My friend, mentor and Franciscan brother, Joe Nangle OFM passed away on December 14th. His funeral was today. Joe requested that I give the homily – and so, here it is….

Funeral Homily for Fr Joseph Nangle OFM

I first encountered Fr. Joe while he was celebrating Mass in a small-town church in Loudoun County – seating capacity 89. What I remember most clearly is him coming down from the altar to stand among the people and to proclaim the gospel as though it was a story – “Hey, did you hear….?” It was clear that this was a story being passed onto each one of us with the expectation that we would share the story, the good news of Jesus Christ. We were to be people who heard the gospel, gossipped it over the back yard fence, lived the gospel and became People of the Word. In the same way as Fr. Joe had in the course of his own life become vir evangelii – a man of the Good News, the Gospel. That was 40 years ago.

In the interim, he became a friend, a mentor, and the one who inspired me to leave the business world behind and become a member of Franciscan Mission Service, serving in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya.

It was there that I was presiding at a funeral – like today. And like today, the one we honor and pray for was an elder, a well respected leader of the community; in Kiswahili, mzee. As part of the homily I said “Mzee, amekuaga duniani.” “He has said goodbye to the world.” At that point I heard the gasp of some 300 people.

For anyone learning a new language, we all know that you are one vowel away from profanity – and so I wondered what horrible thing I had said. The next day I was able to ask someone if I had misspoken. He assured me that my Kiswahili was very good, but that we would never say that about an elder who had just died – because it was not the belief that “he had left the world.”  His duty to the family, the clan, the community and the tribe was not over. To say “he has left the world” is to say his stories are not important and can be put aside. It is to say there is nothing in the elder’s stories needed to guide the people.

Our mzee has died, but he has not said goodbye to the world. There is a holy power in his life, his stories – and so we remember, we repeat them, and they become a part of us.

Everyone here has their own stories of time with Fr. Joe. Everyone here has heard his stories of his time in Bolivia, in Peru, and back here in the United States. There are several things I would point out about all of Fr. Joe’s stories: (1) his stories are almost always about the “poor in spirit”, “the peacemakers,” those who suffer for the sake of righteousness, the clean of heart, and especially the merciful. His stories point to those people whose lives make the Kingdom of God just a little bit closer and clearer.

(2) His stories are always connected to the Gospel. We should not be surprised, he was someone who became the Good News as he followed Christ and ever pointed us to follow, not Joe Nangle, but Jesus Christ.

(3) His stories were about who we are called to be, how we choose to live, the choices we make, and the person we become. His hope was always that we would be populus evangelii – People of the Good News, gossiping the gospel over our own backyard fences.

(4) His stories were always a challenge for each of us to live a life whose stories would be added to that Good News.

We all have our stories of moments with Fr. Joe; let me share one of my stories. I was a friar still young in this Franciscan life and spending the summer in Boston, Fr. Joe’s hometown.  He was in the city and offered to give me “the” tour of his neighborhood. We stopped in Lexington at a neighborhood baseball field. The senior baseball team was one player short and they asked Joe to fill in with players all several years older. During the game, Joe was at bat when the pitcher delivered a fastball high in the zone – and as any baseball player will tell you – you have to take the swing.

By his own admission, Joe was not a great batsman, but on that day he connected with a home run that cleared the fence, in fact, sailed over and beyond the treeline. Joe has told that story many times, but on that day, for the next 30 minutes, Joe reflected on his life “beyond the treeline.” From Boston to Bonaventure University where Reginald Redlon asked him if he ever thought about putting on the brown. From Bonaventure to rafting on wild rivers with Bishop Tom Manning in Bolivia, to Peru and more – all places beyond a simple treeline in Lexington.

For 30 minutes, just two guys, hanging on the fence, two friends talking about life beyond the treeline. Talking about Life where the gospel called us. Telling stories – and quietly reflecting on all that lay beyond the treeline of this life – a place unseen, yet hoped for with the deepest of longing. Joe’s vision was very clear. Beyond the final treeline was where the Kingdom was in its full glory. Where there were only peacemakers, all were rich in the love of God, where grace and mercy abound, there was nothing to mourn because death would be no more. He turned to me and said, “Isn’t that it? That all our stories will be completed in the one story of life and resurrection of Jesus. Isn’t that the Hope?”

Indeed, that is the Hope. 

The earthly story of Fr. Joe Nangle is complete and like Francis of Assisi, Joe has made his transitus into resurrected life. In the here and now, we who remain mourn our loss even as we rejoice in our memories and stories of this wonderful Franciscan man, this gospel man. This gospel man whose hope for us is that we would know that now we are the elders, the mzee. 

We are the ones who honor our friend Fr. Joe by embracing the duty we have to our families, neighbors and communities. To live lives that are important and can not be put aside because they are Gospel lives. To live lives needed to guide the next generation, calling them to take up the mantle of Gospel people. To be the storytellers of the Good News – adding our stories to the greatest story ever told, the life of Jesus Christ

And one day, God willing, to join Joe beyond the treeline when we will no longer need to hope because we will know the fullness of God and the never-ending story of that amazing love.

That is the story worth telling. That is the story worth living. It is the story of Fr. Joe Nangle, OFM.

Amen