Funeral Sermon: First Telling of, Now Fully Experiencing God’s Love (Psalm 26 & John 14)

 

Lyle, Paul, Neil, family and friends of Elaine:

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!

[Intro]

I love to tell the story Of unseen things above, Of Jesus and His glory, Of Jesus and His love, I love to tell the story, Because I know it’s true; It satisfies my longings As nothing else would do.

I love to tell the story: How pleasant to repeat What seems, each time I tell it, More wonderfully sweet! I love to tell the story, For some have never heard The message of salvation From God’s own holy Word.                                I Love to Tell the Story, Stanzas 1-2

Our opening hymn this morning tells us so much about Elaine’s faith. You see, Elaine loved to tell the Divine Story. She told the true Story of Jesus and His love through her vocation as a Sunday School teacher. She told the Story through the Altar Guild as the seasonal paraments taught Christ’s Story. She told the Story through serving on the Board of Trustees in keeping the grounds and building suitable for the Story, where God’s glory dwells through His Word and Sacraments. She told the Divine Story through her vocations of wife, mother, and grandmother.

She loved to tell the Story that is revealed in God’s own Holy Word. In fact, all she was doing was following her Lord’s Great Commission as He said, “Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). Now, this true Story of Jesus and His steadfast love never grew old for Elaine. This is where she found her eternal hope and comfort, since God fulfills every promise.

God’s grace was upon Elaine all her life – in her marriage to Lyle, in raising her two sons [Paul and Neil], in her various vocations in the home and out of the home, in her world travels. God’s grace is still upon her today as she has joined the saints in the Church Triumphant.

Throughout her earthly life, she also lived up to her confirmation verse: “O Lord, I love the habitation of Your house and the place where your glory dwells” (Psalm 26:8). You see, it was here, in this place where she knew her Lord would always be through His Word and Sacraments. It was here where her sins were constantly forgiven through the blood and merit of Jesus. It was here where she received strength for her faith.

Even when Elaine was not able to come to this place, she continued to receive God’s gifts of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation at Grand Meadows and Oak Terrace with each pastoral visit.

Today, Elaine is no longer receiving a foretaste of the heavenly banquet to come. No, she is there! On Saturday, her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ led her to her heavenly home. She has been set free from sin (Romans 6:7). As the Apostle Paul teaches us through the Holy Spirit, “For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him” (Romans 6:7-8). For years Elaine told of her Lord, today she is fully experiencing God’s love as she is in His presence!

Yet, for us, we see before our very eyes the wages of our sin, which is death (Romans 6:23). And do not be ashamed by grief. We all grieve when we suffer any loss. The Apostle Paul informs us saying, “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. 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 4:13-14). These are comforting words. Yes, we grieve, but Christians grieve in a sure and certain hope that we will see our loved ones again who have died in the faith.

For Elaine, she has passed from death and is only experiencing the free gift of eternal life with her fellow saints and angels in the Church Triumphant in heaven. She is in the midst of the Good Shepherd who has wiped away ever tear. She is experiencing no more pain, no more sorrow, no more hunger, no more thirst. Her mind is completely clear. She is completely satisfied. She is at bliss.

Today, her confirmation verse has increased its meaning. She is at the heavenly banquet. She is literally at the place where God’s glory dwells. There is no more foretaste of the feast to come, since she is at this feast.

[Elaine’s Confirmation Verse]

Elaine’s confirmation verse, and the two preceding verses before it, teach us a lot about the covenant relationship that everyone in Christ has with God the Father. The Psalmist writes:

⁶ “I wash my hands in innocence
    and go around your altar, O Lord,
⁷ proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,
    and telling all your wondrous deeds.

⁸ O Lord, I love the habitation of your house
    and the place where your glory dwells” (Psalm 26:6-8).

These verses do not see the Psalmist promoting himself or even his own faithfulness. Instead, we see a person who is eager to worship the Lord. We see a person who is eager to proclaim his thanks to the Lord and to promote the Lord’s wonderful deeds. Finally, in Elaine’s confirmation verse, the Psalmist expresses his love for the house where the Lord’s glory dwells. Here, the Psalmist’s speech has melted into an expression of wonder and delight in the Lord.

Now, this love is not bragging about how much the Psalmist loves the Lord. Instead, this love is an exclamation of joy and wonder directed at the Lord. This is worship.

Psalm 26 is a prayer in which one of God’s children focuses his delight on God and His Word and on his life that is lived in service to his Redeemer.

Now, I don’t know how much Elaine thought about her confirmation verse before picking it all those many years ago, but this verse tells us so much about her. This verse tells us so much about her – and our – covenant relationship with the triune God.

[The Covenant Relationship]

This covenant relationship began at Elaine’s baptism when Christ clothed her in the robe of His righteousness that covers all of her sin. Through baptism, we are brought into a saving relationship with the triune God. Here, the Holy Spirit brings us to faith. Here, the Holy Spirit gives us the ability to believe in Jesus as our Savior. Here, we also receive the forgiveness of sins and all of the blessings of Jesus that He won for all mankind through His vicarious suffering and death on the cross and made us His possession.

Throughout life, the Holy Spirit causes our faith in Christ to grow. Elaine experienced this. We experience this each time we enter the Divine Service where we hear His Word, receive His Sacrament, and believe His promises.

So, trust in Christ’s Words: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me” (John 14:1). So, just as Christ has prepared a place for Elaine, He has also prepared a place for all believers. Jesus reassures us always that He alone is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Through Him alone, we have the Way to God the Father. We have the Way to salvation. All it takes is faith in Jesus.

When our time comes, by grace through faith in Jesus, we know the Way to heaven. We know the Way because Jesus is the Way. He takes us by the hand and He leads us – just as He has personally led Elaine.

For many years, Elaine told the Divine Story of her loving God. She told the Story of unseen things above. Today, Elaine is with her Lord. What was only imaginable before is now visible. She is in God’s loving presence. She is proclaiming with the Church Triumphant: “O Lord, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells” (Psalm 26:8).

We can each join her too! So, trust in Jesus – the One Foundation – for He alone is the Way and the Truth and the Life. In Christ alone, we have the guarantee of eternal 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

Video of Funeral Service

 

Elaine Winterfeldt's obituary: https://hantge.com/obituaries/elaine-sybilla-winterfeldt/