SermonStudio

For a young mother

God's Love Is Deep

John 14:2-7

(This sermon was delivered at the funeral of a young mother who committed suicide. It was written from the perspective of one who knows her as a pastor and friend.)

The first time that I met __________ and __________ was seven years ago, when I barged in on a birthday party at their home. This was the beginning of their relationship with our congregation, one that has deepened over these years. As we came to know and love __________ and __________ all the more, the more they selflessly gave of themselves. They both gave to the causes and concerns that they felt were important. __________ had a passion for wanting to have contemporary worship at our church, and was eager to give her opinions and be the mover of some great experiences. She spent many hours in Bible study -- questioning and pondering the meaning of life and of her Lord. She experienced a renewal of life, by the Holy Spirit, and continually reassured all of us that he is alive and present. She gave of herself to others willingly, even giving her eyes so someone else could see.

In one of our last lengthy conversations some weeks ago, we talked for a long time about the forgiveness of God and that nothing we could ever do would separate us from him. She knew this in her heart, but as her illness increased and her highs and lows began to take its toll; we sensed that something was happening.

There was a war raging in her soul -- her very being was being torn apart. The mind could grasp the meaning of what life is about, but there were times when it just didn't make sense any more.

Then the rising tide of despair must have rolled over her. Once again we are reminded of the complexities of the human soul (psyche). To some people we can easily make a separation between body and soul, but that is not Christian thinking, but rather Greek philosophy. The Greeks believed that the body and soul were joined together in life, and then as the body dies, the soul is released like a bird from a cage. The New Testament makes it clear that though there is both the flesh and the spirit, the two are bound up one with another. The New Testament uses the Greek terms, but the body and the spirit are linked together. We just don't save "souls," but we also are called upon to minister to the total person.

And because we are linked as a total being, when the innermost part of us is at ultimate war with the rest of us, something happens. The options of open doors seem to be closing one by one, there seems no other way out. The only way out that gradually overtook __________ and threw her over the cliff, took over her whole being, and an irrational act occurred. It was the only way to find the peace she yearned for so completely.

Jesus tells us that he can give the peace to his people that the world cannot give. We share his peace in our church every time we celebrate the Lord's Supper. This peace is more than the absence of pain and trauma: it is the very anesthesia of all of life. It is an entirely different existence -- beyond time and space. And as much as we humans love this world and will fight to save our lives, we will also long for a life free from the constraints of our human bodies.

There will be those today who will try to take God's task of judging __________. But we believe that we cannot do that. For in doing so, we are doubting the sufficiency of the grace and love of God. Saint Paul, in the letter to the Romans, proclaims, "Who then can separate us from the love of Christ? Can trouble do it, or hardship, or persecution, or hunger or poverty or danger or death? No, in all these things we have complete victory; through him who loved us. For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love; neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers; neither the present nor the future; neither the world above nor the world below -- there is nothing in all creation that will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is ours through Christ Jesus, our Lord."

We may doubt his power and love at times, but there is no doubt that he would have each and every one be his child. To be cradled in the loving arms of our Heavenly Father brings forth a yearning in the depths of the human soul. This is the peace __________ wanted to have so much. This is the rest from the war that waged within her -- the peace which passes all understanding has brought rest.

God's love is deeper than we can ever plumb and grasp. One day while a ship was in port, a boy fell overboard -- some sailors jumped into the water, pulled him out, and tried to resuscitate him. The ship's doctor was not far off and they asked him if what they were doing was right. "Yes, you are doing all you can, and if you can't bring him around, you are doing all you can." A few minutes later, the doctor experienced a twinge of conscience at his indifference and thought he would go and help. When he rolled the young man over, he saw it was his son. He was transformed in a moment. He began to use all he knew for his son's restoration, with the result that finally his son made a gasp for breath and lived. The surgeon helped him more than just because he was a doctor, but because his love for his child was awakened.

God isn't like that doctor, standing afar off when we jump into the murky waters of despair. Rather, God is continually standing near, ready to breathe into us his Spirit and love. And like rebellious children, we often do what is not pleasing to him, yet he still welcomes us with open arms. As prodigal children, he welcomes us home and shares the everlasting banquet.

We know that the Lord is loving __________ and will bring her to that life which has the joy and peace we all expect. Receive her, Lord, as your child and give her your peace that she couldn't find with us! Amen.

(Reprinted from "In Sure And Certain Hope," CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio 45804, © 1985.)