ANDREW MCLAREN

1989-2006

NOVEMBER 6, 2006

Joe Kutter

An ancient theologian once said that the glory of God is a man (or woman) fully alive.

Andy McLaren was fully alive!

Today we mourn the years that he will not have and we celebrate the time that was his and the life that he lived.

How will you remember Andy?

FAMILY:

You cannot know Andy apart from his family.

The extended family is dispersed and yet deliberately works to maintain a closeness that has covered the globe.

When asked to talk about Andy, his grandparents could not wait to talk about time that they shared together and the fact the Andy enjoyed being with an older generation.

His aunt talked about the way that Andy looked after a younger cousin.

And at the heart of it all, Andy lived with Mom and Dad and Kristen.

He was a bit of a paradox; aren’t all sixteen year old men?

On the one hand he was a bit maddening and on the other hand, he was endearing and caring and loving.

Last night, his dad, Greg, rejoiced in the meals they shared together.

As frequently happens, the activities of the family pulled them in different directions and evening meals did not happen automatically. So they made it happen, sometimes eating late in the evening so that they could eat together.

Did Andy know how to push his mother’s buttons? Or his sisters? Or Dad’s?

And at the same time, he was incredibly protective of his family, a defender.

He could rile his parents up and, at time, he could calm them down.

PERSONALITY:

How will you remember Andy?

 You will remember the young man who was incredibly social.

If you wanted to punish Andy, confine him to about 30 seconds of solitude!

He loved being with people.

I asked about his academics and the answer suddenly became clear.

Think about it.

See Andy with a choice to make.

Here is a chair and a table and a book and nobody to talk to.

And over here is a group of friends laughing and talking and kidding one another.

Which is Andy’s native habitat?

He did all right, and he really responded to those whom he saw as caring for him and those that challenged him, but on the whole he would rather be talking and playing.

He was a caring young man, an inclusive person.

Andy was the one who might see someone standing alone at the edge of the room or eating alone and make a point of including them in the conversation.

Reaching out, touching, including others, that was his personality.

And he was a prankster.

He couldn’t help himself.

Teasing others was a way of relating without appearing to be too mushy or too sensitive –

A way of caring without appearing to care too much.

So, on a double date with a friend, when one of the girls lost her shoe out of the car, Andy did what Andy had to do. He got just near enough to the shoe for her to reach for it and then pulled away. He would get near and she would reach and then he would pull away – He had to tease. He had to kid around, he had to make jokes.

And competitive?  Did Andy like to win? 

His family couldn’t help but laugh at memories of “Up Jenkins” and “Hand and Foot.” It seems that when Andy knew that he had won, he demanded that the points be counted.

SPECIAL ACTIVITIES

If you knew Andy, you know that he found special satisfaction in sports and music.

What did he like? I asked.

The answer, if it involved a ball, he liked it.

Over time, he gravitated towards baseball and I understand that he was pretty good at it.

He understood the game and had a pretty good curve ball.

He recently sent a text message to his mother saying that he wanted to try out for the swim team in order to get into shape for baseball.

Some think that he wanted to get into shape.

The rest believe that he was attracted to swimming because it is a co-ed sport.

We’ll never know.

And there was a special place for music.

He sang in the chorale at school and he rang bells and sang here at church.

His mother said that Mr. Fuller at school (forgive me if I missed the name) and Jane Anderson here at First Baptist challenged him and he responded to the challenge.

FAITH:

There was one more dimension to Andy’s life that may have been less visible in other places but was absolutely essential to his character and personality.

In the course of his short life span, he made a decision to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and it was a commitment that he took seriously.

Much of his kindness and compassion and his inclusive spirit was grounded in that commitment to be a disciple of Jesus.

His commitment was nurtured in his family but it was his decision to make and he made it in his own personal way.

As a part of that decision, the youth group here at First Baptist became a primary circle of friends for him.

Church music became a part of his personal repertoire.

Mission trips to Nicaragua and being a part of a team of persons determined to reach out to persons less privileged was a singular passion for him.

Planning for the next trip was the last formal event in his life.

If you look at the front of the bulletin, you’ll see Andy with Nicaraguan people, people that he loved deeply.

Less we sanctify him too quickly, we do need to remember that he was a child of the church who was generally regarded by the Sunday School teachers as a “Sunday School terrorist.”

He and his cohorts may have set a record in Sunday School teacher burn-out!

But through it all, even when he did not know that he was learning, he was absorbing the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and that gospel truth was shaping his life!

THE ACCIDENT

So here we are,

In this sanctuary – this place of worship,

Trying to make sense of the inexplicable.

Why?  We wonder why?

At one level, the answer is as plain as plain can be.

The laws of physics and biology prevail.

The force of the collision, the impact of car on car provided a severe shock to Andy’s body resulting in injuries that simply could not be survived.

The human body was not made to survive that kind of impact and the laws of physics and biology prevailed.

Andy made a mistake that resulted in a terrible accident which cost him his life.

That is a part of the answer to why?

But that is not fully satisfying, is it?

If he had arrived at that circle a second earlier or two seconds later, if he had stopped to eat one more brownie at church or if he had eaten one less or if his family had not waited to take a picture ….

If, if, if, if; too many ifs to contemplate.

Do you remember the fad of a few years ago when people would put on Velcro suits and then run and jump and see if they could stick to the wall? Friends, we have been thrown against the wall of life’s mysteries and here we are stuck and no answer will ever be fully satisfactory.

Some among us will talk of God’s perfect will. If that helps you, go ahead.

Forgive me for saying so, but the God that I know in Jesus Christ takes no delight in shortening the life of his young children. I don’t think that God did it.

Rather, I believe that God is greeting Andy in heaven with tears in his own eyes,

Tears for Greg and Amy and Kristen,

Tears for Andy’s family and friends,

Tears for all of us who mourn today.

Let me show you the last photo ever taken of Andy and his family.

(Image of several people, including the McLaren family, standing in a circle in prayer.)

They had just been in a meeting to prepare for a mission trip to Nicaragua and they had been invited to pose for this image as a symbol of Christian community.

I invite you join the circle of prayer.

I invite you to join the community of Christ.

God did not prevent this terrible thing but I believe that God is fulfilling the promise of Jesus when he said, “I am with you always.”

God is fulfilling Jesus’ promise, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, I will be with them.” I believe it is so.

I believe that even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me.
God is good to his word, “In all things, even in this terrible thing, working together for good for those who love the Lord.” So I believe.

 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [1]   I do believe.

I believe that the Holy Spirit of God will see us through even as our resurrected Lord is making all things new for Andy now.

As God transformed crucifixion into resurrection for his own first-born son, I believe that God is transforming this accident into eternal life for Andy, even as we speak.