, we too shall share in that victory and be welcomed into God’s heavenly kingdom.
That is the promise of our faith and it is what we hope for Ed today and it is what we hope for ourselves.
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This afternoon’s second scripture reading is the well known text on the “fruits of the spirit.” It was chosen by Ed’s son, Ed Jr., because it reminded him of all the wonderful qualities his dad modeled throughout his life; the spiritual qualities of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
If I were going to base my message this afternoon on just one of these fruits, and how it manifested itself in Ed’s life and witness, I might talk about the deep love Ed had for his wife Shirley and their five children, and five grandchildren. Mentioning that just about every time I visited him in the hospital, he would always ask for prayers for his family and what they were going through.
If I were to talk about peace, I might talk about the Lord’s peace that seemed to surround and protect Ed. Or the peaceful feeling I experienced after spending time with him while on pastoral calls. It was no doubt that peace that enabled Ed to greet his transition from this life to the next without fear or anxiety of what lay ahead.
If I were to talk about patience, I’d tell you about the time Ed, out of the goodness of his heart, super-glued a treasured Lenox manger scene that had been given to me as a gift years ago, after our puppy had knocked it off our hall table and it had fallen and broken into many tiny pieces last Christmas. It was nothing short of miraculous; it looked good as new after Ed was able to put that figurine back together.
If I were to speak about kindness, I would begin by recalling how Ed was always doing things (like repairing that manger scene) for others. In fact, right before he was diagnosed, Ed went to another church member’s home and installed a kitchen cabinet.
Then again, if I were to base my homily on faithfulness, I might choose to talk about the fact that the only time Ed and Shirley missed worship was when they were out of town or ill. Then again, maybe I’d mention the hours upon hours they devoted in caring for the church and the church grounds. Things just started to “get done” after they joined the church family. No fuss; no fan-fare.
If I were to base my homily on self-control, I might recall how Ed never once complained throughout his illness. Every time I would visit Ed in the hospital and at home, with the exception of one time, when I asked him how he was feeling, he would say, “Oh, fine. But I’m concerned about Shirley.” The only time Ed didn’t respond in this way was four days before his death when he simply said, “I’m not feeling so good today.” Hardly a complaint.
Anyone who knew Ed Bursa Sr., could see the fruit of God’s holy spirit in his life. But the particular fruit of the spirit, that Ed had present in his life and witness that I’d like to focus on today is joy.
What is joy?
In defining something, sometimes it is helpful to say what that thing is not.
Joy is not to be confused with happiness.
Although happiness is great, it is fleeting. Joy is to be sought more than happiness. It is deeper and has staying power. Happiness has to do with circumstances. We’re happy when we get a raise, or the sun is shining, or the Gators win.
Joy, is a state of being that is not dependent on what is happening in our lives. The Greek word most often translated as joy is the nuance of well-being, making it an inner quality.
Joy is not linked to or affected by money, success, status, age, gender, even physical health.
No, joy and happiness are not the same thing.
There is nothing “happy” about finding out that you have pancreatic cancer and your days with those you love the most, are numbered. Even so, not even that news could rob Ed of his joy. Joy is hard to pin down but we know it when we see it and it was present in Ed Bursa’s life.
But where does joy come from? And more to the point, how can we more fully experience the joy that Ed knew?
Psalms 127 says, “Happy is the man who has a quiver full of sons.”
Ed indeed had a quiver full of sons and a wonderful daughter as well. No doubt his children brought him much happiness, but more importantly, the relationships that he shared with them, with his wife Shirley, with his grandchildren, his extended family, and church family, was, I believe, the source of his joy.
A team of psychologists from UCLA put it this way, “Joy springs from connection and communion between the joyous and another person, object, idea.” Those are their words—connection and communion. Or in other words, joy is not something we attain or produce. Joy is something we receive.
Think for just a moment about a time in your life when you experienced real joy. A moment of deep gladness, an inner sense of well-being, an experience that gave you the ability to view the world and what was happening around you with new grace-filled eyes. Perhaps you are thinking about a wedding, the birth of a child, a family reunion, a party. Most of our most joy-filled times involve other people.
If another person was not included in your memory, my guess is that as soon as that joyful moment happened, you went to share it with someone else.
Experiences of joy almost never happen alone. They almost always involve another person either directly or indirectly and it’s the connection between the two that allows the joy to flow.
Jesus said, “I am the true vine . . . Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.” Joy is experienced in our relations but it originates in our relationship with the Lord.
When we stay connected to the vine that is Christ, God’s presence and character produces joy.
Ed Bursa was blessed to know the deep joy of the Lord.
Ed’s faith in Jesus Christ was the center of his life. Is it any surprise that he had one of the biggest and best Christmas light displays in all of Gainesville? What a wonderful way to share the joy of the birth of the Christ child with others.
On Sunday, August 16th in the year of our Lord 2009, Edward Bursa found an end to all earthly suffering.
We claim the promise of Matthew 11:28 for Ed, which says, “Come to me all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”
Now Ed, I believe, is experiencing the fullness of joy that God’s word teaches can only be found in God’s presence. For Ed, his joy is complete.
Can you hear the king of heaven welcome him saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant. (Matt 25:21) Come, Ed, you are blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matt 25:34)
And now to the One who by the power at work within us,
Is able to do far more abundantly
Than we can ask or imagine,
To God be the glory in the church
And in Christ Jesus
To all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Posted by greytlife 
