June 27, 2026, 11:00 AM
Congregational Church of San Mateo, San Mateo, CA
People like Barbara Chan are the kind of people with whom we like to be when we grow up. They are optimistic, positive. They make lemonade out of lemons. Whenever we might be depressed or sad, you can sit down with Barbara and become lifted out of your “woe is me” attitude to brave new worlds again. It’s like how Barbara likes Star Trek because the crew travels the universe to boldly go where, “No one has gone before.”
Having a positive self-image of oneself is the early building blocks for a well-put-together person. When Barbara grew out of her childhood fizzy hair, replacing baby teeth with straight adult teeth, and changing out dark brown oval glasses for contact lenses, she began to have the confidence to see a bright future. Life is more than meets the eyes because when we believe inhope, we might not see what may come but we know that it is to come.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:24-25)
Barbara exemplifies someone with a hope for another tomorrow. While she was receiving treatments for her cancer, she didn’t make it known to most of us that she was suffering, but rather she shared her hope that a remedy is still possible. She attended Thursday night Bible study to be opened to Scriptures and hoping to hear God speak to her.
When we had our recent group tour to Greece last year, she and Ken signed up to go because she hoped that she would be strong enough to walk where the Apostle Paul walked. This is where Paul encouraged early Christians to be hopeful. But when her physicians advised her that they didn’t recommend that she was going to be so far from her medical team, she got busy making bracelets with her jewelry skills and gave them to each person in our traveling group.
She wanted her hope to be a part of our overseas experience. Perhaps even with some of the challenges that we encountered last September on our tour, we were never discouraged because we received the hopeful blessings from Barbara.
When Barbara saw herself as a beautiful and confident person, she dedicated her life in the career of an optometrist so that she can help others see themselves as beautiful and confident too. Just like Jesus healed the blind to see, Barbara participated in the healing miracles of helping people to see the beautiful world that we have.
A few years ago, writer Bill Shore wrote a book entitled, The Cathedral Within. It’s about the truth that like how grand and amazing cathedrals are, we are in essence cathedrals and inside of us, we are grand and amazing. When we discover this within us, we will have the confidence to do great things. Barbara revealed her cathedral to us and therefore, we have received the joy of living and experienced the confidence in ourselves.
Just as Barbara developed confidence about who she is, we also are called to discover the confidence to do great things. She was able to see clearly and helped others to see clearly, we are challenged to see problems in the world and strive to make the world better place. Just as she never gave up hope, we must continue to be hopeful. In Christ, hope never dies.
In this world, Barbara may have gone from us. But Barbara has not gone where no one has gone before. Jesus walked on this earth enabling Barbara and all of us to walk on this earth. It is Jesus Christ who has gone before us and now Barbara too has gone where Jesus has welcomed her into his loving arms in eternal life.
We thank God for blessing our lives with hope and confidence by knowing Barbara Chan.
Opening Prayer
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.” Let us pray.
O God, in whom we live and move and have our being, we thank you for the life of Barbara Chan. We are grateful for all the ways she touched the lives of those around her. Her death brings pain to all of us who love her. Hear our cries, feel our pain, know our loss. Hold us tenderly in your strong arms, granting us your peace and strength and comfort. Speak to us your Word of hope, helping us to see beyond their grief—for you love us, and promise never to leave us.
Even in our sadness, we offer our gratitude for all your gifts of love which surround us with grace and uplift our spirits. As we celebrate the life of Barbara Chan and the host of things that she displayed your blessings on her, comfort us with the assurance that Barbara Chan has entered the blessed rest of your everlasting peace; through your Son, our Lord and Savior, we pray. Amen.