Death Saddens Us
Sermon
Life Everlasting
The Essential Book of Funeral Resources
Object:
For an elderly shut-in
Death Saddens Us
Romans 6, 8; Psalm 90; John 3:16
Death saddens us. Even when it is the death of a man like Worth who lived a lot longer than most of us guys will live, who is now at least free from the deteriorating health he was experiencing. Even in this case death saddens. It hurts when you love and lose a beautiful, kindly, family member and friend like he was.
I thought about these things, and then I ran across a funeral sermon that a famous twentieth-century theologian once preached for his grandmother. At the end of the sermon the theologian said:
And now let us be sorrowful no more. She would not have wanted that. She never wanted to make anyone sad.
-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, A Testament To Freedom, p. 286
I think we could say those words about Worth. Let us not be sad anymore. Worth would not have wanted that.
No, I feel pretty confident that in his quiet, but strong way, Worth would want us to celebrate today. Sure, he would say he would miss you, family. He would miss the regular contacts with you, because he loved you so much. Oh, he might not have said it in so many words, but I know how much he loved you. I could see how he loved you, Elsie, from the way he took care of you, the way he interpreted my Yankee accent to you, in those last few months when you were still living at home. I could tell how he loved all of you from the way he talked about his boys and their families.
Sure, he is going to miss you. If he could talk right now, he would tell you he would miss you, but it would be just for a little while. Just a little while, and then we will all be together. So do not be sad; let us just celebrate.
What makes me think Worth would want us to celebrate today? Because Worth was prepared for it. He was ready for death. Ready for it, but not because he was an old man. I say he was ready for it because he had spent his whole life getting ready. It is part of the baggage you carry when you are a believer like Worth and Elsie are, like the rest of us try to be.
How do I know? The biblical reading from the sixth chapter of Romans (vv. 1-14) tells me. It talks about how we Christians have been preparing to die ever since the day we got baptized. For just a decade less than a century, Worth's been doing that. In his baptism, Worth was united with Jesus in a death like Jesus'. Of course, he was also united with Jesus in a resurrection like his (Romans 6:5). And then like Saint Paul told him, Worth spent the rest of his life -- most of it with you, Elsie -- considering himself dead to sin, killing what was left of his sin, bearing his cross, all to follow Jesus (Romans 6:11, 13).
Yes, Worth's been preparing for death for close to a century. Preparing for death by dying to his sin, saying, "No," to laziness and unbelief, getting himself out of bed every Sunday morning and every other day, also, to follow Jesus. He has been dying to sin for almost a century. The death is not new to him. No, Worth was not scared of dying so he could be with Jesus. He has been doing it his whole life. He would not want us to be sad about that.
Worth would not want us to be sad about his death. He knew the secret of Christian life. He knew that everything, even death, leads to Jesus. That is, after all, how his family did business. It all ultimately led to Jesus and the cross.
I first knew Worth as that spry, delightful ninety-year-old who drove to church every Sunday. Elsie, you told me how much he loved going to church. Every Sunday. Every day, in his quiet way, he was a committed Christian. Since going to the nursing home he told me how much he missed church. Right to the end, my next to the last visit with him, he wanted communion. Yes, everything in life led to Jesus.
Same with you, Elsie. When I came to be with you after his death, there you were reading the Bible. Of course, the church and Jesus have always been a big part of your lives. After all, it was those walks to and from church that helped get you two started together about 75 years ago. Church has always been part of your lives together. I know your children got that message, about the importance of our Lord and his house. They told me about it. Everything leads to Jesus. Even death gets you closer to him. Worth knew that. That is why he would not want us to be sad now.
Oh, like a lot of good-hearted believers, Worth did not think he was faithful enough sometimes. We know he had his moments of guilt, but today he knows better. As he sleeps now in the Father's arms, he has finally been convinced of what another Bible lesson says: "whoever believes in Christ has eternal life" (John 3:16, 18). And Worth surely had faith that God is for him (Romans 8:31), that nothing can separate him or us from the love of God (Romans 8:3). Nothing.
We can celebrate today, we can be happy for Worth, because we know that, thanks to Jesus, salvation is a sure thing for Worth. The difference is, now he knows it for sure. All the guilt and doubts he has had over the last years are gone. No, we should not have any sorrow today. Not for Worth.
We should not let sorrow have the last word, because now Worth is free from pain, not disgusted with himself because he cannot work as hard as he liked. The book of Revelation (5:11ff) promises that in heaven, believers like Worth will be kept real busy with projects that God has in mind. Worth will be in his glory working for the Lord. No, Worth would not want us to be sad for him today.
