Don, Pam, Jodi, and Sue, family and friends of Darlene:
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!
[Intro]
3 Lord, let at last Thine
angels come,
To Abr’ham’s bosom bear me home,
That I may die unfearing;
And in its narrow chamber keep
My body safe in peaceful sleep
Until Thy reappearing.
And then from death awaken me,
That these mine eyes with joy may see,
O Son of God, Thy glorious face,
My Savior and my fount of grace.
Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, my prayer attend,
And I will praise Thee without end.
(Lord,
Thee I Love with All My Heart, LSB 708 stanza 3)
Text: Public domain
Back on August 20th, I sang those words from Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart (LSB 708) to Darlene upon hearing that she was going to have brain surgery due to brain cancer. As she was preparing for surgery, she knew that she may not survive. She kept on telling me that she was ready for whenever Christ would call her home. She was ready to die unfearing.
She made it through surgery, but her surgeons could not get all of the cancer. Thanks be to God that He granted her these many months. Despite this news she received after her surgery, she kept on living as she no longer feared death, since she truly believed that her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed the power of eternal death. She knew this. She believed this. She is living this truth of her faith today.
You see, despite what many of us may do – by worrying about tomorrow – she knew that her Lord would never leave her, nor forsake her (Hebrews 13:5; Joshua 1:5). She trusted in her Lord’s deliverance. She trusted that her ailment would be healed. Today, we see the wages of sin, which is death (Romans 6:23a), but – by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone she has received the free gift of eternal life in Christ (Romans 6:23b) – this death is but a portal by which we enter heaven with Christ and His rod and staff leading us.
Since death is a form of separation, it is also a farewell, so to speak. If I remember right, Darlene never liked farewells. So, don’t be ashamed to grieve. But, know this, although we grieve the loss of our loved ones, Christians do not grieve as others do who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13).
The Word of God declares, “that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not proceed those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:15-18).
This morning, you will be hearing more about this sure and certain hope in Christ!
[Joys and Desires]
Throughout her earthly life, Darlene left some life lessons to pass on to her family. Two of these life lessons are: Number One – Stay close to family and to the teachings of the faith. Number Two – Don’t let the negative world events change you into someone else, but always contribute to humanity in a positive way. This is Darlene in a nutshell. She always remained positive, and her positivity and friendliness has certainly rubbed off on so many people throughout her earthly life.
Her greatest joy was meeting and marrying Don and being blessed by God to raise her three daughters: Pam, Jodi, and Sue, and being blessed by God to become a grandmother to seven grandchildren.
Her greatest desire was that everyone would know the love of Christ – that she knew and trusted – but at the same time, she was careful not be too pushy as she shared Christ’s love with her family, friends, and neighbors.
The love of Christ that she received – by faith – was always sufficient in keeping her going every day of her life. As Darlene neared death, she knew where she was going, due to her faith and trust in Jesus Christ, who is in fact, “the Way, and the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6a).
Darlene lived her life in hope. But for many people, “hope” leaves room for doubt. We might say, “I hope to make it on time” or “I hope the rain will not spoil my plans.” Yes, this use of hope leaves room for doubt and uncertainty.
But for Darlene, there was no doubt. There is no uncertainty. This is what the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write in our reading from Romans 15. So, Paul’s meaning for “hope” is this: a sure and certain confidence. Today, Darlene is living out this hope as a saint in the Church Triumphant in heaven.
[Patience and Hope]
In Romans 15, the Apostle Paul groups together patience and hope. Paul informs us that we have patience and hope through the Scriptures, since God’s Written Word is the instrument through which God Himself, who is the actual source of “patient endurance” and “encouragement” works in order to give us “hope.”
Now, why would Paul group patience and hope together? Well, hope is not something we can see or touch. Therefore, patience is necessary. So that we may not weaken as we are patient in hope, Paul adds the word “encouragement.” We always need encouragement, and this encouragement is always found in the Word made flesh: Jesus Christ.
Paul continues writing: “May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus” (Romans 15:5).
Here, Paul is saying this: We do not have patience and consolation of our own doing, we actually receive patience and consolation from Christ alone.
In
Christ alone, we receive patience and consolation to continue living our daily
lives. Through Christ, we are able to look past differences, so we can live in
harmony. “For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not
all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and
individually members of another. Having gifts that differ according to the
grace given to us” (Romans 12:4-6a).
So, through Christ, we live in accord as we follow His example of humility. So, we do not look only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:4). Christ’s sacrifice upon the cross is the power source. You see, Christ’s love for us enables us to love all people. This is a gift of God through the Holy Spirit that enables us to imitate Christ more and more.
Paul concludes by writing, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope” (Romans 15:13).
The Triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – is the source and goal of the Christian hope. So, whoever trusts in the one true God lives alone by hope.
Therefore, the expression “the God of hope” actually means “the God of those who have hope”; for He is not the God of those who fear and despair. He is rather their Enemy and Judge. In short, God is “the God of hope” because He is the Giver of hope.
God the Father gave us this sure and certain hope through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, “not to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:17). It was through Christ taking upon Himself our human flesh that our hope of salvation occurred through His atoning suffering and death upon the cross and His bodily resurrection from the dead. He died the death that we all deserve, due to our sin. It is only through Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection that we received this hope of forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation! All we have to do is believe and trust in Jesus Christ alone, since we have been saved truly by God’s grace. For wherever there is hope, there God is worshiped.
Today, at this very moment, Darlene is where hope is found. She, along with her fellow saints, is in the presence of hope revealed in heaven.
On November 10, 1940, this same God of hope marked Darlene as His child through the waters of Holy Baptism. As the Triune name of God was spoken over her, she was baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection and received the robe of Christ’s righteousness that covers all of her sins. This very robe is what she is wearing today as she has passed from the great tribulation – the life we live now, brought on by sin, which leads to pain, sorrow, and persecution – to the Church Triumphant, where there is no more pain, no more sorrow, no more hunger, and no more thirst.
Darlene is now before the throne of God and He is sheltering her with His presence. She is no longer suffering the effects of sin, since sin’s power has been destroyed. She is now completely satisfied. She and her fellow saints are doing what she loved to do here on earth: sing. She – with her fellow saints – is making a joyful noise to the LORD with song! (Psalm 100; Revelation 7:10-12)
May we follow Darlene’s example in trusting the certain hope that is found only in Jesus Christ, so that we too, may die unfearing in peaceful sleep until Christ’s reappearing:
When from death He awakens me,
That these mine eyes with joy may see,
O Son of God, Thy glorious face,
My Savior and my fount of grace.
Lord Jesus Christ, my prayer attend, my prayer attend,
And I will praise Thee without end.
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
Darlene Dammann's obituary: https://hantge.com/obituaries/darlene-e-dammann/
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