Isaiah 40:6-11/Revelation 7:9-17/St John 10:11-18
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Mildred and Becky, Dick and Suzie, family and loved ones of our dear sister in Christ, Ruth, members of St Peter’s, grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father who sent His beloved Child, the Son of Mary, Jesus the Christ, to save His people from their sins.
Familiar words from the prophet. A voice cries, “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord.” We heard these words from the mouth of the Voice himself, St John the Baptizer, this Advent; the Forerunner who prepared the way of the Lord. Sadly, Ruth was unable to attend Divine Service during Advent. Though she herself longed to be present in the Lord’s House, receiving from His hand His grace and mercy to her through the preaching of His Word and the gifts of Christ in the Supper. Yet Ruth heard the preaching of St John each and every Lord’s Day that she was blessed to attend. For the substance and form of Christian preaching is the continuation of the preaching of the Voice and Forerunner, calling all to prepare the way of the Lord through repentance and faith.
And sadly, this morning, we have the reality of such preaching present before our very eyes. What you see all about you this and every winter, death and decay, you see this morning in the precious body of our dear Ruth. All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. You who cared for her, who were with her as she departed this life, saw this reality in stark detail in Ruth.
And you see it in yourselves. In the diminishing of eyesight. In the loss of hearing. In the weakness and frailty of our mortal bodies. In the general aches and pains of age. In the weariness experienced in this poor life of labor. These are all symptoms of our deeper condition: sin and death. You see and know this in yourself and in your loved ones. Especially during the season of Christmas when you mourn those whom you have already buried.
By the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ Ruth saw and knew this in herself. Which is to say, Ruth knew and confessed that she was a sinner; that in and of itself her flesh was grass, withering and fading at the breath of the Lord; that is, at the preaching of His just and holy Law. And this is indeed by the grace of our Lord for her to see this in herself. It is the work of the Holy Spirit, through the Word, to bring a sinner to repentance. For she heard the Voice crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord. She lamented over her sins and by the grace of God confessed them.
I remember one Sunday after service Ruth’s comments to me about the liturgy. As you know Ruth had trouble hearing. So she sat pretty close to the pulpit at St Peter’s. Even then, she would tell me afterward whether or not she heard me good and loud. One Sunday when she said she had trouble hearing the sermon I made a passing remark about at least being able to hear the liturgy. She looked at me and said, “Oh its great. I can hear that.” I smiled and assured her that in the liturgy of the Church we hear the Voice of our Good Shepherd. Later, after she was diagnosed, we talked about this again. She told me of Good Friday afternoon services at St Paul’s downtown. She missed those. And she thanked me for the liturgy at St Peter’s and asked, “Never change it.”
As a Lutheran pastor there is hardly anything else that is so wonderful to hear. I think what she meant was that in the Church’s liturgy she was regularly heard that Voice in the wilderness, the Law which called her to repentance. And in the public confession of sins - you, know, “O almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You . . .” - she did what our Lord’s Word calls Christians to do: own up to our condition; to, by daily contrition and repentance, drown the old Adam in the baptismal waters. But even more blessed than that, in the liturgy, Ruth regularly heard the Voice of her Good Shepherd, Jesus, who called to her by name and forgave all her sins in and through His ministers of the Holy Gospel and raised her to life again in those self-same baptismal waters to live before Him in righteousness and holiness.
The liturgy, the hymnody, the reading and preaching of Holy Scripture, is the Viva vox Jesu, the living voice of Jesus. His sheep hear His Voice. He knows His own and His own know Him. He knows Ruth. For her He was incarnate by the Holy Spirit. For her He was born of the Virgin Mary. For her He suffered under Pontius Pilate. For her He was crucified, died, and was buried. She is His dear, little lamb, loved by the Good Shepherd. And Jesus is her Good Shepherd precisely because He lays down His life for His sheep.
This is the reason the Father loves Him. And this is the manner and the way in which He loves Ruth. He bore her sin and death, her iniquities with which she offended the almighty God and Father. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, took them into His body and put them to death in His death upon the Cross. He became the sacrificial Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. He stuffed the wolf’s mouth with His own flesh and blood, sparing Ruth the temporal and eternal punishment she justly deserved. And the Father loves Him for it! And He loves Ruth and knows her.
And she knows Him and hears His Voice. She knows Him, her Lord Jesus, her Good Shepherd, by being joined to His atoning death in Holy Baptism. There the Blessed Holy Trinity placed upon her the robe of Christ’s own bloody righteousness. This funeral pall covering her mortal body is merely a symbol of that eternal reality that covers her in both body and soul, the baptismal garment of Christ Himself. Ruth is clothed in sheep’s skin; that is, she is clothed with the Lamb Himself who has taken away her sin. What she received each and every Lord’s Day is a foretaste and a dress rehearsal for what she now, for all eternity, experiences and enjoys.
