Homily at the Mass of Christian Burial for:
ZACHARY JOHN MISLEH
June 19, 2017
I think that some of you are wondering about the Gospel (Matthew 3:1, 3-6) that I just read. You probably have never heard it at a funeral. It seems to have nothing to do with death and eternal life. But this gospel connects the mystery of coincidences in life.
According to Scripture, John the Baptist was born 6 months before Jesus. So we celebrate his birth on June 24. Zach also was born on June 24. As you listened to the gospel describe John: clothing of camel hair…food was locusts and wild honey…and if you have seen statutes or paintings of him, he is very tall with long bushy hair. Now who would you think could have the role of John in a play?
+John was a mystic, a seeker of the divine. Of all the words that I could think of to describe Zach, a mystic like John the Baptist was the one that seemed to encapsulate Zach. The mystery of coincidences in life!
+John appeared in the wilderness; he went into the desert to be alone. Zach too went in nature to be alone. In solitude, a mystic became more aware, just aware.
An awareness of, an intuitive perception of, and understanding of everything, of something, and yes, even of nothing.
+John lived not for himself but as Scripture tells us for another, Jesus. Zach lived not for himself but for others. You who are here today are a testimony to this. Mystics, with their intuitive perception, feel the pain and sadness of life. On a Esperanza trip to Mexico, he knelt in silence before the border wall that holds back people: the poor, the undocumented. On Christmas Eve for the last number of years, he has slept out doors to be one and feel with the homeless on Christmas.
+John served others in preaching and baptizing. Zach was a servant. His work at Little Friends for Peace, serving youth. He once told MJ Parks, WHATEVER YOU NEED I AM THERE. In your thoughts today, you can remember how he served you in friendship, how he reached out to you and others. You are the witnesses.
+John was a bridge builder between the Jewish Testament and the Christian Testament. Bridge builder among people. That is how someone described Zach. Whether at Christian Montessori School, DeMatha High School, or on the trips to Mexico to build homes for the homeless, his openness to others, his willingness to reach out was the bridge. He saw bridges not walls among people. And we cannot forget sometimes it was not words, but his smile. His smile that conveyed “yes” to you.
+John was a seeker, seeking the divine in the Messiah Jesus. Zach, too, was a true seeker of the mystery of who and what the divine is, the mystery of how we as humans believe in such a mystery. So profound for a person in his youth. His sister Anna described their walks in Central Park and his discussing and trying to understand the mystery of the divine and faith. Most of us just accept it; Zach sought it.
Finally, like +John, Zach died young, unexpectedly and tragically.
No two mystics are the same as none of us are the same. Each has his own way of being, his own gifts, and, yes, his own journey of life.
Zachary saw the fullness of life and not only its mysteries. He could enjoy the smallest things: just hanging out and talking with a friend; he could enjoy the Marx Brothers with his grandfather; he could see so much joy in another person. Thus even when he had his final visit to his pediatrician at age 18 he giggled and laughed with the same doctor who made him do so throughout his young life. He even had some vanity…hoping that his hair would be full like his mother’s rather than the lack thereof of his father’s!
Music is often one of the muses of a mystic. Music is both solitude and expression. It certainly was for Zach. His guitar. And his thousands and thousands of songs in his collection.
Each mystic is unique in his/her own way. The word that sums up Zach as a mystic is COMPASSION. COM – PASSION. The root of which is to feel with, suffer with, be with. This was Zach. Feeling with nature. Suffering with the homeless and the less fortunate. Being with his friends and caring for people.
Zach was compassion in its fullest sense. Perhaps a story his family told me sums it up best:
He went to a camp while in Montessori school. A man taught them about treading lightly on the earth and seeing the world with wide-angle vision. When Zach came home, he started walking the neighbor barefoot and trending lightly to feel the breathing earth. As he walked he practiced wide-angle vision so that he not only saw what was in front of him, but also surrounding him. He wanted to be completely aware. He wanted to be part of all. This is compassion…to be with, aware, and feel all that is, all that surrounds you.
Today, we honor and remember this amazing short life. It is not for us to know why his life ended. Mystics are never fully understood. What we do is appreciate and give thanks that he treaded lightly across this earth and in our lives. And in faith we know that his wide-angle vision now sees the whole wonder and mystery of the divine.
Rev. Dan Ward, OSB
19 June 2017