Sally, Stephen, Michael and Jessica, family and friends of Roger:
Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!
[Intro]
Through the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul comforts us with these words: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
Now, Paul is not saying that Christians do not grieve the loss of loved ones, certainly everyone grieves, since any separation brings grief, but as Christians we grieve in hope. This morning, we each hold on to the sure and certain hope of eternal life that was won for us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This was the hope of Roger in his earthly life and this is the certainty that he now has in heaven.
Throughout most of his earthly life, Roger suffered from Parkinson’s Disease. Now, Roger never let this disease deter him. Yes, he had bad days, but he kept on fighting this disease to the end. It may look like the power of sin — that is, death — has won, but through his faith in Christ, sin’s power is defeated.
Throughout his earthly life, he enjoyed serving Jesus on various boards at First Ev. Lutheran Church. For me, I really got to know Roger during his service on the Board of Evangelism, where he always had ideas to share on how to expand God’s kingdom. As one of First Lutheran’s leaders, he saw the 2000 addition, which included the fellowship hall, as one of the achievements during his life.
Outside of church activities, Roger was a farmer and a massage therapist. From 1997 to 2018, he also was a public servant as he was elected as supervisor for the McLeod County Soil & Water Conservation District. I recall, that when he didn’t win re-election in 2019, he told me, “This was God’s plan. This is God telling me it’s time to do something else.” Roger was always eager to do something to support his community and his church.
Most of all, he loved his Lord, he loved his wife Sally, and he loved his family.
Today may be a sad day, but today is also a day of comfort. As Psalm 147 proclaims, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). When Jesus called Roger home, all of Roger’s pains were gone. He was healed. He is at peace.
[Death & Sleep]
In our reading from 1 Thessalonians 4, the Apostle Paul compares death to sleep. He says, “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
Now, Paul is not trying to make something bad seem a bit better by referring to it in rosy terms. In fact, what Paul is saying is completely true. This is what death is like for one who dies in Christ. Death is like a sleep in which the person’s body is completely unaware of anything around it, but when his body awakes, Jesus wakes up the Christian to a glorious eternal day.
For all of us, we are not afraid to rest our heads on our pillow at night to go to sleep, for we know that we will wake up again to a new day. This is how death is for Christians. We should not fear resting our heads on the pillows of death and falling asleep, because Jesus will wake us up to a more glorious day.
Death is our enemy, but Jesus Christ conquered death on our behalf through His atoning death on the cross and His glorious resurrection from the dead. Due to His work on our behalf, we, by grace through faith in Jesus, no longer fear death, “for since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:14).
You see, Jesus has complete power over death. For everyone in Christ, Jesus tells us what His resurrection means: “Because I live, you also will live” (John 14:19) and “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25-26a). This is the promise of Christ.
Roger was first made aware of this promise through the life-giving waters of Holy Baptism on September 5, 1948. In Baptism, the Holy Spirit worked in and through the water and the Word to create in him faith in Christ Jesus. This is where he was adopted as a child of the Heavenly Father and made a new creation in Christ. Then on May 20, 1962, the Holy Spirit led Roger to confess his faith in Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior.
By his faith in Jesus Christ, Roger and all believers receive the benefits of the cross of Jesus: forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation.
As a part of this grace, every believer in Christ will be reunited with one another. This is our sure and certain hope in Christ.
In one of the last conversations I had with Roger, he had a question about the oil in the lamps that Jesus describes in the Parable of the Ten Virgins. Roger was so thrilled when he figured it out his question. You see, the oil in the lamps was faith. And Roger’s faith in Christ was strong as the Lord strengthened his faith through hearing God’s Word and receiving Christ’s very Body and Blood under the bread and wine. Through these Means of Grace, God prepares us and strengthens us so when it is our time to fall asleep, we are ready when we are awakened by our Lord.
[Encouraging One Another]
Paul closes our text urging the Thessalonians to talk about these facts so they might encourage one another in times of loss. May we do the same! How comforting it is to hear again and again from the lips of fellow believers this simple fact: “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:14).
From our perspective, Roger is asleep. But from his perspective, he has been awoken by Christ to live a more glorious eternal day. He and all the saints in the Church Triumphant are at peace. And, by grace through faith in Christ alone, we will see our loved ones again who have departed in the faith. So, until Christ calls us home, encourage one another with the hope we have in Christ. For in some unknown day to come, Christ will wake you up to a more glorious eternal day! 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
Roger Schultz's Obituary: https://hantge.com/obituaries/roger-vernon-schultz/
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