Kristin and Kelly, family and friends of JoLene:
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!
[Intro]
JoLene was certainly blessed by God all throughout her life. You see, the Triune God – the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit – always provided for all of JoLene’s needs of her body and soul. The Lord gave her faith at the waters of Holy Baptism, and it was the Lord who sustained that faith.
Today, JoLene is resting from her labors as she has been led by the Good Shepherd to the house of the Lord.
Throughout her earthly life, God blessed JoLene with various vocations. She was a mother to Kristin and Kelly. She was a grandmother and great-grandmother. She certainly cherished the time she had with her family and friends. God also blessed JoLene through her employment at Tonka Toys, 3M, Telex-Bosch and as a bartender.
She also enjoyed the company of others. She bowled league. She also enjoyed baking chocolate chip cookies and brownies and sharing them with her neighbors.
All throughout her life, God’s steadfast love for JoLene never ceased.
But for us here this afternoon, we are all experiencing loss. Any separation is a time of mourning. After all, death is not natural. Humanity was not created to die. But due to our first parents – Adam and Eve – we all die, because the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). And, so we mourn. But, mourning is a good and godly work. You see, Jesus wept at the death of His friend Lazarus. Jesus wept because He loved His friend, so weeping and mourning the death of any loved one is a good work.
We Christians mourn because of the reality of death. We mourn because we were never intended to die and should live forever. But, we do not mourn as those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). We mourn, but our mourning is mixed with hope. Our tears are mixed with faith. Our sadness is mixed with joy.
[Amazing Grace]
We just sang what many call America’s national hymn. “Amazing Grace” has been recorded by pop and country stars such as Aretha Franklin, Alan Jackson, and one of JoLene’s favorite artists Elvis Presley. We often hear bagpipes playing the tune with a military band. This hymn most definitely has had an impact on people’s lives. In fact, there are entire books based on the history of this hymn.
Its writer, John Newton, experienced God’s grace during a storm at sea in 1748, as he converted to Christianity. His turnaround was certainly amazing, as he later became an Anglican pastor.
Then on January 1, 1773, the hymn was first sung to accompany his sermon. For several years, this hymn was not known to anyone outside that parish. Then in 1779 – six years later – “Amazing Grace” was published in a hymnbook known as the Olney Hymns, which was named after the town of his parish Olney, Buckinghamshire, England.
In just some short years later, “Amazing Grace” would enter American folk tradition and become a staple among American hymnals.
The hymn itself is a reflection on the overwhelming, undeserved grace of God that saved John Newton despite his sinfulness. You see, while he was out at sea that day, he was a slave trader. But through that storm, God brought him to faith. He was a “wretch,” and yet God saved him. Like the prodigal son, he was lost, but now has been found (Luke 15). Like the man to whom Jesus restored his sight, he was blind, but now he can see (John 9:25).
[Saved by Grace through Faith in Jesus]
This is us, too! Through the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul wrote, “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked … But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:1, 4-5).
Despite our trespasses and sins, God gives us grace! Through His suffering and death upon the cross, Jesus put upon Himself our sins, in order to save us from what we truly deserve, that is, eternal death in hell. There, Christ underwent the Great Exchange as He took our sins and in return gave us God’s grace unto those who trust in Him. So, through Christ alone “by grace [we] have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
This is truly amazing grace! Jesus affirms this grace as He said: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
The hymn “Amazing Grace” celebrates the grace, mercy, and love of God. But there is something oddly missing in the lyrics, even though it is likely that our minds import it. Oddly enough, the hymn never explains the “amazing grace” and never says how God bestows His saving grace. Did you ever notice that? I know that it took me years to even notice that.
Thanks be to God that we have that answer in today’s Scripture readings! You see, “God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:5). God bestows this saving grace through His Means of Grace: Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and in hearing God’s Word. Through these Means, God bestows His grace as He nourishes our faith. This is what God does for us throughout our life here on earth.
But what is JoLene experiencing now? Paul tells of that, too! Since, we have been saved by grace through faith in Christ alone, all who trust in Christ are “raised up with Him and seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6-7).
For JoLene, she received faith in Christ through the waters of Holy Baptism as the Triune God adopted her as His own. At this washing, JoLene received God’s amazing grace – the forgiveness of sins achieved by Jesus on the cross for all mankind!
For all the faithful, upon death they enter the Church Triumphant in heaven. There, they sing because they are free from all pain and sorrow, since they are in the presence of the Good Shepherd. There, Jesus wipes away ever tear from their eyes as they hunger no more, neither thirst anymore (Revelation 7:15-17). For everyone in the Church Triumphant, they are completely satisfied!
But heaven is not the end. There is more to come! Although, JoLene’s body will be placed in a grave, one day, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet” (1 Corinthians 15:52) – that grave will be as empty as the grave of Jesus! This body buried will be the body raised on that glorious resurrection day!
So, in this life, the heavenly life, and our resurrection life, God continues to show us immeasurable riches of His grace and all by faith that He nourishes through His Son Jesus Christ. Amen!
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
JoLene Horton's Obituary: https://hantge.com/obituaries/jolene-l-horton/
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