Rich, Vera, Harris, family and friends of Marcella:
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!
[Intro]
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).
For God, there is a time for everything. Everything is in God’s hands, as Solomon tells us.
On Tuesday, March 17, the Triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – said it was time for Marcella Cohrs to be called 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.
Marcella’s earthly life is of two pandemic bookends. She was born during the Spanish Flu pandemic on May 2, 1918. And, as you know, at the age of 101, she died during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But, during her life God gave Marcella the gift of dance. She loved polka dancing. You may have also noticed the sound of polkas as you entered church this morning.
In fact, Pastor Welch and I were fortunate to see Marcella dance a few of her 12 polkas on her 100th birthday at Grand Meadows.
And, on my visits with Marcella, dancing always came up in the conversation. During her seasons on earth, God certainly gave her “a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:4).
For us, here today, God continues to give us seasons. Many of us are weeping. Many of us are mourning. But, always remember, as followers of Christ, we do grieve, but we grieve in hope knowing that we will see our loved ones again. And during the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we are having “to refrain from embracing” (Ecclesiastes 3:5b).
But for Marcella, she is also receiving seasons as she is in the care of her Lord Jesus Christ. She is no longer in pain. She is no longer hungry. She is no longer thirsty. She is in the midst of the Lamb of God as she is singing and dancing in the presence of her Lord with the Church Triumphant – the fellow believers who have died in the faith – and the angels in heaven! (Revelation 7:9-17)
[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 Marcella’s body is here, her soul is living in heaven.
For Marcella, the prospect of eternal life began on May 26, 1918 when the Triune God chose her at her baptism. At the moment Marcella 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 our Lord and Savior.
Then on March 29, 1931, the Holy Spirit called Marcella to confess her faith in Jesus on her confirmation day. She also recited these words from Jesus as her confirmation verse: “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
So, the prospect of eternal life begins at our baptism. As we grow in the one true faith, the Holy Spirit teaches us more about Jesus.
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 to 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, for which He accomplished when the season reached the proper time. 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 Marcella 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 includes only us – not Marcella and not 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.
Our reading from Ecclesiastes ends with these words: “A time for peace” (Ecclesiastes 3:8). Today, Marcella has received true peace. True peace cannot be found in this sinful world. True peace is found only in the Lord, our peacemaker. As the Apostle Paul tells us: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).
Today, by first hearing and then believing in Jesus, Marcella and all the saints in the Church Triumphant have reached the season of peace as they are cared for by the Good Shepherd, who is the very Prince of Peace! Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
Marcella Cohrs' Obituary: https://hantge.com/obituaries/marcella-artis-cohrs/
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