He would not want us to be sad about the time that we are separated from him. Because, you see, now that he is sleeping in God's eternal presence, Worth knows that God does not tell time like we do, that for God, 1,000 years is as one day (2 Peter 3:8; Psalm 90:4). Worth now knows that the time of separation between you and him won't ultimately be that long after all. Just like a good night's sleep. That's another reason not to be too sad today.
In a sermon he once preached on death, Martin Luther explained how we should feel today about Worth, about ourselves. Here is how Martin Luther put it:
Surely when Christians die, nothing happens to them. For when they fall asleep and pass on, just that blessed hour has come for which they have prayed throughout their lives when they said: Deliver us from evil. This cannot happen unless we depart from this world in the name of Jesus Christ. Then we are really freed from all evil, and with all Christians we shall finally be raised to eternal life through Christ. Then we shall be reunited and shall find those who have been dear to us on earth....
Consider, then, whether we are not poor, miserable people to be so deeply grieved when we lose a spouse, friend, father, grandfather [like Worth]...? At best he could have lived ten or twenty years longer with you. And you let this short time [those lousy few years] grieve you so deeply! Instead be comforted and be gladdened by the prospect that, instead of so short a time, you will [soon] live with him throughout eternity [together] in all joy and blessedness, while here on earth we find nothing but displeasure and sorrow.... Now this, then that, is lacking; now this one is sick, then that one [gets hurt].... The dead are freed from this sort of thing. They lie in their graves as in soft beds and in gentle sleep, waiting for our Lord Christ to come, tap on their beds and call them forth to live throughout eternity with all the godly, with God ... Who wants to mourn for [somebody like Worth] when we should rejoice for them?
-- What Luther Said, pp. 380-381
Luther's right. In the long run this is not a day for mourning, but for thankful celebration. We can be thankful and celebrate that God is caring for Worth. Thankful and celebrate how God is caring for you, has for almost all of your lives given you the gift of Worth and his life. That gift is not gone. Nothing, not even death, has really taken Worth away from us. The memories, the good times, the love you have for him are yours forever.
So let's thank God today for his love, for giving us Worth and his life. When we hear the music next, let us think of it as Worth's song. He would sing it. Bearing the cross, being a Christian, was his thing. That is why he was ready for death. He will be singing this song in eternity with a country music flair, and we with him. No, Worth would not have wanted us to be sorrowful today. He would want us to love each other and to praise God. Amen.
Death Saddens Us
Romans 6, 8; Psalm 90; John 3:16
Death saddens us. Even when it is the death of a man like Worth who lived a lot longer than most of us guys will live, who is now at least free from the deteriorating health he was experiencing. Even in this case death saddens. It hurts when you love and lose a beautiful, kindly, family member and friend like he was.
I thought about these things, and then I ran across a funeral sermon that a famous twentieth-century theologian once preached for his grandmother. At the end of the sermon the theologian said:
And now let us be sorrowful no more. She would not have wanted that. She never wanted to make anyone sad.
-- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, A Testament To Freedom, p. 286
I think we could say those words about Worth. Let us not be sad anymore. Worth would not have wanted that.
No, I feel pretty confident that in his quiet, but strong way, Worth would want us to celebrate today. Sure, he would say he would miss you, family. He would miss the regular contacts with you, because he loved you so much. Oh, he might not have said it in so many words, but I know how much he loved you. I could see how he loved you, Elsie, from the way he took care of you, the way he interpreted my Yankee accent to you, in those last few months when you were still living at home. I could tell how he loved all of you from the way he talked about his boys and their families.
Sure, he is going to miss you. If he could talk right now, he would tell you he would miss you, but it would be just for a little while. Just a little while, and then we will all be together. So do not be sad; let us just celebrate.
What makes me think Worth would want us to celebrate today? Because Worth was prepared for it. He was ready for death. Ready for it, but not because he was an old man. I say he was ready for it because he had spent his whole life getting ready. It is part of the baggage you carry when you are a believer like Worth and Elsie are, like the rest of us try to be.
How do I know? The biblical reading from the sixth chapter of Romans (vv. 1-14) tells me. It talks about how we Christians have been preparing to die ever since the day we got baptized. For just a decade less than a century, Worth's been doing that. In his baptism, Worth was united with Jesus in a death like Jesus'. Of course, he was also united with Jesus in a resurrection like his (Romans 6:5). And then like Saint Paul told him, Worth spent the rest of his life -- most of it with you, Elsie -- considering himself dead to sin, killing what was left of his sin, bearing his cross, all to follow Jesus (Romans 6:11, 13).
