Isaiah 25:6-9/2 Corinthians 1:3-7/St Matthew 27:45-54; 28:1-6
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Elaine, JoAnn, George, and Bob, dear family and friends of George, brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus from St Peter’s Lutheran Church: grace, mercy and peace be to you from the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort who comforts us in all our affliction.
The one, holy Church of God in Christ Jesus is about to enter the blessed season of Lent. It begins tomorrow with the donning of ashes in solemn repentance and mourning over our sins. The colors change to violet, a deep purple, as a sign of royalty; a reminder of the King who came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. We set aside our Alleluias in hopeful expectation when we shall take them up again not only at Easter, but at the Resurrection of all flesh and the joyful reunion of those we love who have departed in the faith.
Lent begins tomorrow, journeys with our Lord Christ through the wilderness, through rejection and persecution, and finally ends in Jerusalem where the Son of God is hoisted upon a tree and brutally murdered at the hands of vicious men. So gruesome is the sight that the sun hides its noonday light, shrouding the world in darkness as the Light of Light begotten is snuffed out. So monumental that moment that the foundations of the earth quake at the death of the One who laid them.
This is the cost for our sin. This is the penalty of our rebellion. The terrible death of the only begotten Son of God; forsaken by His Father. The centurion saw. He knew. He confessed this reality.
George knew and confessed this reality, too. He lamented over and repented of his sin. He believed what God said about him and his poor, miserable condition.
And moreover, he believed and trusted what the Lord spoke through the mouth of His lowly servants, “In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.” And so he would make the sign of the holy cross upon himself, a physical reminder that he was buried with Christ through baptism into death and was clothed with the robe of Christ’s own righteousness which covered all his sin. And so shall he be raised with Christ unto newness of life.
So it is today that we cover his mortal body, created by God the Father and redeemed by God the Son, with the funeral pall, representing the white garment of his Holy Baptism into Christ Jesus. And we walked his body up the nave and toward the altar, symbolically walking him through the valley of the shadow of death to the Table of the Lord prepared in love with the very feast of rich food - the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ given and shed for the forgiveness of his sins.
George would never let me get away with calling it Psalm twenty-three. Never. But would always correct me, saying, “Its the twenty-third Psalm.” Now I don’t know if George ever saw a farm or a pasture, ever encountered a shepherd or his flock, but the words of the shepherd-king David were his own: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He trusted in Christ’s baptismal promise to him to never leave him or forsake him. He trusted in the Father’s grace that sent His own Son to comfort him in his afflictions.
For the Son of God who set His face toward Jerusalem, who walked through the valley of the shadow of death, up the mountain of Golgotha and was nailed to the Cross to die in bitter agony, did so for George. And for you. Elijah would not come to save Him, for He came to lay down His life to save Elijah and all the prophets, to redeem Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to ransom David and his sons, to atone for the sin of the whole world, to atone for George’s sin. To die George’s death. To give His life as a ransom for George’s life.
That is the mountain where God swallowed up the covering cast over all people: Mount Calvary. There Christ swallowed up death forever in His own suffering and death. For Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit, and the curtain of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The veil separating the nations from the Lord of hosts is removed and the path of righteousness is open to the Father for the sake of Christ’s saving Name.
George knew this. He believed and confessed it. One Sunday, after the congregation had sung “Gods Own Child I Gladly Say It,” the hymn you just sang, for maybe the second or third time since I had arrived at St Peter’s, George came up to me after the Divine Service and said, “Pastor, I want that hymn sung at my funeral.” He wasn't alone; several others said the same thing that day.
You see, hymns and songs teach theology. And good hymns and songs teach good theology. And good theology is that which points and directs you to Christ Jesus and His saving work, to His Cross and Sacraments, to the forgiveness of sins by His shed blood. And this hymn, dear Christians, does precisely that! And George recognized it. And so, even today, we sing, with George: “Death you cannot end my gladness: I am baptized into Christ! When I die I leave all sadness to inherit paradise! Though I lie in dust and ashes faith’s assurance brightly flashes: baptism has the strength divine to make life immortal mine” (LSB 594:4). We do not set aside our Alleluias just yet. The color is still green, a testament to new life in Christ.
For as we enter into the holy season of Lent we do not journey toward the Cross and Passion of our Lord Christ unaware of what lies ahead of us, not only in suffering and affliction, but also after our Lord’s Sabbath rest in the tomb. The women who journeyed to the grave that Sunday toward dawn encountered an angel of the Lord who announced to them, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said.
Christ is not dead. He is risen! He is risen indeed! So too, I tell you, George is not dead, but is alive in Christ Jesus our Lord who lived and died and rose for him! For George was united with Him in a death like His through Holy Baptism. Certainly he shall be united with Him in a resurrection like His.
He shared abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ George shares abundantly in comfort too. Did you hear it in the Gospel text: many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised! Our dear brother in Christ, beloved husband and father and grandfather, has likewise fallen asleep in Christ. Soon we shall lovingly place his mortal remains in God’s acre, awaiting the resurrection of all flesh.
Until then, dear people loved by God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ comforts you in your affliction. Even now. He has lead you beside the waters of Holy Baptism, by which He washes you as His own dear little lamb. He makes you to lie down in the green pastures of His Church, wherein He comforts you with His rod and His staff, the Law and the Gospel of His Word. He leads and follows you with His goodness and mercy all the days of your life. At the Last the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces and you shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Even now as we enter holy Lent, we believe and confess, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Elaine, JoAnn, George, and Bob, dear family and friends of George, brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus from St Peter’s Lutheran Church: grace, mercy and peace be to you from the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort who comforts us in all our affliction.
