The Funeral of Wu Kam Tai
September 8, 2007, 10:00 AM
Green Street Mortuary, San Francisco
Call to Worship
Our Lord Jesus Christ said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” (John 11:25)
My name is Rev. Donald Ng, Senior Pastor of the First Chinese Baptist Church in San Francisco where Rev. Joseph Tsang also serves and where Steven Ng and his family are members. On behalf of the family of Mrs. Wu Kam Tai, I welcome you to this service of remembrance and the celebration of life. Mrs. Wu Kam Tai was 82—she was born into this world on February 20, 1925 and returned to her Creator on August 29, 2007. As caring and loving people, we take precious time from our busy lives to remember our loved one who is no longer with us but also to come together as sisters and brothers, cousins and relatives in order to strengthen the bonds of love that make us truly a strong family. It is our hope and prayer that by your presence, you would be blessed with the goodness of life and the eternal peace found in Jesus Christ.
Let us pray.
O God, in whom we live and move and have our being, we thank you for the life of Wu Kam Tai. We are grateful for all the ways she has touched the lives of those around her. Her death brings pain to those who love her. Hear their cries, feel their pain, know their loss. Hold them tenderly in your strong arms, granting them peace and strength and comfort. Speak to them your Word of hope, helping them to see beyond their grief—for you love them and promise never to leave them. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
A Godly Woman–Proverbs 31:10-31
In the Bible there’s a portrait of a Godly woman found in Proverbs 31:10-31. After reading the biography of Wu Kam Tai, Proverbs 31 describes her very well.
Read Proverbs.
God must have created many women like Mrs. Wu Kam Tai. Many of the characteristics and personality traits described in Proverbs’ portrait of a Godly and virtuous woman can be said of Mrs. Wu. Proverbs says “The heart of her husband trusts in her…and she does him good.” When her husband was sick, Mrs. Wu nursed him back to health leading him to praise her and offering his hand in marriage. She did him good.
Proverbs says a Godly woman “makes linen garments and sells them…and all her household are clothed in crimson red.” Mrs. Wu used her talents in needlepoint to bring home much needed resources to support her family and knitted a piece of clothing for everyone in her family. You will treasure these beautiful hand-creations as mementos of her love for you for as long as you shall live.
Proverbs says a Godly woman “rises while it is still night and provides food for her household.” Mrs. Wu was a good cook and having known Steven Ng and how much he enjoys good food, it could only have come from Mrs. Wu.
Perhaps the greatest legacy that Mrs. Wu leaves for her family is her love for them. When her family was happy, she was happy too. She would go out of her way to be a part of their lives. Proverbs says, a Godly woman “opens her mouth with wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her happy.”
As a family, you have come together to remember your mother, your grandmother, your great grandmother, Mrs. Wu Kam Tai because she has made you happy. What a good reason to be here together because God has created another virtuous and Godly woman in his sight.
I did not have the privilege of meeting Mrs. Wu in this life but I feel I have known her from this passage in Proverbs. God must have created many women like Mrs. Wu to have a writer of old describe Mrs. Wu so well for us today. Although I might not have known her, we fully believe that God knows her well by name. She may not have had a religious vocabulary but she certainly had religious impulses that reflect what a Godly woman is. She knew she was put in this world for a purpose. She was a good wife, a good mother and a good friend.
We give thanks today that God created Mrs. Wu and gave her the ability to live a life of a Godly woman. We can be grateful that God was with Mrs. Wu as she walked through the valley of the shadow of death, and that he gave her protection, comfort and peace. Although her outer nature had lived out its days, her inner nature was being renewed every day, and at the end she heard the Good News of Jesus Christ. As Christian people, we have the faith that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God—even death itself.
God must have created many virtuous and Godly women and we thank God for making Mrs. Wu Kam Tai one of them. Proverbs says, “Many women have done excellently, but you, Wu Kam Tai, surpass them all.”