To Die Is Gain
Sermon
Life Everlasting
The Essential Book of Funeral Resources
Object:
For an older person who lived past many of her family and friends
To Die Is Gain
Philippians 1:18-23
Our Lord Jesus Christ said, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your soul; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
I love that passage. It is in Matthew's Gospel and just before Jesus says these words he is talking about the fact that the kingdom of God is coming. And when people heard that the normal reaction would be to get uptight; to get nervous about not being good enough for God. This was especially true in Christ's day because the prevalent religion of the day was one of following the many rules of the Pharisees. It was an oppressive burdensome faith and to that uptight generation Jesus says -- relax. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you, not more work, not a heavier burden -- No! -- I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
What good news that was then, and now. God's way is not a burden. It is a freeing from burdens. And at the last, in the end, when we come to the place to which Ruby has come, it is a freeing from every burden this life can place on us. Ruby has finally gone to the place her Lord prepared for her a long time ago. She has laid down the burdens of this life that she was so tired of carrying and entered her time of rest.
Pastors do a lot of funerals, but few of them are as fully joyous as this one, because there are few people who were as ready as Ruby was. She was ready because almost all of the significant people in her life had journeyed into God's kingdom before her, and she missed them so. There was her beloved sister, Zella, and her son, George, and her husband, Don. She was ready because these last years she has been burdened with ill health. She had lost that old Ruby vitality. The sparkle that shone from her eyes for so many years -- was faint. And she was ready because she knew her Lord and wanted so badly to move on from this life to next. If it were possible to barge into heaven before your appointed time Ruby would have done that long ago.
All of which means that today is joy for Ruby. Today is victory for her. Today is celebration. So, let's celebrate Ruby today. Her life, her love, her faith. And let's celebrate for Ruby today. Her new life, her rest, her wholeness, and reunion with all her loved ones.
What do I care about? Only this, that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I shall rejoice. For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance. For it is my eager expectation and hope that I shall not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My true desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
-- Philippians 1:18-23
That passage so much reminds me of Ruby, especially these past few years. "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain." I think it can truthfully be said that for her to live was Christ. For Ruby, life was about doing the things that God called her to do. It was about being involved and making a difference. She did it through her involvement with the school when George was a youngster -- the PTA and the music boosters. She got the high school's band their first uniforms. She also did it by having the children over to her house and working with the young people at the church. She did it through her involvement in local politics. She was a founding member of the local republican women's organization; of the community council which was responsible for bringing the area's first doctor to town; of the garden club; and of the historical society. She did it through her involvement at her church where she taught Sunday school, organized vacation Bible school, led the youth group, helped lead the women's organization, served as a deacon and an elder, and who knows what else. As she lived her life she strove to live it as the Lord would have her live it. For her, to live was Christ.
She was devoted to her Lord, and she had with him, her Lord, the same kind of relationship that she had with many of us. It wasn't a phony, pious relationship. It was a real relationship. She loved her Lord, but she could also get angry at him and argue with him. Why should the Lord be any different than anyone else she knew? For Ruby, arguing was a way of life.
I was told a great story the other day about Ruby and her friend Ruth and the time they went down to West Virginia to pick up Ruby's sister, Zella, and bring her here for a visit. It was a long ride, five hours, and as Zella told it, Ruby and Ruth argued half the way back about something or other, or more likely, many something or others. Finally Zella said, "Why don't you two stop all the arguing." Ruby turned to her and said, "Oh hush, Zella. If ya can't fight with your friends who can you fight with?"
For Ruby, arguing was part of life. She loved a good fight, but she wasn't out for blood. She was a friendly fighter. She did it for fun. It was a way of exercising what was a very quick and sharp mind. She was a very smart lady. She went to the University of West Virginia at a time when women didn't do that. And she used that mind all the time. For her it was simply part of a life lived fully. And she was perfectly comfortable with the fact that sometimes in a life lived fully, with deep thoughts, her opinions might bump up against your opinions and we might disagree and argue, but, Ruby could do it and still be your friend. That's the way it ought to be. We ought to be able to disagree, even argue, and remain friends. That's even the way it was with her and God.
To her dying day, she was angry at God for taking Don and George from her, and for taking Zella home before he took her. She loved her family and didn't like being left without any -- and she let God know about it. But she still loved her Lord. For her, to live was Christ.
But it has been a while since she lived as she wanted to. It has been a while since she was really alive the way she had always been. She suffered the many losses of a life lived into a seventh and eighth decade. She lost her beloved Don twenty years ago; and then her only son; and finally, her confidant of a sister. Her home and all the lovely things that she had adorned it with and all of the memories that lived in it and in those things were lost, too. And during those years of loss, as her health declined, so did the flow of vitality through her veins. The vigor of life drained away, and she came to the place where what she wanted more than anything else was to go and be with the Lord. To live for her, all those many years, had been Christ, but now, these last few years, to die was truly gain for her. She knew it. She wanted it, and now she has it.
She has finally experienced the gain of leaving this life behind; the gain of shedding that worn out old body that could no longer do much of anything; the gain of being freed of all of the burdens of this life; the gain of being reunited with her sister, and her son, and her lover; the gain of knowing fully, the peace of God that comes from entering the fullness of his presence.
Praise God -- for Ruby to live was Christ, but now, to die has been nothing but gain! Amen.
