Ralph Wayne Kennedy passed on to heaven Tuesday morning.
This is an exerpt from his Homily...
Wayne Kennedy is my friend. When I got the news that he had passed the first thing that came to my thoughts was 1 Corinthians 13. We know that as the “Love Chapter” in the Bible. Here it is from the 1900 KJV.
1 Corinthians 13:1 "Though I speak with athe tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or ba tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of cprophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all dknowledge; and though I have all efaith, fso that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And gthough I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 4 Charity hisuffereth long, and iis kind; charity kenvieth not; charity ||vaunteth not itself, is not lpuffed up, 5 Doth not mbehave itself unseemly, nseeketh not her own, ois not easily provoked, pthinketh no evil; 6 qRejoiceth not in riniquity, but rejoiceth ||in the rstruth; 7 tBeareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, hendureth all things. 8 Charity never faileth: but whether there be uvprophecies, they shall wfail; whether there be qvtongues, they shall cease; whether there be dknowledge, it shall wvanish away. 9 For xwe know yin part, and we uprophesy in part. 10 But zwhen that which is perfect is come, then that which is yin part shall be wdone away. 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I ||thought as a child: but when I became a man, I wput away childish things. 12 For anow we see through a bglass, †darkly; but then cface to face: now I know yin part; but then dshall I know even as also eI am known. 13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."
The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 1 Co 13). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.
Wayne was a gifted man in many ways. Often I could hear him from up here in the pulpit as he would follow along singing with the special music. He has a sweet voice to match his sweet spirit. But that is not what is so great about Wayne.
He was a war hero in Vietnam and later came to serve as a Fire Chief and other things as he was always ready on many occasions to lay down his life for his friends. But that is not what is so great about Wayne.
If Wayne heard of a need in his church he would consider the need and talk to his pastor about it. Wayne was a gracious giver with his tithes and his offerings. But that is not what is so great about Wayne.
You see, love; that is what is so great about Wayne. He loved his family. He loved Jackie. He loved his church. He loves Jesus who gave us eternal life in heaven and who gave us His church to be together right here and right now. And often so often Wayne would even tell me that he loved me. I know that he does and I love him. I know that Wayne’s love for us will never ever die.
He did not want to leave here yet Wayne was so ready to go. In verse eight of the “love chapter” it says that prophecies shall fail, tongues or language will cease, and knowledge will vanish away. Wayne wanted to stay here long enough to feel he could trust the future for those he loved. He didn’t want to leave until your future was secure in what he wanted for you.
Prophecies will fail. Finally we must all understand that the only future that any of us can trust is a future that God has prepared for each of us individually. Wayne loves you. He wants that understanding for you.
Wayne was told, that for his own good, he must limit visits to one or two people and not longer than 15 minutes. Good luck with that! Wayne loved to talk. Wayne loved to listen. He didn’t want to leave anything unsaid.
Wayne Kennedy was a knowledgeable man. He lived a life full of experience from which he learned many things. He didn’t want to leave his existence to somebody else but finally he knew that he had to.
At the beginning of that eighth verse we know that love never fails. Love never stops. It is the one and only thing that you will be allowed to take from this life into eternity and Wayne Kennedy has that love.
Wayne had a great faith in God. He knew beyond a shadow of doubt that what God said here in His written word can be trusted because God can be trusted above all else. Wayne’s faith is fulfilled now. All that Wayne trusted sight unseen is now in Wayne’s sight.
The thirteenth verse says that faith, hope, and charity abide now. Here in this life we have these things to stand on. Faith and hope go together. We have faith or trust in that which is worthy of our trust and faith because we know that which will not let us down even though we cannot rationalize it with our senses.
Hope is the truth that though we have not yet received something, we know we will someday. We will realize the thing we have hoped for after a lifetime of faith. We will be face to face with Jesus. So again faith and hope go hand in hand.
To have faith in Jesus Christ now is to know beyond any doubt that you will be in His open arms one day. That is the one thing we hope for.
We must have that hope of seeing Jesus and those we love one day. Nobody else is responsible for your faith and hope but you.
Love is an altogether different thing than faith and hope. We are responsible to keep our faith. We must keep hope alive. The devil will use whatever he can to shake your faith and if he is successful you will forget your hope.
Love is greater than faith or hope. Love only comes from God because God is love. It is what you saw in Wayne and it is what you will see in Wayne the next time you see Wayne. I will see Wayne again and that is amazing love. It is the love that Wayne has. It is the love that you can have if you accept who Wayne accepted. His name is Jesus.
