Lois, Susan, and Dale, family and friends of Glen:
Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen!
[Intro]
As a farmer, Glen had the instincts on knowing the “time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted” (Ecclesiastes 3:2b). And even during seasons when it appeared that it may be a lower crop yield, he always trusted that the Lord would provide. The Lord always provided all of his needs of body and soul those 94 years of his earthly life.
But as God proclaims in Ecclesiastes 3, the Christian life here on earth is a life of ups and downs. Glen certainly had his ups and downs, as well we all do. So, he wept and mourned as he was separated from loved ones, especially at the loss of Lora, his beloved wife for nearly 67 years; his daughter Sara, whose life was cut short; and so many others. But the life of a Christian is not just weeping and mourning, it is also a time of joy with laughter and is also a time of dancing.
Glen never got tired of telling me the story on how he and his wife Lora met. It was a love story. They first met on the dance floor at the Pla Mor Ballroom. You could say it was love at first sight as they first danced to a waltz. Although they both believed they had never met before, they soon realized that each of them belonged to the same church: First Lutheran Church. Although their belief in God strengthened the courtship, I have since been told that Lora’s family barn may have sealed the deal. You see, even as Glen admired Lora – for which He always did in sickness and in health – I have now come to know that Glen always liked the look of her family barn.
The triune God – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – certainly blessed Glen. The Lord provided him a loving wife; four children: Lois, Susan, Dale, and Sara; family and friends; and most importantly the gift of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Throughout his life, Glen fulfilled various Christian vocations: As husband, as father, as grandfather, and as brother. He was a farmer, a deacon, and friend. And this list goes on as on, as is the life of a Christian.
Today, Glen is resting from his labors as he has received the promise of eternal life. Glen certainly endured through life’s ups and downs, but now he no longer suffers the effects of sin as he has joined the Church Triumphant with all the saints in heaven!
As Glen experienced loss during his earthly life, today, we are experiencing loss. With any separation, we come to a time of mourning. Some mourn publicly, others mourn privately. But we all mourn. We mourn because death is not natural. You see, 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.
[What a Friend We Have in Jesus]
We just sang Glen’s favorite hymn “What a Friend We Have in Jesus” (LSB 770). The hymnwriter Joseph Scriven (1819-1886) lived a life full of ups and downs. In the singing of this hymn, we are reminded of Jesus’ words that He said to His disciples: “I have called you friends” (John 15:15). But we miss the true comfort of those words if we sentimentally perceive that by “friend,” Jesus means He is a buddy with whom we can enjoy good times and commiserate in bad times. Instead, those words invite every believer in Christ to stand in awe and gratitude that He who reigns over all creation now treats His people – who were once His enemies – as His friends.
Consider just a few of the Scripture verses on which this hymn builds: “Ask, and it will be given to you” (Matthew 7:7); “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me” (Psalm 50:15); and “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). You see, God invites us to pray. Meanwhile, the hymn speaks a word of Law that laments “what a peace we often forfeit” when Christians decline the invitation to pray.
With rhetorical questions at the beginning of stanzas two and three, the hymnist reminds us that tribulations fill life on earth: sometimes everyday difficulties, sometimes the kind of faith-challenging trials, and sometimes the continuing struggles to live as a Christian in a temptation-filled world. No matter what the believer faces, the Savior’s concern – “Can we find a friend so faithful” – and promises – “In His arms He’ll take and shield thee” are an invitation to pray.
After all, as a human like those who pray to Him, “Jesus knows our every weakness.” In other words, “we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15), but one who always knows how best to answer prayer.
Glen always took his burdens to His Lord through prayer. Some people today say prayer accomplishes nothing. They demand action. But what these people fail to realize is that prayer is action.
[“I Will Give You Rest”]
Jesus proclaims to us: “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).
Some people claim to be “wise and understanding” (Matthew 11:25), but they refuse to acknowledge their utter and complete need for God’s saving righteousness. They will not rejoice that such reconciling action has come into the world in Jesus. This was not Glen. Glen is the opposite. Glen is what Jesus calls an “infant.”
Jesus calls all of His flock – His disciples – as not the “wise and understanding” but as “infants.” Why infants? Well, infants are helpless and rely completely on their parents for food, warmth, safety, and life itself. Christ calls His disciples “infants” since we are incapable of saving ourselves from sin, eternal death, and Satan.
You see, Christians are dependent on divine grace. But paradoxically, in Christ these who are dependent become strong and wise unto salvation. All of this comes not by human reason or strength, but from God the Father, who reveals these things to “infants.” All our wisdom comes from Jesus.
So, as “infants” we follow Jesus as the Messiah and follow Him as His disciples. And as His “infant” disciples, Christ gives us rest. He says: “Come to Me!” (Matthew 11:28)
As sinners, we are all totally depraved, so we of all times and all places are subject to the heavy burdens of sin, with the knowledge that we fall short of what God intended. Life in a fallen creation is a hard life. But Jesus’ words here offer comfort and promised rest, both in this life and in the age to come.
Now the way to find rest is to trade the heavy burden of sin and failure for Jesus’ own “yoke.” At first glance, this seems hardly like an offer of rest to take a yoke upon yourself. But as Jesus continues to speak, He reveals that the essence of taking His yoke upon yourself consists in learning what He is like. For this “yoke” is nothing other than to become a disciple of Jesus, as His own words declare: “Learn from Me.” The noun “disciple” and the verb “learn” share a common root and a common meaning; to be Jesus’ disciple is to learn from Him. But then the obvious question is: learn what?
In order to take the yoke of Jesus and find rest from one’s burdens, what one needs to learn is what Jesus is like: “Learn from Me that I am gentle and humble in heart.” In learning that Jesus gently receives and forgives all who come to Him in need, disciples find rest for their lives. All who come to His unparalleled authority and power with only their need in their hands find a Savior. He saves because of His own humility of heart that leads Him to suffer and die on the cross for our sins and to bodily rise from the dead for all. So, taking on the yoke of Jesus lightens the burdens of life and of eternity. Because of who Jesus is – our Good Shepherd and Lord and Savior – the burden of discipleship becomes light indeed.
So, with the yoke of Jesus, God’s commandments are no longer a heavy burden that weighs us down and destroys us. Instead, they are expressions of God’s will in which we delight, for we look for ways to express our thanks to God for the blessings of His grace. No burden is too heavy and Jesus takes the load for us and promises us rest.
All throughout his life, Glen received strength for his faith as he was forgiven by God through the Means of Grace – Word and Sacrament. It is through God’s Word and Sacrament that Glen is now resting from his labors, as Jesus has accomplished salvation for him and for you and me! So, what the world sees as Glen’s death, his death in Christ is but a portal, since “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23b).
Today, Glen has come out of the great tribulation of our life now and is now clothed in Christ’s Robe of Righteousness as he is before the throne of God where he hungers no more, neither thirst anymore as he is in the presence of the Good Shepherd Jesus Christ. Just as Jesus provided his needs in his earthly life, Jesus continues to provide for all the needs of the departed faithful in the Church Triumphant where they are free from sin and its power.
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, Glen’s grave will be as empty as the grave of Jesus! This body buried will be the body raised on that glorious resurrection day!
May we too receive what Jesus offers to us freely, eternal rest in Him in this life and in the age to come! Amen.
The peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
Glen Beneke's Obituary: https://hantge.com/obituaries/glen-w-beneke/
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