The one, holy Church of God in Christ Jesus is about to enter the blessed season of Lent. It begins tomorrow with the donning of ashes in solemn repentance and mourning over our sins. The colors change to violet, a deep purple, as a sign of royalty; a reminder of the King who came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. We set aside our Alleluias in hopeful expectation when we shall take them up again not only at Easter, but at the Resurrection of all flesh and the joyful reunion of those we love who have departed in the faith.
Lent begins tomorrow, journeys with our Lord Christ through the wilderness, through rejection and persecution, and finally ends in Jerusalem where the Son of God is hoisted upon a tree and brutally murdered at the hands of vicious men. So gruesome is the sight that the sun hides its noonday light, shrouding the world in darkness as the Light of Light begotten is snuffed out. So monumental that moment that the foundations of the earth quake at the death of the One who laid them.
This is the cost for our sin. This is the penalty of our rebellion. The terrible death of the only begotten Son of God; forsaken by His Father. The centurion saw. He knew. He confessed this reality.
George knew and confessed this reality, too. He lamented over and repented of his sin. He believed what God said about him and his poor, miserable condition.
And moreover, he believed and trusted what the Lord spoke through the mouth of His lowly servants, “In the stead and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.” And so he would make the sign of the holy cross upon himself, a physical reminder that he was buried with Christ through baptism into death and was clothed with the robe of Christ’s own righteousness which covered all his sin. And so shall he be raised with Christ unto newness of life.
So it is today that we cover his mortal body, created by God the Father and redeemed by God the Son, with the funeral pall, representing the white garment of his Holy Baptism into Christ Jesus. And we walked his body up the nave and toward the altar, symbolically walking him through the valley of the shadow of death to the Table of the Lord prepared in love with the very feast of rich food - the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ given and shed for the forgiveness of his sins.
George would never let me get away with calling it Psalm twenty-three. Never. But would always correct me, saying, “Its the twenty-third Psalm.” Now I don’t know if George ever saw a farm or a pasture, ever encountered a shepherd or his flock, but the words of the shepherd-king David were his own: The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He trusted in Christ’s baptismal promise to him to never leave him or forsake him. He trusted in the Father’s grace that sent His own Son to comfort him in his afflictions.
For the Son of God who set His face toward Jerusalem, who walked through the valley of the shadow of death, up the mountain of Golgotha and was nailed to the Cross to die in bitter agony, did so for George. And for you. Elijah would not come to save Him, for He came to lay down His life to save Elijah and all the prophets, to redeem Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to ransom David and his sons, to atone for the sin of the whole world, to atone for George’s sin. To die George’s death. To give His life as a ransom for George’s life.
That is the mountain where God swallowed up the covering cast over all people: Mount Calvary. There Christ swallowed up death forever in His own suffering and death. For Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit, and the curtain of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The veil separating the nations from the Lord of hosts is removed and the path of righteousness is open to the Father for the sake of Christ’s saving Name.
George knew this. He believed and confessed it. One Sunday, after the congregation had sung “Gods Own Child I Gladly Say It,” the hymn you just sang, for maybe the second or third time since I had arrived at St Peter’s, George came up to me after the Divine Service and said, “Pastor, I want that hymn sung at my funeral.” He wasn't alone; several others said the same thing that day.
You see, hymns and songs teach theology. And good hymns and songs teach good theology. And good theology is that which points and directs you to Christ Jesus and His saving work, to His Cross and Sacraments, to the forgiveness of sins by His shed blood. And this hymn, dear Christians, does precisely that! And George recognized it. And so, even today, we sing, with George: “Death you cannot end my gladness: I am baptized into Christ! When I die I leave all sadness to inherit paradise! Though I lie in dust and ashes faith’s assurance brightly flashes: baptism has the strength divine to make life immortal mine” (LSB 594:4). We do not set aside our Alleluias just yet. The color is still green, a testament to new life in Christ.
For as we enter into the holy season of Lent we do not journey toward the Cross and Passion of our Lord Christ unaware of what lies ahead of us, not only in suffering and affliction, but also after our Lord’s Sabbath rest in the tomb. The women who journeyed to the grave that Sunday toward dawn encountered an angel of the Lord who announced to them, Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for He has risen, as He said.
Christ is not dead. He is risen! He is risen indeed! So too, I tell you, George is not dead, but is alive in Christ Jesus our Lord who lived and died and rose for him! For George was united with Him in a death like His through Holy Baptism. Certainly he shall be united with Him in a resurrection like His.
He shared abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ George shares abundantly in comfort too. Did you hear it in the Gospel text: many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised! Our dear brother in Christ, beloved husband and father and grandfather, has likewise fallen asleep in Christ. Soon we shall lovingly place his mortal remains in God’s acre, awaiting the resurrection of all flesh.
Until then, dear people loved by God, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ comforts you in your affliction. Even now. He has lead you beside the waters of Holy Baptism, by which He washes you as His own dear little lamb. He makes you to lie down in the green pastures of His Church, wherein He comforts you with His rod and His staff, the Law and the Gospel of His Word. He leads and follows you with His goodness and mercy all the days of your life. At the Last the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces and you shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Even now as we enter holy Lent, we believe and confess, Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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