Job 19:21-27/Galatians 3:21-29/St Mark 15:33-39; 16:1-6
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Ralph, Kris, Becky, Cary, friends and loved ones, brothers and sisters in Christ from St Peter’s, grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father who loved us with an undying love and raised our Lord Jesus from the dead.
The Lenten season which we are in is a march from death to death; beginning with the reminder that we are dust and to dust we shall return and concluding with the crucifixion, suffering, and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are conceived and born in sin; dying from the moment of our first breath. Naked we came from our mother’s womb and naked we shall return. Old Job knew this. He knew his utter hopelessness, his sheer despair. He knew the weakness of his flesh and the mortality of his life. This is why he pleaded for mercy; only he did not beseech the Lord God, but his friends for pity.
Thanks be to God that Joyce’s friends had mercy upon her. Many years ago they invited her and Ralph and the kids to church. And it was here at St Peter’s, in the mercy of almighty God, through His Word, that Joyce learned of her own sinfulness; through catechesis she was made aware of the full extent of our human condition - a movement from death toward death. For Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, St Paul writes. Life does not come from the Law. Only death.
This does not mean that the Law is contrary to the promises of God. For it is only when we are made beggars that the nourishing Word from the mouth of the Lord tastes as succulent food to our starved bellies. Only when the Lord has brought us low, is He able to raise us up. Only when He kills us, is He able to give us life.
This is how it was for Job. And this is how it is for Joyce. First she learned of her sin and her desperate need for a Savior and Redeemer, then her cry became that of old Job, Have mercy on me. Only her cry was not to her friends, but to the only One who could help, to the Lord of the Law and the Redeemer of all flesh. Her plea for mercy was to Jesus Christ and for the sake of His shed blood alone.
Sunday after Sunday she confessed the reality of her nature: she was a poor, miserable sinner, even as we, her brothers and sisters in Christ, as poor and miserable, sinning in thought, word, and deed. She would lament with these fellow saints over her plight and afflictions. And on more than one occasion, Joyce spoke in the sure and certain hope of old Job: “I am ready to die. The Lord may take me according to His own time.”
Couched in that statement is not a fatalism of life, but a confident trust like that of poor Job. Joyce’s confession was his! I know that my Redeemer live, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!
And her Lord has heard her plea for mercy, as He did for Job. He has compassion on His dear children. For the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, He was gracious and merciful to Joyce, a poor, sinful being. Oh how Job longed for the resurrection! Oh how Joyce waited upon the Lord! And in the absolution, in that weekly pronouncement of the forgiveness of all her sins, Joyce heard the verdict of the Last Day in the present here and now: she is a son of God through faith.
This is not a denial of her femininity or her motherhood to her dear, beloved children. Rather, it is as St Paul says, In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, there is no male and female. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. This is Joyce. In Baptism, she put on Christ. He is her robe of righteousness, her gown of salvation. His shed blood covers all her sins. In His holiness she stands before her Father in heaven as He says, “This is My beloved Son; My own dear child; dressed up in Jesus.”
For note that: the back of your bulletin doesn’t have a baptismal date for Joyce Lee. That date and all who remember it have been lost. But take comfort in that other date, December 12, 1985, the day Joyce Lee confirmed in the presence of God and before this congregation the gifts that God gave her in her Baptism. Gifts of His forgiveness for all her sins; His mercy for her sorrow, His love for all her tears, His life and salvation, given to her, free gift, for all eternity.
Because all those things that you heard from St Matthew concerning Jesus - His suffering, His rejection by the Father, His death, His burial, and His resurrection from the dead - He did for Joyce. And for you. For you Jesus Christ, the only Son, our Lord, was conceived by the Holy Spirit. For you He was born of the Virgin Mary. For you He suffered under Pontius Pilate. For you He was crucified, died, and was buried. For you He descended into hell. For you He rose again on the third day. For you He ascended into heaven. For you. And for Joyce.
You see, this Lenten march from death toward death, doesn’t actually end on Good Friday. It goes right on through to Easter Sunday and the Resurrection of our Lord. And it keeps going to the resurrection of our bodies, of Joyce’s body, and the life everlasting. For Joyce, who was baptized into Christ’s death, has been united with Him, and shall certainly share in His resurrection.
Again, at her confirmation Joyce confessed her intent to hear the Word of God receive the Lord’s Supper faithfully. And that Word, and His Body and Blood, gave to her a portion in that life that even death cannot overcome. In her, by faith in Christ, is a life not even death can take away. Indeed, in moments, we will lovingly place her body into the God’s acre, but we do so in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection. For the Friday of our Lord’s crucifixion and death is not mysterious. It is Good. Good Friday. The day Christ overcame sin, death, and hell, the accusation of the Law and Satan for Joyce. And for you. This faith is her’s. And so Job’s confession is also her’s: I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself and my eyes shall behold and not another. My heart faints within me!
People loved by God, behold I tell you a mystery: Joyce Lee is not dead, even as Christ Jesus is not dead. The words of the centurion, Truly this man was the Son of God, were wrong. Truly, this Man is the Son of God. He is risen! And truly Joyce is His own dear child. Present tense. She is alive in Him who is her resurrection and life.
In the midst of your sorrow and mourning, you are not alone, but within the communion of Christ’s Church there is strength to meet the days ahead in the holy and certain hope of the joyful expectation of eternal life with those who have departed in the faith. Believe and find comfort in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Ralph, Kris, Becky, Cary, friends and loved ones, brothers and sisters in Christ from St Peter’s, grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father who loved us with an undying love and raised our Lord Jesus from the dead.