You heard this reality and behold it by faith in the Revelation to St John. Is it any wonder that the Church, in her wisdom, has drawn her liturgy from the very liturgy of the angels and saints in heaven? Each Lord’s Day Christians the world over join their voices in song to those of the Church Triumphant, in ceaseless praise around the throne and before the Lamb. Salvation belong to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! And in His great and unspeakable goodness and mercy, our God and Father gave His own Child, Jesus Christ, to be joined to us and us to Him. Ruth delighted to know and experience this!
She now rests from her labors. She is sheltered by the presence of the Blessed Holy Trinity, by the Lamb in her midst, her Good Shepherd, even Jesus Christ, who has called her to Himself in love and has seen her safely to her eternal home where she joins her voice to the choir immortal.
Throughout Advent the Church cried out in hopeful expectation for the Coming One, Emmanuel, Jesus the Christ, to come and redeem her. For Ruth He has done precisely that! He now comforts her and speaks tenderly to her. Her warfare is ended. Her iniquity is pardoned. His Word, which endures forever, has been marked upon her in Holy Baptism, His Word, which endures forever, has been preached into her ears, His Word, which endures forever, has been joined to bread and wine, Christ’s Body and Blood, and placed into her body. She shall live forever by faith in the Son of God, the Word made flesh, who died and rose for her.
In a few moments we shall lovingly place Ruth’s body into God’s acre. There her mortal body shall await the resurrection of all flesh. Her Good Shepherd who called her by name in Holy Baptism shall come and call her by name, raising her from her grave as waking a child from sleep. So there will be one flock, one Shepherd. And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Dear people loved by God, hear and receive this Word of the Lord as it is preached and proclaimed to you. Listen as the Voice cries and calls you to repentance and faith; which prepares your heart for the way of the Lord. Receive His under-shepherds as they preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus, which is the forgiveness of all your sins. For in this way, by and from and through His Cross, does He comfort and speak tenderly to you. Your iniquity is pardoned and your guilt atoned for by the blood of the Lamb. He has saved Ruth, He has saved you, His people, from your sins. A blessed and merry Christmas dear Christians.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the Name + of JESUS. Amen.
Mildred and Becky, Dick and Suzie, family and loved ones of our dear sister in Christ, Ruth, members of St Peter’s, grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father who sent His beloved Child, the Son of Mary, Jesus the Christ, to save His people from their sins.
Familiar words from the prophet. A voice cries, “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord.” We heard these words from the mouth of the Voice himself, St John the Baptizer, this Advent; the Forerunner who prepared the way of the Lord. Sadly, Ruth was unable to attend Divine Service during Advent. Though she herself longed to be present in the Lord’s House, receiving from His hand His grace and mercy to her through the preaching of His Word and the gifts of Christ in the Supper. Yet Ruth heard the preaching of St John each and every Lord’s Day that she was blessed to attend. For the substance and form of Christian preaching is the continuation of the preaching of the Voice and Forerunner, calling all to prepare the way of the Lord through repentance and faith.
And sadly, this morning, we have the reality of such preaching present before our very eyes. What you see all about you this and every winter, death and decay, you see this morning in the precious body of our dear Ruth. All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field. You who cared for her, who were with her as she departed this life, saw this reality in stark detail in Ruth.
And you see it in yourselves. In the diminishing of eyesight. In the loss of hearing. In the weakness and frailty of our mortal bodies. In the general aches and pains of age. In the weariness experienced in this poor life of labor. These are all symptoms of our deeper condition: sin and death. You see and know this in yourself and in your loved ones. Especially during the season of Christmas when you mourn those whom you have already buried.
By the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ Ruth saw and knew this in herself. Which is to say, Ruth knew and confessed that she was a sinner; that in and of itself her flesh was grass, withering and fading at the breath of the Lord; that is, at the preaching of His just and holy Law. And this is indeed by the grace of our Lord for her to see this in herself. It is the work of the Holy Spirit, through the Word, to bring a sinner to repentance. For she heard the Voice crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord. She lamented over her sins and by the grace of God confessed them.
I remember one Sunday after service Ruth’s comments to me about the liturgy. As you know Ruth had trouble hearing. So she sat pretty close to the pulpit at St Peter’s. Even then, she would tell me afterward whether or not she heard me good and loud. One Sunday when she said she had trouble hearing the sermon I made a passing remark about at least being able to hear the liturgy. She looked at me and said, “Oh its great. I can hear that.” I smiled and assured her that in the liturgy of the Church we hear the Voice of our Good Shepherd. Later, after she was diagnosed, we talked about this again. She told me of Good Friday afternoon services at St Paul’s downtown. She missed those. And she thanked me for the liturgy at St Peter’s and asked, “Never change it.”
