Mike’s wife and children held a memorial with his cremated remains in Indiana (where Mike’s wife lives with her family); only my youngest sister was able to attend. Pastor Bob immediately offered to host a memorial service for my brother at Messiah, but since the rest of my family is Roman Catholic, they declared THAT “out of the question!” Oh, they spoke of having a memorial for Mike, but nothing happened.
Well, stuff happened, just not memorial planning. Mom had a heart attack and has been in and out of the hospital for the past several months, Dad has great difficulty taking care of himself, and now they have recently been moved out of their house, and into assisted living (that’s another story).
It’s now June. My youngest sister has decided that the memorial for my brother must happen soon. I give her the one day in June that I have an unbreakable commitment I made back in February. Care to guess which day she schedules the memorial service? That, too, is yet another story!
My wife suggested that I write something about Mike that she could then read at the memorial service. I wrote the following poem. I’m not sure why the Spirit moved me to write in Iambic Pentameter, but there it is. Truth be told, I doubt she’ll read it in a Catholic church. She said she might hand out copies at the door. LOL! I think the Catholics would only allow that if it were printed on a Holy Card. There’s no Holy Card, but here’s the poem:
Michael Hoag
For my brother, in Memoriam: June 1, 1952 – April 10, 2011
by David Alan Hoag – June 13, 2011
How do we each recall my brother’s name?
Where, indeed, did he fit into your life?
For all of us, the answer’s not the same.
Do you recall his laughter, or the strife?
Some only saw the upset and the rain
With others, he would laugh the whole day long
Some only heard his music’s sweet refrain
As generously he shared his gift of song.
He definitely heard a different beat.
He oft burned bright; so too, he oft burned wild.
But… the one thing he brought to all he’d meet
Was the pure… innocent… heart of a child.
He admitted his sins; laughed at them, too.
Struggled against them with all of his might.
“How can God love me? How can that be true?”
It didn’t always seem so black and white.
Mike often thought that hell might be his home,
Believing all his sins to be too grave.
The pious cite his sin; ignore their own,
And tell him he was too far gone to save.
In Matthew 12, verse 31 it’s said:
“All sins will be forgiven, but for one…”
“Deny the Holy Spirit, and you’re dead.”
Thus spoke to us God’s one and only Son.
Mike may have sinned (so at least he was taught)…
Oft he would struggle, he oft lost his way;
But, denying God’s Spirit… he did not!
Know without doubt, Mike walks with God today.
As I used to tell my brother, don’t deny the pull of God’s Spirit in your life. No matter what you think you have done, or even what you may have done, God’s Spirit can cleanse you, sanctify you, and make you right and acceptable to God.
That’s great news! It’s wonderful to be secure in the promise that the Holy Spirit will carry us… unblemished… to heaven, to walk with God for eternity. But even better news is that if we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior today, we can walk in God’s Holy Spirit here on Earth; right now! That joy is… unbelievable!
How marvelous it is to be loved beyond all measure! I know who made me; I know who loves me; I know who saved me; I know who strengthens me; I know who wants an eternal relationship with me; and I know who is coming for me! I’ll see at worship, as we celebrate that knowing!!!
Your brother in Christ,
Dave