The Lenten season which we are in is a march from death to death; beginning with the reminder that we are dust and to dust we shall return and concluding with the crucifixion, suffering, and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are conceived and born in sin; dying from the moment of our first breath. Naked we came from our mother’s womb and naked we shall return. Old Job knew this. He knew his utter hopelessness, his sheer despair. He knew the weakness of his flesh and the mortality of his life. This is why he pleaded for mercy; only he did not beseech the Lord God, but his friends for pity.
Thanks be to God that Joyce’s friends had mercy upon her. Many years ago they invited her and Ralph and the kids to church. And it was here at St Peter’s, in the mercy of almighty God, through His Word, that Joyce learned of her own sinfulness; through catechesis she was made aware of the full extent of our human condition - a movement from death toward death. For Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, St Paul writes. Life does not come from the Law. Only death.
This does not mean that the Law is contrary to the promises of God. For it is only when we are made beggars that the nourishing Word from the mouth of the Lord tastes as succulent food to our starved bellies. Only when the Lord has brought us low, is He able to raise us up. Only when He kills us, is He able to give us life.
This is how it was for Job. And this is how it is for Joyce. First she learned of her sin and her desperate need for a Savior and Redeemer, then her cry became that of old Job, Have mercy on me. Only her cry was not to her friends, but to the only One who could help, to the Lord of the Law and the Redeemer of all flesh. Her plea for mercy was to Jesus Christ and for the sake of His shed blood alone.
Sunday after Sunday she confessed the reality of her nature: she was a poor, miserable sinner, even as we, her brothers and sisters in Christ, as poor and miserable, sinning in thought, word, and deed. She would lament with these fellow saints over her plight and afflictions. And on more than one occasion, Joyce spoke in the sure and certain hope of old Job: “I am ready to die. The Lord may take me according to His own time.”
Couched in that statement is not a fatalism of life, but a confident trust like that of poor Job. Joyce’s confession was his! I know that my Redeemer live, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!
And her Lord has heard her plea for mercy, as He did for Job. He has compassion on His dear children. For the sake of the holy, innocent, bitter sufferings and death of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, He was gracious and merciful to Joyce, a poor, sinful being. Oh how Job longed for the resurrection! Oh how Joyce waited upon the Lord! And in the absolution, in that weekly pronouncement of the forgiveness of all her sins, Joyce heard the verdict of the Last Day in the present here and now: she is a son of God through faith.
This is not a denial of her femininity or her motherhood to her dear, beloved children. Rather, it is as St Paul says, In Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. There is neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free, there is no male and female. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. This is Joyce. In Baptism, she put on Christ. He is her robe of righteousness, her gown of salvation. His shed blood covers all her sins. In His holiness she stands before her Father in heaven as He says, “This is My beloved Son; My own dear child; dressed up in Jesus.”
For note that: the back of your bulletin doesn’t have a baptismal date for Joyce Lee. That date and all who remember it have been lost. But take comfort in that other date, December 12, 1985, the day Joyce Lee confirmed in the presence of God and before this congregation the gifts that God gave her in her Baptism. Gifts of His forgiveness for all her sins; His mercy for her sorrow, His love for all her tears, His life and salvation, given to her, free gift, for all eternity.
Because all those things that you heard from St Matthew concerning Jesus - His suffering, His rejection by the Father, His death, His burial, and His resurrection from the dead - He did for Joyce. And for you. For you Jesus Christ, the only Son, our Lord, was conceived by the Holy Spirit. For you He was born of the Virgin Mary. For you He suffered under Pontius Pilate. For you He was crucified, died, and was buried. For you He descended into hell. For you He rose again on the third day. For you He ascended into heaven. For you. And for Joyce.
You see, this Lenten march from death toward death, doesn’t actually end on Good Friday. It goes right on through to Easter Sunday and the Resurrection of our Lord. And it keeps going to the resurrection of our bodies, of Joyce’s body, and the life everlasting. For Joyce, who was baptized into Christ’s death, has been united with Him, and shall certainly share in His resurrection.
Again, at her confirmation Joyce confessed her intent to hear the Word of God receive the Lord’s Supper faithfully. And that Word, and His Body and Blood, gave to her a portion in that life that even death cannot overcome. In her, by faith in Christ, is a life not even death can take away. Indeed, in moments, we will lovingly place her body into the God’s acre, but we do so in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection. For the Friday of our Lord’s crucifixion and death is not mysterious. It is Good. Good Friday. The day Christ overcame sin, death, and hell, the accusation of the Law and Satan for Joyce. And for you. This faith is her’s. And so Job’s confession is also her’s: I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself and my eyes shall behold and not another. My heart faints within me!
People loved by God, behold I tell you a mystery: Joyce Lee is not dead, even as Christ Jesus is not dead. The words of the centurion, Truly this man was the Son of God, were wrong. Truly, this Man is the Son of God. He is risen! And truly Joyce is His own dear child. Present tense. She is alive in Him who is her resurrection and life.
In the midst of your sorrow and mourning, you are not alone, but within the communion of Christ’s Church there is strength to meet the days ahead in the holy and certain hope of the joyful expectation of eternal life with those who have departed in the faith. Believe and find comfort in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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