Bernhard, Ursula and Tamarra, family and friends of Marianne:
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!
[Intro]
Jesus said: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and follows him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).
On Monday, January 13th, the Triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – called Marianne Dreier to her eternal home. She entered heaven and is continuing her eternal life that she has received by grace through faith in her Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ.
During her earthly life, Marianne certainly had times where it appeared death was near, but it was her faith in Christ that kept her strong.
Marianne grew up in war torn East Prussia, Germany. Air raid sirens, bombings, and German S.S. soldiers searching homes were the norm. As the Russian Army neared, the family fled to Denmark. While in Denmark, the family lived in a refugee camp under awful conditions. After World War II was over, the family moved back to Germany in the British Sector. In time, the family decided that moving to the United States would be a better option than living in war torn Germany. Then on October 14th, 1956, the family moved from Germany to Hutchinson, Minnesota.
While on peaceful soil, Marianne became an American. She learned English, but she never lost her German accent. She also never gave up her German roots.
We began today with one of her favorite songs “Biscaya” – a polka. And we will conclude with her favorite hymn “Silent Night.” Her German roots run deep, but what mattered most was her faith in Jesus as her Lord and Savior.
You see, throughout the blessings and turmoils of her life by faith Jesus was there giving her comfort. Today, Marianne is living out Christ’s promise of eternal life as she has passed from death into life.
[Hearing and Believing]
In our Gospel reading, Jesus tells us this good news: “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).
But did you know that everyone who hears the words of Jesus and believes in Him already is living eternal life? A lot of the time, we only think of going to heaven. Yes, heaven is wonderful! But it is much more than that, because everyone in Christ receives eternal life!
So what exactly is eternal life and when does eternal life begin?
Well, to put it simply, eternal life means we never fully die. Yes, we see death very visible this morning. Death is our enemy. Death is very real. But, although Marianne’s body is here, her soul is living in heaven.
For Marianne, the prospect of eternal life began when the Triune God chose her at her baptism. At the moment Marianne heard God’s name pronounced over her in the waters of Holy Baptism, she received the ability to believe in Jesus as her Lord and Savior. This is the same for you and me.
Did you catch that? For everyone baptized into Christ, we come to faith by first hearing God’s Triune Name – the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He first calls us through the waters of Holy Baptism. It is here, where the Holy Spirit calls us and enlightens us. It is here, where we receive the ability to believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior.
So, the prospect of eternal life begins at our baptism. But how do we know when eternal life actually begins?
Well, eternal life begins when we hear the words of Jesus saying, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life” and you believe it.
Here, Jesus is not speaking of a future giving of life, because of past believing. Here, Jesus is speaking of the present. So, the very moment you truly believe in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have eternal life.
[In Christ Alone]
Now, what about those who deny Jesus by refusing to listen to His voice? Well, not to hear is to remain in death: “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). To hear is to have life: “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b). Christ’s words define the person who belongs to the new Israel. So, he or she who belongs to the new Israel is who “hears my word and believes him who sent me.”
For how else are we to not come into judgement and pass from death into life? Jesus is the true Paschal Lamb whose blood caused the angel of death to pass over the houses of Israel. He is the Baptizer with the Holy Spirit, through whom one is created anew by water and the Spirit. He is the Crucified who in his exaltation is the very place of eternal life. It is only through Christ alone that we receive eternal life by grace through faith in Him.
We receive this free gift through Christ’s sacrificial death upon the cross and His resurrection from the dead on behalf of all sinners, you and me. You see, although He knew no sin, He took on our sin, so we would be forgiven of all our sins against God in thought, word and deed. Being forgiven and inheritors of eternal life, we follow Christ’s example as we forgive one another as He has forgiven us.
[Now, But Not Yet]
Through Christ alone, we are forgiven and we have eternal life here and now! This eternal life is under God’s grace and favor and continues right through physical death.
Now, what about the unbeliever? Well, for them, death is to be feared. But for believers in Christ, we know that “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4).
Today, for all believers in Christ, we are living in the now, but not yet. So, what does that mean? In Christ, all who trust in Him are saints. This includes all believers here today and Marianne and the others in the Church Triumphant in heaven who are awaiting Christ’s return on the Last Day to judge the living and the dead. That is the now. The not yet is that although we are saints, we are also sinners. This only includes us, not Marianne and the others in the Church Triumphant.
You see, for everyone in heaven, they have passed through the great affliction – our life now: with sin, sorrow, pain, doubt and worry – to eternal bliss: with no more hunger, no more thirst, no more pain, no more sorrow.
As the hymn “Behold a
Host, Arrayed in White” puts it in stanza two:
On earth they wept through bitter years;
Now God has wiped away their tears,
Transformed their strife
To heav’nly life,
And freed them from their fears.
They now enjoy the Sabbath rest,
The heav’nly banquet of the blest;
The Lamb, their Lord,
At festive board
Himself is host and guest.
Public domain
Today, by first hearing and then believing in Jesus, Marianne and all the saints in the Church Triumphant have truly passed from death into life. Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
T SOLI DEO GLORIA T
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