Folks,
Here is the sermon for my oldest member who happened to die on July 4.
Dean
-------------------------------------------------
/+/In Nomine Iesu/+/
Funeral of LaVern Grimm
Psalm 23:3a
10 July 2008
* *Ninety-three years. That’s a long life, isn’t it? Even in a family
where at least one member reached the century mark, and beyond. Some
would link a long life to the Fourth Commandment. In Exodus 20 we read,
“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the
land which the Lord your God is giving you.” Thus, some would say that
when a person has reached a ripe old age that must be an indication of
having lived an exemplary life. Old age must be a reward from God for
obedience. But is that really the case?
<>
I think LaVern would have been among the first to admit he was not a
perfect child of God. A child of God? Yes, absolutely! God decided that.
God made LaVern one of His children when He baptized him. Jesus met
LaVern in the baptismal water, carved the seal of the Holy Cross upon
His forehead, gave him the gift of the Holy Spirit, and declared him to
be one of His own. That’s what happens when we are baptized in the name
of – actually, _into_ the name of – the Father, and the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. God takes what was born of flesh and gives it a new birth
from above. Many today speak of being re-born as if that were the result
of some human action. “I gave my life to Jesus.” Language like that. But
such isn’t the case. It isn’t that we give anything to God. Rather, God
claims us, and makes us into something new. Having been baptized into
the death of Christ – that’s St Paul’s language in Romans 6 – we are
given a new life. We are reborn. We come to the baptismal font as a
child of Satan, born sinful from our mother’s womb. We leave the
baptismal font a child of God – having received our portion in the death
and resurrection of Jesus. One person comes to the water. A different
person leaves it. Baptism is an unrepeatable act. Good for all eternity.
As we confess in the Nicene creed, “I acknowledge one baptism for the
remission of sins.” Our baptism links us to Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan
in which He took upon Himself the sins of all people. It’s all “one
baptism.” And that Sacrament sets us on a course – a trajectory – to
eternal life.
<>
But, even having been baptized, we remain sinners. We live our entire
life on earth as sinful human beings. In and of ourselves, that’s what
we are. In and of ourselves, that’s all we can ever be. But in Jesus,
God sees us differently. I wonder how many times over the years LaVern
made his confession on Sunday morning. Many, many times he would have
confessed, “O almighty God, merciful Father, I, a poor, miserable
sinner, confess unto Thee all my sins and iniquities with which I have
ever offended Thee and justly deserved Thy temporal and eternal
punishment . . .”
<>
Two things must be borne in mind here. First, the term “miserable
sinner.” That doesn’t mean we are not very good at sinning – as in “I am
a miserable cook.” We are not confessing that we lack ability when it
comes to sinning. Actually, it’s just the opposite. Our condition is
“miserable” because all that we can do of ourselves is sin. If I – or
any of you – are to be anything but a sinner the change must come from
outside of us. We must be changed by someone. And that’s what God does
in forgiving us. God rescues us from our self. Being among the baptized,
God the Father looks upon us as having been hidden in Christ.
<>
Secondly, an individual asked me years ago, “Why do I have to confess
all my sins every Sunday? Haven’t they already been forgiven?” An
excellent question. And when it was first asked, I didn’t have a good
answer. But there is an answer. And the answer is along these lines. In
Christ our sins are forgiven. Every one of them. When we confess “all”
our sins week after week, that isn’t for God’s benefit – it’s for ours.
We have been forgiven. It isn’t as if God may have rethought the matter.
You have been forgiven. LaVern was forgiven. That forgiveness came in
the perfect obedience of Jesus. His incarnation as man; His life lived
according to the will of the Father; His passion; His death on the
cross; His resurrection, ascension and session at the right hand of the
Father – all of this is wrapped up in Jesus’ words from the cross. “It
is finished.” Forgiveness is “finished” – completed. Salvation is
finished. Eternal life is finished. All that needs doing is finished –
complete. As I mentioned, our confession of “all my sins” is for our
benefit. We want to hear – through the words of absolution – that we are
_still_ forgiven. That in spite of our sins of the past week, we are
still forgiven. God has not reconsidered. He has not changed His mind.
