Homily preached at the funeral of Martin John Richard How MBE (1931-2022), Croydon Minster, 23rd August 2022
Isaiah 12 Sing praises to the Lord for he has
done gloriously
1 Peter 1.3-9 You are receiving the outcome of your
faith; the salvation of your souls
Sing praises to the
Lord, for he has done gloriously;
let this be known in
all the earth.
Shout aloud and sing
for joy, O royal Zion,
for great in your
midst is the Holy One of Israel.
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Last night the body of our dear friend, mentor,
inspiration, Organist Laureate and brother in Christ, Martin, was brought into
this church where it has rested overnight.
Martin was received into the church with
confidence in God, the giver of life, who raised the Lord Jesus Christ from the
dead.
The coffin was sprinkled with water recalling
Martin’s baptism and we prayed that, as Christ went through the deep waters of
death for us, so might he bring us, with Martin and all the redeemed, to the
fullness of resurrection life.
It is hard to believe that we are here today, saying
goodbye to Martin and commending him to God, because - despite his long years -
life, vigour and creativity shone out of him to the very end, rooted in his
faith and hope and love.
Receiving Martin’s body last night, and
offering the Eucharist for him, mirrored for us on earth what we believe to be
the reality of heaven, that Martin will be received body and spirit into the courts
of heaven to be welcomed into the kingdom of his Lord and ours and find his
place at the Heavenly Banquet.
There he will await the Resurrection of the
dead and the promise of the First Letter of Peter, of the outcome of his faith,
the salvation of his soul.
Martin was one of those people of whom it is
easy to speak warmly, to idolise and wax lyrical.
And thanks be to God, we spoke of him like that
while he was alive; for he was kind, warm hearted, encouraging and a sheer joy
to be with, utterly self-deprecating and humble; none of which was an
affectation.
Martin’s character was forged in experiences
that tested him - his mother’s death, his father’s high profile as a Bishop,
his experience of boarding at Repton, his time in National Service – but he
endured because of his faith formed in the loving heart of his family and
sustained by being part of church communities, latterly this one here at
Croydon Minster and amongst colleagues not least at the Royal School of Church
Music.
Martin held his undoubted and celebrated
talents – be that his musicianship, his athleticism or gifts of character - on
trust from the Giver of all good things: God.
In the spirit of the great parable Martin
multiplied the talents he was given, and he did so to the glory of God and in
service of God’s people: the Lord is surely saying to him, ‘Well done, good and
faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee
ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.’ (Matthew 25.23
AV).
Those talents changed lives.
Think of countless organists, directors of
music in parish churches, of choristers – boys and girls – of congregations, who
through Martin’s direction, harmonies and music have sung God’s praises and
grown in ‘wonder, love and praise’.[1]
I have seen, through Facebook, Twitter, emails -
media that Martin studiously dodged - as well as letters, just how much Martin
meant to so many people.
Those messages conveyed Martin’s humour, his
playfulness with words, the nicknames that might be applied to some people or
places.
Each of us brings today, and cherishes,
memories and anecdotes that we offer in thankfulness to God.
Figuratively speaking we can place upon Martin’s
coffin tokens that represented the essence of Martin.
What would you place upon his coffin to
represent him?
It may be a pair of shoes: whether you think of
his organ playing shoes or his running shoes, that is up to you!
It may be a glass of red wine and a ham
sandwich; the regular lunchtime fare given to friends, and flagging Vicars, to
encourage and uplift us.
It may be a handwritten note, in his, oh so
distinctive, writing, perhaps placed inside a recycled envelope with the
previous addressee’s name crossed out.
It may be a manuscript of his music, perhaps
‘Martin How at 90’ or a copy of ‘Day by Day’.
No doubt there are many more items that capture
who Martin was to each one of us.
All we say of Martin today is not to eulogise
him unrealistically, but to celebrate and be inspired, knowing that our lives
are enriched by having known him and made music with him.
We continue to love him and rejoice in who he
was for us.
The reality is that Martin and his memory is not
our possession, indeed he never was, but today we entrust him in the power of
the Spirit, in the name of the Lord into the hands of our loving heavenly
Father, to whom he has always belonged.
Two particular things were placed on Martin’s
coffin last night, and they take us to the heart of his faith and hope and love:
a Bible and a crucifix.
The Bible - God’s word, that Martin proclaimed
so unforgettably and lyrically in public worship, read intelligently and wisely
in his personal devotion and set to music richly and sensitively– holds the
promise of life in all its abundance.
The cross –through which Martin was ‘ransomed,
healed, restored, forgiven’[2]
- is the sign of Christ’s sacrificial
love, love to the very end, ‘ Love so amazing, so divine | Demands my soul, my
life, my all’.[3]
In the days before he died, Martin was, in that
powerful phrase, ‘strengthened by the Rites of the Church’. In other words, he
was anointed with oil, made his peace with God through confession of his sins
and received Holy Communion as heavenly food for his journey, the Body and
Blood of Christ which had sustained him through being an almost daily
communicant here at the Minster.
In that spirit he was ready to go to his maker
and redeemer as a believer in God, our companion in faith, a Christian pilgrim,
‘singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in [his]
heart’ (Colossians 3.16; cf Ephesians 5.19).
May Martin, and all the faithful departed, rest
in peace. Amen.
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