Memorial Service – Mrs. T.H.Crossette

The present tense of the verb in the text is worth noting. To be spiritually minded is life and peace. It is interesting and instructive in view of the charges sometimes proffered against religion in general and Christianity in particular. It has been alleged that Christianity has little interest in the present world, and that it has nothing to give men in return for loyalty except the promise of manifold blessings in some remote heaven. It is true that Christianity has an interest in another world. It has certainly declared that all who have followed the light as they have seen it in Jesus will some day receive the just rewards of deeds done in the body. But it is a distortion of facts to say that it is concerned only with another world and that its devotees must await their transference to Heaven before gathering the fruits of their loyalty. What needs to be emphasized is that Christianity is keenly interested in this present world, and that it has a contribution to make to men whose life in it is sometimes far from easy. The gospel which Jesus proclaimed was not a promise of future reward for certain beliefs about himself, but a gospel of deliverance. It was a message of present salvation. “Come unto me,” said Jesus, “all ye that labour and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am meek and lowly in heart and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” What Jesus offered could be enjoyed in this present life wherever a man was situated, in whatever circumstances he chanced to be. St. Paul mentions two blessings as the consequences of spiritual mindedness – life and peace. In fact they are what every man seeks and seeks with all his heart. They are to be found, says Paul, in having our minds fixed on God. It is my privilege this evening to have the opportunity of paying a tribute to the memory of one who at one time occupied a prominent place in the life of St. John’s College and gave her full share to the building up of this institution. During the long period she was connected with the College, she took a keen interest in its various activities. There are some experiences of early boyhood which make a lasting impression on one’s mind and which one is able to recall with vividness. I shall relate one such experience of mine when I was in the middles school stage. With some boys I was returning home one day along the Kachcheri Nallur Road after an intercollegiate football match in the esplanade. I remember Mrs. Crossette standing outside her house on the road and anxiously asking us the result of the match. Perhaps the eagerness with which she inquired of the result of the match and the joy to which she gave expression when she heard that our college had won made a lasting impression on my mind, and I have recalled it many a time.

This gives us an idea of the extent to which she entered into the life of the College. Funds for the Robert Williams Hall came to us as a gift from the old boys and friends in Malaya through the joint efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Crossette. Mrs. Crossette went to Malaya not merely as a companion to her husband, but to participate actively in the collection of funds. The success of the tour was due in a large measure to her untiring energy, her capacity for friendship and her ability to make herself at home with anyone, high or low. St. John’s will always remain indebted to her for the many ways in which she helped the College and for her continued interest in its development even during the period of her retirement. At the end of about 20 years of close companionship with Jesus, St. Paul gives as his considered opinion that to be spiritually minded is life and peace. This our mother whom we are remembering today would have said the same thing as a result of her experience at the end of 72 years of her life. To be spiritually minded is life and peace. For truly she was spiritually minded and she did experience true life and the resulting peace. From the days of her youth she had put her trust in Jesus and remained a true and loyal follower of His to the end of her days. She rested on his declarations and tried to fulfil his commands. She was firm in her faith and nothing could shake her loyalty to her master. The generous support she gave to the Church by her regular attendance at all meetings and by her gifts were evidence of her deep devotion and loyalty to her master. She valued the fellowship of the church and remained a loyal member of her group throughout. There is a kind of emotionalism which sometimes passes for deep piety in some religious circles. Though, I believe, emotion has a place in one’s religious life it is not necessarily the sign of deep piety. True religion is in the surrender of the will more than in the experience of feelings and emotion. A life of obedience to Christ is the true criterion of religious fervour and not any emotional experience. Mrs. Crossette was not often the emotional type, but her religious fervour was none the less genuine. In the epistle to the Romans, St. Paul states in another place: “Be ye not fashioned according to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” [Rom 12:2] A spiritual minded person is one who has the courage to set aside, when necessary, the standards of the world and fashion his life according to principles and standards acceptable to God. Mrs. Crossette knew of no barriers of caste in her dealings with people, and she deliberately set aside rules and conventions regarding class and caste and mixed freely with people of all ranks. She rejected the world’s standard of estimating the worth of a man and looked on men simply as God’s children. “Be not fashioned according to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds.” The most remarkable thing about Mrs. Crossette was her simplicity. According to the world’s standard of what was proper and not proper, a lady in her station of life should have lived a more comfortable and luxurious life. She could have lived more grandly if she wanted, but she deliberately set aside the world’s idea of dignity and greatness and chose for herself a simple home, simple dress and simple ways of life. Recognition by the world and people in high position was not what she cared for, but living according to certain principles which she believed to be in accordance with the will of God. There are many people in the world who have everything that money could buy but are not happy and have no peace of mind. Life has no

meaning to them. They have no interest in life. So they seek pleasure of one sort or another and participate in entertainments of various kinds, all with the idea of possessing that elusive something which makes all the difference between interest and no interest in life. What such people fail to realise is that, if life is to retain its interest, if it is to be lived with zest to the very end, what we need is a proper adjustment to it, not so much external aid as a certain attitude. Those who have known Mrs. Crossette especially during her later years can say that to her life had a meaning and that she lived with zest to the very end. She never lost interest in life because she had the right attitude towards it. It is in self forgetfulness rather than in self love that we derive real and lasting interest in life. It was in loving service to those around her – neighbours and relatives – that Mrs. Crossette found interest in life. She took delight in visiting the neighbours not only close to her status, but those who looked to her for help. To many of us life will not be worth living and we can have no peace of mind unless we have everything that we consider to be most conducive to peace – comfort, leisure, freedom from onerous duty and such other things. To many of us life will be a burden if, for example, we have no electricity in the home, or have to do without a motor car or live in a town where there is no theatre. The one great lesson that we can learn from the life and example of Mrs. Crossette is that enjoyment of life and happiness does not depend upon external circumstances or aid, but upon the inward attitude. We can have the right attitude only if we have our mind fixed on God. So today we thank God for the life and example of one who like many who have gone before her has borne witness to the truth: To be spiritually minded is life and peace.