Philomena Ventriglia Funeral

Welcome and Prayer

Good morning everyone. On behalf of Christine Schwartz and her brother David Zaccaria, I want to thank you for being here this morning. Would you pray with me?

2 Corinthians 1:3–4 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Eulogy

On January 6th, 2023 Philomena Ventriglia passed away peacefully surrounded by her loving family, brother-sister caregivers David Zaccaria and Christine Schwartz. and along with David and Christine, she is survived by her sister Christina Zaccaria who due to her own ailing health cannot be here today. At the age of 93, Philomena went to be with the Lord. She lived a long and full life.

A life categorized by many hardships to be sure, yet as is often the case, a life invaded by gentle, and loving displays of God’s kindness, mercy, and grace. Christine shared with me how Philomena loved nature. She always wanted to be outside, and just observe the birds, the ducks, or simply how the clouds paint the sky and move with the wind.

It reminded me of Psalm 104:24-25, “How many are your works, LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. There is the sea, vast and spacious, teeming with creatures beyond number- living things both large and small.” Or Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities– his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen…” but although a professing Catholic, Philomena resisted the revelation of God through His creation for most of her life.

Yet, in spite of this she was always an avid reader of Scripture. A subscriber to the famed devotional “Our Daily Bread”, Philomena would read. With her mind being filled with the Word of God, and the consistent witness by Christine and David to the love of God, God was working. Drawing. Calling.

And just a few years ago, at age 92, while watching Charles Stanley on Television, Christine walked in to see Philomena with raised hands praying to God for her salvation.

She passed away Friday in her sleep. Peacefully in how she passed away. But more than anything peacefully knowing that “since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring Philomena with him (1 Thess 4:15). And “behold, the dwelling place of God is now with Philomena. He himself has wiped every tear from her eye, and there is no more mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore (Rev. 21:3-4).

And Christine, although the events that followed her passing were less than desired, I want to remind you of your brother, David’s wisdom, “Remember this is the world, and we are not of it.” And one day, when we are truly not of this world, but reunited in the clouds with our loved ones, you will see her face to face.

So in light of this, I’d like to encourage us this morning from God’s Word.

Sermon

Remember

All thoughout the pages of Scripture there are exhortations and encouragements for God’s people to remember.

2 Peter 1:13 “I think it right, as long as I am in this body, to stir you up by way of reminder,”

It’s important to be stirred to reminder, because often in the pain and difficulties of life we allow the truth about God to settle.

We are a forgetful people.

So today, I want to stir you up by way of reminder.

A day to be reminded of who God is, and the Hope we have because of Him.

We need this.

But you know who doesn’t? Philomena.

Because she doesn’t need this sermon. SHe doesn’t need any more sermons.

SHe knows in full. SHe sees clearly.

SHe doesn’t need faith. Her faith is now sight.

But we do, so let me stir us up from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 ESV

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede 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.

A little bit of context. Thessalonians is written by Paul. A man who was dramatically converted to Jesus Christ, and dedicated his life to traveling and telling people about the Good News of Jesus, and ultimately forming churches in cities scattered throughout the Roman Empire.

Thessalonians is one of those cities, and Paul’s first letter to them is intended to encourage them as well as answer some questions they had this new found faith in Christ.

And evidently some of the biggest questions they had pertained to death, and what happens after death.

This is why Paul starts this section of the letter in verse 13, “I do not want you to be uninformed, about those who are asleep.

But he doesn’t mean literal sleep right. He’s not talking about power naps, but about death.

But he uses the term “sleep” intentionally because its a metaphor for the believer.

Dying for the believer is like taking a nap. Its like sleeping. because we have a God sho is so powerful that even overcoming something as seemingly final as death is like waking someone from a cat nap to him.

So Paul says, “I don’t want you to be uninformed about those who are asleep… BC I DON’T WANT YOU TO GRIEVE AS OTHERS DO WHO HAVE NO HOPE.”

Now before we really dissect this HOPE, I want to quickly note:

HE DIDN’T SAY, “DON’T GRIEVE!”

Again… there are things in life that cause grief. Things that hurt, that press us down.

Grieving those things isn’t wrong. It isn’t sinful. Jesus grieved the passing of his friend Lazarus, even when He knew he would eventually wake him from his 4 day nap.

Grief isn’t wrong. And I want to encourage you.. grieve.

But… grieve with hope.

Hope is a joyful and confident expectation. So Paul is saying, “Grieve over Philomena, but grieve being confident that with God, death is not the end.”

Paul then proceeds to give us 3 reasons why we can have hope.

Let me share them with you really quickly.

The Resurrection

Look at verse 14. 1 Thessalonians 4:14 “For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.”

We have hope because of The Resurrection!

We have hope because after being dead for 3 days, Jesus was resurrected.

We have hope because the eternal son of God came and lived the life we could never live

And died the death that we deserved to die and in that substitution he absorbed the full wrath of God toward our sin.

But on the 3rd day he rose from the dead---forever defeating sin and death.

Because, of the FACT of His resurrection, we can have faith that we too will be resurrected with Him.

It is the resurrection of Jesus that is the guarantee of the resurrection of believers.

So for those who are in Christ, our resurrection is guaranteed.

Philomena Ventriglia knew this.

SHe put her faith in the saving work of Christ at the age of 92. A faith that is dependent, not on her own works, but on the resurrection work of Christ.

So greive, but do it with hope because of the resurrection.

The Return

Secondly, we can grieve with Hope because of the Return.

Look at 1 Thessalonians 4:15-16 “For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede 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.”

The Return

A day is coming that only the Father knows when, but on that day the sky will crack open and Jesus will come back.

He came 1st as a messiah. A lamb. a suffering servant. But on that day he will come back as a warrior king.

He will restore all that Genesis 3 broken, and Revelation says on that day there will be no more death, pain, mourning, or suffering.

Just as He fulfilled the promise of his first coming, so he shall His second.

And as aresult we have hope. Hope that even at the proverbial bottom of life, because the weight of life is pressing us down, we can look up with confident expectation, with hope that he will return and right the wrongs.

The Reunion

But finally, we can grieve with hope because there will be a reunion!

1 Thess 4:17 “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.”

We grieve, but we do so with hope, knowing we can see her again.

A day where we will again be together, and with the Lord… always.

But… there is one huge distinction that has to be made. A condition for our hope of this reunion.

And it is found in 2 little, but MOST IMPORTANT words in verse 16.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 (ESV)

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.

In Christ!

The condition of our hope despite our grief is “In christ”

This is the primary way the Bible refers to people who are Christians. They are in Christ.

Being “In Christ” means that by faith we are joined to Jesus.

it means that when God the Father looks at us he doesn’t see our sin he sees the perfection of Jesus.

Conclusion

In Christ.

Those two words seperate the entire world into those who grieve with hope and those who do not.

So… as we grieve the loss of Philomena, may we grieve with Hope.

Hope bc of The Ressurection

Hope BC of The Return

Hope BC of The Reunion

All made possible because of our being in Christ.

Pray