Greg, Ida, and Lowell, family and friends of Geraldine:
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!
[Intro]
Geraldine was blessed by God all throughout her life. As our sermon hymn “Precious Lord, Take My Hand” proclaims, by our precious Lord’s leading, He leads us “to the light.” He alone leads us to salvation!
Today, Geraldine is resting from her labors as the Lord has led her by the hand to heaven as she has joined the Church Triumphant.
But for us here this morning, we find ourselves wearing a veil of mourning. Death is our scourge. Death is our enemy. But remember, 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 6:23a). And, so we mourn. But mourning is a good and godly work, since Jesus wept at the death of His friend Lazarus.
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.
And through Isaiah, God reveals to us something more: “He will swallow up death forever” (Isaiah 25:8a). This we all look forward to when Christ descends from heaven “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the sound of the last trumpet” (1 Corinthians 15:52) on that Last Day. For on that day, He will put His final enemy under His feet, which is death (1 Corinthians 15:24-26) as the faithful in Christ will be changed in a flash from mortal bodies to immortal bodies.
[The Great Banquet]
For everyone who knew Geraldine, if she had the option, she would rather eat out than take time to prepare her own food at home. Who wouldn’t? It certainly is nice having a meal prepared for you and all you have to do is order it.
In our reading from Isaiah 25, note how the Lord acts in these verses. He will “prepare a feast,” “destroy the shroud,” “swallow up death,” “wipe away tears,” and “remove the reproach of His people,” which is sin. Isaiah punctuates these promises with this exclamation point: “The Lord has spoken.” Notice here that no human action occurs. Here, all people – by faith in Christ – receive what God graciously provides.
Because of God’s love,
He provides a rich spiritual banquet:
“On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of
well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged
wine well refined.” (Isaiah
25:6)
This banquet is the richest and tastiest meal that is beyond our imagination! The wine is aged in order to increase its color and quality. The meat is fat and rich. This banquet is the banquet of God’s grace. Our Savior – the Lord Almighty – has prepared the best His love could offer: rich compassion, wonderful forgiveness, and every satisfying food for the soul. This is the banquet that God freely gives to everyone who clings to Jesus as their Lord and Savior!
This is the banquet that no one deserves, because of our sin. But God has prepared this feast for all who receive His forgiveness.
Even in our life now, we receive a foretaste of this rich meal. You see, as God’s people read and study the Word and receive Christ’s very Body and Blood under the bread and wine at the Lord’s Supper, they eat from God’s banquet table and receive nourishment for their souls.
This passage from Isaiah 25 is among the most comforting in Scripture. You see, the Lord has graciously provided for you! Just as He has graciously provided for Gerladine.
For all the faithful, death is but a gate to heaven. There, they give God praises day and night as they hunger no more, neither thirst anymore (Revelation 7:15-17). For everyone in Christ, they are completely satisfied as God provides His rich feast! God provides His eternal comfort to His people!
But heaven is not the end. There is much more to come! Although, Geraldine’s body will one day be placed in a grave, one day in the future, “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! The body buried will be the body raised on that glorious resurrection day!
So, may we too with Geraldine receive what God so graciously provides – forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation. Christ alone gives us eternal life, so that by faith in Him, we never perish (John 10:27-30), as He leads us with His rod and His staff to dwell in the house of the Lord forever (Psalm 23). Amen!
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
Geraldine Sylwester's obituary: https://hantge.com/obituaries/geraldine-e-sylwester/
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