+In Nomine Iesu+
Funeral of ASHER COHEN BELL SCHNEIDERSt Luke 1:39-45 and Romans 10:17
9 June 2012
“And I will praise thee without end.” Those are the closing
words of the hymn we just sang. And, those are among the hardest words
to sing when God does things we don’t understand. And yet . . .
And yet, we continue to sing the praise of God even in the face of
death.
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There are two questions that automatically come to mind in the
situation in which we find ourselves. One question I have no answer
for. The other I do.
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The first question is this, “Why?” “Why has something like
this happened?” “Why did Asher die?” That question I cannot
answer. I can’t provide an answer because God has not chosen to
give us an answer. Thus our asking “why” can only lead to dead
ends of disappointment.
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A two-year-old girl once asked her daddy, “What do you do?” The
dad, who happened to be a nuclear physicist, explained in great detail
what his job was. He talked to his little girl about nuclear reactors
and the physics thereof. He drew diagrams. He even created a
three-dimensional illustration out of paper. His explanation went on
for the better part of an hour. Very complete. Very thorough. And
how much did the little girl understand? None of it.
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So it would be if God chose, in this instance, to explain His
actions to us. Everything He would say would be true. It would all
be complete. And it very well might make no sense to us at all. We
would have so much information that our heads would simply become
overloaded. The little light that says “tilt” would flash behind
our eyes.
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But what if the father in my story had simply said to his daughter,
“I work so I can take care of you and mommy.” In all likelihood
the daughter would have understood and been satisfied. So it is with
God. He says to us, “I take care of you.” And that brings us to
our second question.
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Question number two: “What about Asher now?” For help with
this question we turn to God’s Word. Our reading from St Luke today
deals with John the Baptist. His aunt, Mary, had come to visit his
mother, Elizabeth. As the two women greeted each other John recognized
Mary’s voice as the voice of the mother of his Savior. In joy he
leaped in his mother’s womb. That was his greeting to Mary.
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In the ancient Church a person’s first birthday would be
celebrated three months after birth. Why? Because it was understood
that that individual had spent the first nine months of his life in
his mother’s womb. We make note of this thinking yet today in the
Church’s calendar. We celebrate the Annunciation of our Lord on
March 25. The Annunciation, by the way, is the visit of the angel
Gabriel to Mary informing her that she will conceive and bear a Son
– the Messiah. And why do we celebrate on March 25? Simply because
it’s nine months before Christmas Day.
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In that manner of thinking, the moment of conception becomes a
person’s birthday. Now, with that thinking in mind, what did Asher
do after his birthday? Lots. Especially this – he went to church.
Every time you and Todd and Ethan went to church, so did Asher. You
always took him with.
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It’s at this point that Romans 10:17 becomes so important. “So
then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
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And what did Asher hear when he went with you to church? He heard
about Jesus. He heard about Jesus being his Savior. He heard the
Gospel. He heard how Jesus died for his sins. He heard that because
of Jesus’ death and resurrection his sins were forgiven. Now
someone might say, “Pastor, you can’t prove that he heard
anything.” No, I can’t. Nor can anyone prove the negative –
that Asher didn’t hear anything. Happily God is not a rationalist
like many people are. His arm is never shortened by our unbelief.
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If John the Baptist could hear and recognize the voice of Mary
before he was born, why couldn’t little Asher hear and recognize the
voice of Jesus? “But that’s not reasonable, pastor.” Good!
Good, because God is not reasonable either. Instead of being a God of
reason, ours is a God of mercy, and grace, and pity. At times like
today reason gives us nothing. But mercy gives us everything. Mercy
gives us hope, and comfort, and peace. Mercy gives us eternal life.
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It is this God of mercy whom Asher met in church. Met and learned
of. Learned of, and confessed. Confessed? Absolutely! In the
creeds. I don’t find it at all hard to believe that an unborn baby
can confess with the congregation the faith he has been given. Or
listen to and believe the preaching of the Gospel. Or pray the
Lord’s Prayer. Or sing the praises of God. Why are many unwilling
to believe God incapable of calling forth from all His beloved little
ones – both born and unborn – the praise and honor and faith He
desires?
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Just because Asher’s words and songs went unheard by us does not
mean they didn’t exist. That there were no words. Or no songs.
How silly of us to deny God the ability to do whatever He might wish.
God always knows His own. Always listens to His own. Always protects
His own.
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An ancient hymn says it this way:
“In the midst of life we are in death;
from whom can we seek help?
From you alone, O Lord.”
Indeed! “From you alone, O Lord.”
“And I will praise thee without end.”
In the name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy
Spirit,
Amen
+Consummatun est, in omne tempus+
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