Yes, Worth's been preparing for death for close to a century. Preparing for death by dying to his sin, saying, "No," to laziness and unbelief, getting himself out of bed every Sunday morning and every other day, also, to follow Jesus. He has been dying to sin for almost a century. The death is not new to him. No, Worth was not scared of dying so he could be with Jesus. He has been doing it his whole life. He would not want us to be sad about that.
Worth would not want us to be sad about his death. He knew the secret of Christian life. He knew that everything, even death, leads to Jesus. That is, after all, how his family did business. It all ultimately led to Jesus and the cross.
I first knew Worth as that spry, delightful ninety-year-old who drove to church every Sunday. Elsie, you told me how much he loved going to church. Every Sunday. Every day, in his quiet way, he was a committed Christian. Since going to the nursing home he told me how much he missed church. Right to the end, my next to the last visit with him, he wanted communion. Yes, everything in life led to Jesus.
Same with you, Elsie. When I came to be with you after his death, there you were reading the Bible. Of course, the church and Jesus have always been a big part of your lives. After all, it was those walks to and from church that helped get you two started together about 75 years ago. Church has always been part of your lives together. I know your children got that message, about the importance of our Lord and his house. They told me about it. Everything leads to Jesus. Even death gets you closer to him. Worth knew that. That is why he would not want us to be sad now.
Oh, like a lot of good-hearted believers, Worth did not think he was faithful enough sometimes. We know he had his moments of guilt, but today he knows better. As he sleeps now in the Father's arms, he has finally been convinced of what another Bible lesson says: "whoever believes in Christ has eternal life" (John 3:16, 18). And Worth surely had faith that God is for him (Romans 8:31), that nothing can separate him or us from the love of God (Romans 8:3). Nothing.
We can celebrate today, we can be happy for Worth, because we know that, thanks to Jesus, salvation is a sure thing for Worth. The difference is, now he knows it for sure. All the guilt and doubts he has had over the last years are gone. No, we should not have any sorrow today. Not for Worth.
We should not let sorrow have the last word, because now Worth is free from pain, not disgusted with himself because he cannot work as hard as he liked. The book of Revelation (5:11ff) promises that in heaven, believers like Worth will be kept real busy with projects that God has in mind. Worth will be in his glory working for the Lord. No, Worth would not want us to be sad for him today.
He would not want us to be sad about the time that we are separated from him. Because, you see, now that he is sleeping in God's eternal presence, Worth knows that God does not tell time like we do, that for God, 1,000 years is as one day (2 Peter 3:8; Psalm 90:4). Worth now knows that the time of separation between you and him won't ultimately be that long after all. Just like a good night's sleep. That's another reason not to be too sad today.
In a sermon he once preached on death, Martin Luther explained how we should feel today about Worth, about ourselves. Here is how Martin Luther put it:
Surely when Christians die, nothing happens to them. For when they fall asleep and pass on, just that blessed hour has come for which they have prayed throughout their lives when they said: Deliver us from evil. This cannot happen unless we depart from this world in the name of Jesus Christ. Then we are really freed from all evil, and with all Christians we shall finally be raised to eternal life through Christ. Then we shall be reunited and shall find those who have been dear to us on earth....
Consider, then, whether we are not poor, miserable people to be so deeply grieved when we lose a spouse, friend, father, grandfather [like Worth]...? At best he could have lived ten or twenty years longer with you. And you let this short time [those lousy few years] grieve you so deeply! Instead be comforted and be gladdened by the prospect that, instead of so short a time, you will [soon] live with him throughout eternity [together] in all joy and blessedness, while here on earth we find nothing but displeasure and sorrow.... Now this, then that, is lacking; now this one is sick, then that one [gets hurt].... The dead are freed from this sort of thing. They lie in their graves as in soft beds and in gentle sleep, waiting for our Lord Christ to come, tap on their beds and call them forth to live throughout eternity with all the godly, with God ... Who wants to mourn for [somebody like Worth] when we should rejoice for them?
-- What Luther Said, pp. 380-381
Luther's right. In the long run this is not a day for mourning, but for thankful celebration. We can be thankful and celebrate that God is caring for Worth. Thankful and celebrate how God is caring for you, has for almost all of your lives given you the gift of Worth and his life. That gift is not gone. Nothing, not even death, has really taken Worth away from us. The memories, the good times, the love you have for him are yours forever.
So let's thank God today for his love, for giving us Worth and his life. When we hear the music next, let us think of it as Worth's song. He would sing it. Bearing the cross, being a Christian, was his thing. That is why he was ready for death. He will be singing this song in eternity with a country music flair, and we with him. No, Worth would not have wanted us to be sorrowful today. He would want us to love each other and to praise God. Amen.
