David, Kathryn, and Steven, family and friends of Eunice:
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!
[Intro]
As we heard in the reading of Eunice’s obituary, her life was not easy. She experienced many tragedies. But through each tragedy, she never had to deal with them alone. Through it all – in good times as in bad times – the Triune God: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit was right there with her. And the Triune God is still with her.
You see, even in the most difficult of times, Eunice was never forsaken by God. He was and is always leading her to life everlasting. This same Lord gave her faith at the waters of Holy Baptism, and it was the Lord who sustained that faith through His Means of Grace – Word and Sacrament.
The Lord knows the way of the righteous (Psalm 1:6a) and it was by her faith in Christ as her Lord and Savior that Eunice is declared righteous by God, for “the righteous shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:11).
Today, Eunice is resting from her labors as she has received the promise of eternal life and all by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone! Eunice endured and continues to endure as she is no longer suffering the effects of sin as she has joined the Church Triumphant with all the saints in heaven!
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 6:23a). 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.
[Meditating on God’s Word]
Our readings and hymns this afternoon were all important to Eunice. They each proclaim what Eunice was about in her earthly life. Since she was redeemed by Christ’s blood and made holy through the Holy Spirit, she esteemed God’s Word as a joy and a delight. With this joy, she was always willing to volunteer to serve Christ’s Church in various ways. She served First Lutheran Church using her time and talents on the altar guild, ladies’ quilters, stewardship board, singing with the senior choir, and making melody with the handbell choir.
Despite moving to Grand Meadows, she remained active as each month that I came to Grand Meadows, I could always find her at the group chapel services. Then in the end, the visits continued at her bedside as she always received strength for her faith through God’s Means of Grace. Her faith meant everything to her as she shared her faith with her family and friends.
We just sang “Oh,
that the Lord would guide my ways” (LSB 707), which Eunice selected to be
sung today. This hymn goes right along with Psalm 1, which contains Eunice’s
confirmation verse.
Blessèd is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the
wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and
night. (Psalm 1:1-2)
Both the hymn and Psalm 1 focus on the high regard a Christian ought to have for God’s Word, as God reveals in Scripture. In the Psalm, “the law of the Lord” does not necessarily refer to the Ten Commandments, but instead to the whole Word of God, both Law and Gospel. The hymn, too, uses a number of synonyms when referring to God’s Word, such as “statues” in stanza one, “Word” in stanza two, and “commands” in stanza four. In a broad sense, these denote the fullness of all that God has spoken and revealed.
Psalm 1 proclaims what it means to be godly. To be godly, the person is to not govern their lives by false values of the unbelieving world. This teaching comes up over and over again in Scripture. In Romans 12:2, the Holy Spirit led St. Paul to write: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Psalm 1 implies the same warning. So, if we let ungodly attitudes shape our thinking, they will soon shape our actions.
So, what do we do to prevent this? We delight in the Word of the Lord, and meditate on His Word day and night (Psalm 1:2). So, when we cultivate the habit of receiving God’s gifts in the Divine Service, and in reading the Bible and through devotional study, God strengthens ourselves to Him.
When believers are motivated by the Gospel and guided by God’s Law, they will produce fruits of faith, that is, works pleasing to God. These good works Christians produce in their lives are often called fruits because of the similarities between a Christian and the branch of a fruit tree, or that of a grape vine. You see, a branch can produce fruit only if it remains attached to the main trunk of the tree. Likewise, a Christian can only produce good works if he is connected to Christ by a living faith. A tree can only produce fruit if it is well watered. A Christian can only produce good works if his faith is “watered” by God’s Word.
All throughout her life, Eunice was sustained by God’s Means of Grace. God did all the watering. Through God’s watering, Eunice produced good works. Through God’s watering, she is declared righteous. She is declared righteous because she lived by faith knowing that Jesus accomplished everything for her and for you! “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us – for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’ – so that in Christ Jesus … we might receive the promised Spirit through faith” (Galatians 3:13, 14).
Psalm 1 does contain an implied warning against ungodly values, but this psalm also contains a promise. You see, those who live their lives by God’s Word will be truly blessed. To be blessed means to enjoy the happy and rewarding life that comes from God alone. Real happiness is the peace that comes through the forgiveness of sins. Real happiness is enjoying the glory of living with God and all the faithful departed throughout eternity. This is the blessing that awaits all who delight in God’s Word.
At this moment Eunice and all the faithful in heaven are rejoicing. They are rejoicing as they sing praises to God since He has freed them all from sin and its power, so they are free from all pain and sorrow.
But heaven is not the end. For all the faithful in heaven, there is still something better on the horizon. “We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet” (1 Corinthians 15:52). Death does not have the final say. Life has the final say. Since Christ has been raised from the dead, we too, will also be raised. So, Eunice’s grave will be as empty as the grave of Jesus! This body that will be buried will be the body raised on that glorious resurrection day!
May we receive the same promise of life everlasting through being declared righteous and this we receive by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone! Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
Eunice Mackenthun's Obituary: https://hantge.com/obituaries/eunice-ida-mackenthun/
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