We remain just as forgiven as we were last week. Nothing changes that.
The fact that we live as “poor, miserable sinners” does not change that.
God forgives. God’s kingdom into which we were baptized is a kingdom of
forgiveness. And, hearing God’s absolution directed toward us week after
week, we are more and more convinced it is true. In other words, our
faith in Jesus is strengthened. You see, the faith that believes God’s
promise of forgiveness and salvation is also given to you. It’s a gift
from God. Faith is implanted in you by God. As you hear the truth of
God’s mercy – forgiveness – week after week, you believe it more and
more firmly. Your faith grows stronger.
<>
And now we have come to the words from Psalm 23 that are our text this
morning. Verse 3a. “He restores my soul.” That is the day-by-day work of
God. You see, God doesn’t operate like an “American Idol” TV program
where the amount of applause determines the outcome. Rather, God hides
Himself as He accomplishes His will among us. He hides Himself in
opposites so that only faith can find Him. Victory is hidden in defeat.
Life is hidden in death. There was a song some years ago entitled,
“Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places.” In a sense that’s what we
are tempted to do regarding God. We’re tempted to look for God in all
the wrong places. People want God to act in ways they think appropriate.
They think God should be most clearly found in awesome deeds of power
and might – in scenes of majestic glory. In quiet voices whispering in
their ear when they’re along, or in beautiful sunsets – that’s where
they think God will be closest to them. And in all this, their religion
becomes self-centered – and subjective. And wrong! Christianity can
never be simply a “me and Jesus” thing. God never promises to be found
where the world thinks He ought to be found. The Christian faith is
never lived out in isolation. The faith is always lived out within the
Communion of Saints – the Church.
<>
You see, God operates quite differently from what you and I might
expect. Indeed, differently from how we might act if we were God. For
instance, the death of Jesus seems to be a total defeat. Death seems to
have swallowed up life. All seems to have been lost – undone. Jesus’
life of care and mercy seems totally destroyed. But quite the opposite
is the case. On the cross, death actually chokes on life. It is death,
itself, that dies. How? Because it is precisely on the cross that we see
Jesus in His true glory. There we see Jesus’ victory over Satan as He
offers Himself to the Father as our sacrifice for sin. And the
“hiddenness” of God continues. In the seemingly inconsequential water of
Holy Baptism stand the eternal Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit –
hidden from human eyes – going about the work of recreating sinners,
one-by-one. It doesn’t look like it, but in Baptism heaven and earth
come together. So, also, in the Holy Communion. In the rather plain and
innocuous elements of bread and wine lie hidden the very Body and Blood
of Jesus. There Jesus unites Himself to His chosen ones. There His
crucified Body is given into you. There His very Blood is poured into
you. And always for the same purpose. Forgiveness. Life. Salvation. And
encompassing all of this is the preaching of the Gospel. God speaking
human words through human mouths. God reminding you over and over again
that Christ has done it all. Reminding you over and over that you, too –
sinner that you are – are included in all that Jesus has accomplished.
<>
Preaching and Sacraments. That’s it. In these God hides Himself. And
through these God goes about restoring the souls of His beloved ones. No
mystical out-of-body experiences. No emotional flights of ecstasy. No
gibberish of unknown tongues. Rather, God hides Himself. God hides
Himself so that he might be found by faith. That He might be recognized
and believed by you. And, by LaVern.
Amen
* *
++Consummatum est,, in omne tempus++
___________________________________________________________________________
'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise
noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such
gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_
_attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author, as well as
for quoting or use in a congregational setting
_with_or_without_attribution_.
Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list.
Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster.
Subscribe? Send ANY note to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/>
For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach
For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at:
Rev. Fr. Eric J. Stefanski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