As a Lutheran pastor there is hardly anything else that is so wonderful to hear. I think what she meant was that in the Church’s liturgy she was regularly heard that Voice in the wilderness, the Law which called her to repentance. And in the public confession of sins - you, know, “O almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess unto You . . .” - she did what our Lord’s Word calls Christians to do: own up to our condition; to, by daily contrition and repentance, drown the old Adam in the baptismal waters. But even more blessed than that, in the liturgy, Ruth regularly heard the Voice of her Good Shepherd, Jesus, who called to her by name and forgave all her sins in and through His ministers of the Holy Gospel and raised her to life again in those self-same baptismal waters to live before Him in righteousness and holiness.
The liturgy, the hymnody, the reading and preaching of Holy Scripture, is the Viva vox Jesu, the living voice of Jesus. His sheep hear His Voice. He knows His own and His own know Him. He knows Ruth. For her He was incarnate by the Holy Spirit. For her He was born of the Virgin Mary. For her He suffered under Pontius Pilate. For her He was crucified, died, and was buried. She is His dear, little lamb, loved by the Good Shepherd. And Jesus is her Good Shepherd precisely because He lays down His life for His sheep.
This is the reason the Father loves Him. And this is the manner and the way in which He loves Ruth. He bore her sin and death, her iniquities with which she offended the almighty God and Father. Jesus, the Good Shepherd, took them into His body and put them to death in His death upon the Cross. He became the sacrificial Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. He stuffed the wolf’s mouth with His own flesh and blood, sparing Ruth the temporal and eternal punishment she justly deserved. And the Father loves Him for it! And He loves Ruth and knows her.
And she knows Him and hears His Voice. She knows Him, her Lord Jesus, her Good Shepherd, by being joined to His atoning death in Holy Baptism. There the Blessed Holy Trinity placed upon her the robe of Christ’s own bloody righteousness. This funeral pall covering her mortal body is merely a symbol of that eternal reality that covers her in both body and soul, the baptismal garment of Christ Himself. Ruth is clothed in sheep’s skin; that is, she is clothed with the Lamb Himself who has taken away her sin. What she received each and every Lord’s Day is a foretaste and a dress rehearsal for what she now, for all eternity, experiences and enjoys.
You heard this reality and behold it by faith in the Revelation to St John. Is it any wonder that the Church, in her wisdom, has drawn her liturgy from the very liturgy of the angels and saints in heaven? Each Lord’s Day Christians the world over join their voices in song to those of the Church Triumphant, in ceaseless praise around the throne and before the Lamb. Salvation belong to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb! And in His great and unspeakable goodness and mercy, our God and Father gave His own Child, Jesus Christ, to be joined to us and us to Him. Ruth delighted to know and experience this!
She now rests from her labors. She is sheltered by the presence of the Blessed Holy Trinity, by the Lamb in her midst, her Good Shepherd, even Jesus Christ, who has called her to Himself in love and has seen her safely to her eternal home where she joins her voice to the choir immortal.
Throughout Advent the Church cried out in hopeful expectation for the Coming One, Emmanuel, Jesus the Christ, to come and redeem her. For Ruth He has done precisely that! He now comforts her and speaks tenderly to her. Her warfare is ended. Her iniquity is pardoned. His Word, which endures forever, has been marked upon her in Holy Baptism, His Word, which endures forever, has been preached into her ears, His Word, which endures forever, has been joined to bread and wine, Christ’s Body and Blood, and placed into her body. She shall live forever by faith in the Son of God, the Word made flesh, who died and rose for her.
In a few moments we shall lovingly place Ruth’s body into God’s acre. There her mortal body shall await the resurrection of all flesh. Her Good Shepherd who called her by name in Holy Baptism shall come and call her by name, raising her from her grave as waking a child from sleep. So there will be one flock, one Shepherd. And He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Dear people loved by God, hear and receive this Word of the Lord as it is preached and proclaimed to you. Listen as the Voice cries and calls you to repentance and faith; which prepares your heart for the way of the Lord. Receive His under-shepherds as they preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus, which is the forgiveness of all your sins. For in this way, by and from and through His Cross, does He comfort and speak tenderly to you. Your iniquity is pardoned and your guilt atoned for by the blood of the Lamb. He has saved Ruth, He has saved you, His people, from your sins. A blessed and merry Christmas dear Christians.
In the Name of the Father and + of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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