Homily: for C. Richard Schroder MD by Patrick Fairbanks SJ - 9 May 2001 First Reading: Wisdom 3:1-6, 9 Second reading: 2 Corinthians 5:1,6-10 Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12 When I was a counselor at Fort Scott Summer Camp back in the 70s, one of the first eventualities of the early hours of an incoming Sunday, happening right after dinner, was the phenomenon known as "homesickness." As soon as it got a little bit dark, the littlest kid started to cry. Invariably the counselor concluded the homesickness was some sort of stomach ailment, and trotted the little tyke over to the camp infirmary where Dr. Schroder sat inside getting ready his cookout equipment. I can hear Doc say to a homesick midget camper, "Homesick? Why there's so much else to do right here with all of us. Why don't we talk about it tomorrow." Then he'd take the kid out back the infirmary and cook him a hot dog - a little stomach treatment. Dealing with homesickness is one of the themes found in today's second reading from Paul's letter to the Corinthians. This passage, chosen by the family for today's Mass, touches on one of the more recurring tensions we find in Paul's letters: the common struggle that the early Christians had between life in the body (what St. Paul calls a tent) and life in the hereafter, the otherworldly home with God in heaven (what he calls a dwelling not made with hands). The early Christians really struggled to be good people, living day to day, while waiting for Jesus to return soon and take them away from this world. In a way it's like being homesick. All of us are a bit like helpless children in a strange place, burdened by fears and the unavoidable pains of human life: poor health, old age, physical limitations, addiction, grief, stress, and the anxieties of a world filled with strife and injustice. We'd actually rather be home. Amid our everyday struggles, our brave spirits long for that day when we can be free of it all. As St. Paul says, "Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord." The passing of a loved one is often a grim reminder that we still struggle to understand human suffering. And we long for an answer or some healing. But our medicine will not be a stomach treatment, and our counselor eventually grows up and moves on. True healing comes only from the Risen Christ. Although we struggle with homesickness, we believe pains and sufferings of this life - even death itself - lead to resurrection. At times of death, we remember that we are people baptized in Christ, Who gives us hope in risen life. We are Christians. And we find comfort in Jesus. Well, how in the world did we get that way? We learned it from the Christian community, the kind St. Paul was trying to nurture, and the kind Jesus calls us to become. We learned it from the Holy Spirit whose fire burns still among our gathering. In this parish lives the community where Doc Schroder grew up, and it was here that he learned his first lessons of the Christian life: that we gather each week for Eucharist to gain encouragement in our struggles. We read over again the letters of Paul and the Beatitudes, and we are reminded that we are sinners destined for happiness. We are burdened with death, yet we will rise. We trust God will comfort our homesickness. As Paul says, "Those that trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him - in love." How in the world did we get that way? "We walk by faith." And the best way to really see what that means - "We walk by faith" - is to look at someone who actually did it, Dr. C. Richard Schroder If you've ever been lucky enough to have taken a walk with Doc, you get a glimpse of what it is to walk by faith. You would see that walking by faith has two basic rules: 1) go slowly, and 2) go with someone else. Flip through your memories of Doc and see if you can't find a time and place where you were once privileged to walk with this faithful man. Maybe it was in Hyde Park Square, perhaps to take a short walk from his apartment to Graeters ... there's three hours right there. Or maybe from the infirmary to the mess hall, and back again, time enough to hear about all the camp gossip and to hear what "some kid" was up to again. I was privleged to be with Doc on his first visit to the Oneida Baptist Institute in Kentucky. And as the director, Barkley Moore, raced around guiding us through the campus of buildings, Doc and I hung back about eighty feet, walking a little slower, together just marvelling at the new place he'd be working. Doc would often walk himself through those beautiful wooded hills at Oneida. Many of you can say you have walked with Doc through the woods at camp, of course you had to stop every two feet so he could identify each flower, leaf, and tree. I know John Schroder had many a long walks with Doc when they both visited me in Singapore one summer; I'd be pointing out all the sites, and there would be Doc two blocks behind me just strolling along, but walking by faith: slowly, and with someone else. That's all it takes: go slowly, go with someone else. Not a bad prescription Doc. You certainly showed us how to walk by faith. Doc showed us that a slower pace through life gives a much better perspective on the natural world, a diet of contemplation and wonder that enhances our faith and forms US into peacemakers! And Doc showed us the value of walking WITH another. Many of our fears and anxieties diminish considerably when shared with another trusted friend, a spouse sometimes taken for granted, a parent or child. It is thus we become pure of heart. Doc showed us the value of presence. Just to be with him and to watch his cigar burn down to a nub was always one of the best ways to spend an evening. I think you can picture times too when Doc appears to be walking alone, we saw him as a single man, and at first we may have presumed loneliness or sadness in him. But these are times when he walked with his God. Picture Doc alone, this is sometimes how it looks to walk by faith. At times like this, he must have experienced intense joy. Walking by faith, Doc became a living Beatitude, a model for us to become peacemakers too. In our own fashion, we too can be pure of heart, poor in spirit, meek, and merciful. These qualities are not heroic, just gifts of faith; the results of walking by faith. And what better model do we have than C. Richard Schroder. His gentle stride through life helped us to slow ourselves, to share with him our pains and concerns, our joys and interests, and thereby receive God's grace. He was a living beatitude, a blessed body who so loved the Lord that the warm fire of God's Holy Spirit was evident in his eyes, in his soft voice, or even in the simple gesture of a captured memory. Almost as if he were privy to some beatific vision. Blessed are we today, those who mourn, we the clean of heart, for we have walked with God. Doc, thank you for helping us all to see His face a little more clearly. Thank you for helping us to walk by faith. You're a lucky man, Doc, to have found your home and completed that faithful journey - to finally get beyond the homesickness and rest in the house of God. I hope he doesn't mind your snoring. Rest in peace Doc. 1 3