-- Chuck Cammarata
To Die Is Gain
Philippians 1:18-23
Our Lord Jesus Christ said, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your soul; for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."
I love that passage. It is in Matthew's Gospel and just before Jesus says these words he is talking about the fact that the kingdom of God is coming. And when people heard that the normal reaction would be to get uptight; to get nervous about not being good enough for God. This was especially true in Christ's day because the prevalent religion of the day was one of following the many rules of the Pharisees. It was an oppressive burdensome faith and to that uptight generation Jesus says -- relax. Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you, not more work, not a heavier burden -- No! -- I will give you rest. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
What good news that was then, and now. God's way is not a burden. It is a freeing from burdens. And at the last, in the end, when we come to the place to which Ruby has come, it is a freeing from every burden this life can place on us. Ruby has finally gone to the place her Lord prepared for her a long time ago. She has laid down the burdens of this life that she was so tired of carrying and entered her time of rest.
Pastors do a lot of funerals, but few of them are as fully joyous as this one, because there are few people who were as ready as Ruby was. She was ready because almost all of the significant people in her life had journeyed into God's kingdom before her, and she missed them so. There was her beloved sister, Zella, and her son, George, and her husband, Don. She was ready because these last years she has been burdened with ill health. She had lost that old Ruby vitality. The sparkle that shone from her eyes for so many years -- was faint. And she was ready because she knew her Lord and wanted so badly to move on from this life to next. If it were possible to barge into heaven before your appointed time Ruby would have done that long ago.
All of which means that today is joy for Ruby. Today is victory for her. Today is celebration. So, let's celebrate Ruby today. Her life, her love, her faith. And let's celebrate for Ruby today. Her new life, her rest, her wholeness, and reunion with all her loved ones.
What do I care about? Only this, that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in that I rejoice. Yes, and I shall rejoice. For I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance. For it is my eager expectation and hope that I shall not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My true desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.
-- Philippians 1:18-23
That passage so much reminds me of Ruby, especially these past few years. "For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain." I think it can truthfully be said that for her to live was Christ. For Ruby, life was about doing the things that God called her to do. It was about being involved and making a difference. She did it through her involvement with the school when George was a youngster -- the PTA and the music boosters. She got the high school's band their first uniforms. She also did it by having the children over to her house and working with the young people at the church. She did it through her involvement in local politics. She was a founding member of the local republican women's organization; of the community council which was responsible for bringing the area's first doctor to town; of the garden club; and of the historical society. She did it through her involvement at her church where she taught Sunday school, organized vacation Bible school, led the youth group, helped lead the women's organization, served as a deacon and an elder, and who knows what else. As she lived her life she strove to live it as the Lord would have her live it. For her, to live was Christ.
She was devoted to her Lord, and she had with him, her Lord, the same kind of relationship that she had with many of us. It wasn't a phony, pious relationship. It was a real relationship. She loved her Lord, but she could also get angry at him and argue with him. Why should the Lord be any different than anyone else she knew? For Ruby, arguing was a way of life.
I was told a great story the other day about Ruby and her friend Ruth and the time they went down to West Virginia to pick up Ruby's sister, Zella, and bring her here for a visit. It was a long ride, five hours, and as Zella told it, Ruby and Ruth argued half the way back about something or other, or more likely, many something or others. Finally Zella said, "Why don't you two stop all the arguing." Ruby turned to her and said, "Oh hush, Zella. If ya can't fight with your friends who can you fight with?"
For Ruby, arguing was part of life. She loved a good fight, but she wasn't out for blood. She was a friendly fighter. She did it for fun. It was a way of exercising what was a very quick and sharp mind. She was a very smart lady. She went to the University of West Virginia at a time when women didn't do that. And she used that mind all the time. For her it was simply part of a life lived fully. And she was perfectly comfortable with the fact that sometimes in a life lived fully, with deep thoughts, her opinions might bump up against your opinions and we might disagree and argue, but, Ruby could do it and still be your friend. That's the way it ought to be. We ought to be able to disagree, even argue, and remain friends. That's even the way it was with her and God.
To her dying day, she was angry at God for taking Don and George from her, and for taking Zella home before he took her. She loved her family and didn't like being left without any -- and she let God know about it. But she still loved her Lord. For her, to live was Christ.
But it has been a while since she lived as she wanted to. It has been a while since she was really alive the way she had always been. She suffered the many losses of a life lived into a seventh and eighth decade. She lost her beloved Don twenty years ago; and then her only son; and finally, her confidant of a sister. Her home and all the lovely things that she had adorned it with and all of the memories that lived in it and in those things were lost, too. And during those years of loss, as her health declined, so did the flow of vitality through her veins. The vigor of life drained away, and she came to the place where what she wanted more than anything else was to go and be with the Lord. To live for her, all those many years, had been Christ, but now, these last few years, to die was truly gain for her. She knew it. She wanted it, and now she has it.
She has finally experienced the gain of leaving this life behind; the gain of shedding that worn out old body that could no longer do much of anything; the gain of being freed of all of the burdens of this life; the gain of being reunited with her sister, and her son, and her lover; the gain of knowing fully, the peace of God that comes from entering the fullness of his presence.
Praise God -- for Ruby to live was Christ, but now, to die has been nothing but gain! Amen.
-- Chuck Cammarata
