HOMILY DELIVERED BY
THE REVEREND DR. HAROLD T. LEWIS, RECTOR
CALVARY EPISCOPAL CHURCH, PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA
AT THE REQUIEM MASS FOR ROBERT SWAYNE PRENTISS
TUESDAY IN EASTER WEEK, 29 MARCH 3005

 

"I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep and my sheep know me." (John 10:14)

 

Thanks to the media, we have been made aware of --- we can even say "bombarded with" --- in recent weeks --- the fact that there are different ways to die, and for that matter, that there are different ways to live. Bob Prentiss fully believed in Jesus' promise, "You shall have life and shall have it abundantly." Quality of life was important to him, and that is why he made clear in his final days, through his words and his actions, that he wished to die with dignity, and he got his wish. When people are debilitated and infirm, or, as in Bob's case, affected by the ravages of Alzheimer's, we have a tendency to write them off, dismiss them. Because there ability to communicate is diminished, we mistakenly feel that they are incapable of thinking or understanding. Au contraire! Until very near the end, the functioning parts of his brain were in full gear, and Bob knew what he wanted. This should not surprise us. Bob, after all, had founded "Bobby's Gym," officially known as the Robert Swane Prentiss Mental Gymnasium, "where," according to its brochure, "you exercise your thinking skills to achieve increased productivity." This should not be surprising for the author of Success Through Brain Power. In that book, in a chapter on speaking, Bob gives this advice (which I might borrow the next time I teach a class to prospective preachers): "Be assured that no one will ask any more of you than that you speak the truth, know what you are talking about, and that you speak your piece directly and cogently." The amazing thing is that Bob Prentiss was able to achieve this goal even when his speech was reduced to guttural gurgles. His piercing eyes and his winsome smile spoke volumes.

 

Bob died not only with dignity, but with grace, a grace that was always a characteristic of his life. I remember a particular visit when I brought communion to him and Suzie on Linden Avenue. It was a warm day, and we sat on the patio. Bob's eyes twinkled as he pointed out the memories recorded in his scrap book, especially memorabilia about his service in World War II. He received the sacrament gratefully, and thanked me warmly for coming. If he felt any frustration at his diminished capacities, they were not at all evident. Even the casual observer could see in Robert Prentiss the marks of a gracious host and a Christian gentleman.

 

In today's Gospel, St. John contrasts for us two characters. One is a shepherd, the other, if you indulge me my King James Version vocabulary, is "an hireling." (I'm afraid the description "hired hand" will always be imbedded in my memory as a character in a John Wayne movie!) The hireling is just in it for the money, in fact in the French bible he is called a "mercenaire." When the going gets rough, the hireling gets going, abandoning his charges to the wolves. The shepherd, on the other hand, loves his sheep, sleeps in the entrance to the sheepfold to prevent others from entering, and when necessary, lays down his life for them. And he is on intimate terms with the sheep. He knows the sheep's voices, and they know his. Bob Prentiss knew his Lord to be his shepherd. But moreover, in his own life, he carried out our Lord's example, in his care, concern and nurture of others. For his writing, his advertising, and the assistance he rendered to others in an effort to get them to help themselves, all constituted Bob's loving ministry, and his own service to those who shared with him an earthly pilgrimage. Anyone who knew Bob even for a short time, as was my privilege, could ever call him an hireling.

 

Tomorrow, we shall immure the earthly remains of Robert Swayne Prentiss in Calvary's columbarium, where several members of Calvary, including the Rector, have reserved space in our little "celestial condo." It is only a few yards from Calvary's magnificent font, where three days ago, on Easter Even, Bob's granddaughter, Eleanora Marie, was baptized. My own grandmother of blessed memory would say that Bob had moved on to make room for Eleanora. It seems altogether fitting and proper that in this short period of time, we both receive a child into the congregation of Christ's flock, and commend her grandfather to Almighty God a sheep of his own fold, a lamb of his own flock, a sinner of his own redeeming.

 

In Bob's file, I came across a rather interesting document, called a "Certificate of Dismission." It was issued by First Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh, when Bob decided in 1987 to return to his Episcopal roots. (His father, an Episcopal priest, and an education at Valley Forge Military Academy had clearly left their mark!) The certificate states that Bob was, "at his own request . . . dismissed and affectionately recommended to the Christian care and fellowship of Calvary Episcopal Church." Having given him, to the best of our ability, that care and fellowship, we now dismiss Bob again, but this time to the care of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd of our souls, and into the fellowship of the saints of light.

 

+Rest eternal grant unto Robert, O Lord, and may his soul, and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace, and rise in glory. AMEN.