A Refuge for Sorrow

James Edwin Tucker, Sr. (Ed)

Graveside Service

Opening Poem

Another Leaf Has Fallen

Another leaf has fallen, another soul has gone. But still we have God’s promises, in every robin’s song.

For he is in His heaven,

and though He takes away, He always leaves to mortals, the bright sun’s kindly ray.

He leaves the fragrant blossoms, and lovely forest, green. And gives us new found comfort, when we on Him will lean.

Unknown

Welcome

Death is never easy. Expected or Not (as in this case).

Death reminds us that the world we live in is still affected by sin and it’s curse.

Death reminds us to look up and look to God for our comfort, security, and hope.

Today, as we commit Ed’s remains to the ground, I am going to invite you to look up and to keep looking up to Him.

I invite you to lean upon God and his promises for your comfort and joy.

Let’s Pray to Begin

Prayer

Pray

Invitation to Share

This time is for you as family.

The memorial/funeral service has already happened. Your friends joined you there.

This is for you.

Before I read some scripture and invite you to place the urn in the ground, I wanted to invite you as family to share a thought, a memory, a prayer.

Would anyone like to?

Scripture

The days and months ahead will be met with challenge. The loss of your loved one will come to you at the moments you least expect. Sights, sounds, smells will trigger memories and the physical loss will find you.

What do you do in those moments?

You run to the refuge that God is for you and find your comfort, security, and hope in Him.

Permit me to read a passage of scripture that I would encourage you to hold onto; to revisit and reread in the days ahead as a reminder to run to Christ for your comfort and strength.

Psalm 77.

Psalm 77 ESV

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph. 1 I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me. 2 In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted. 3 When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah 4 You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak. 5 I consider the days of old, the years long ago. 6 I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search: 7 “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable? 8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time? 9 Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah 10 Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.” 11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. 12 I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds. 13 Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God? 14 You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples. 15 You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah 16 When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled. 17 The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side. 18 The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook. 19 Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen. 20 You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

This Psalm begins with sadness, with grief, with even feelings of being abandoned by God.

Verse 10 is the turning point.

When grief, sorrow, fear, doubt, and trouble threatened to consume him, he turned to the faithful works of God. He turned to turned to the testimony of God’s work and renewed his mind on truth, and refreshed his soul with confidence in God BASED on God’s previous work and faithfulness.

What follows from verse 10 is a list of all the ways God has proven his faithfulness.

It is a list of all the ways God has shown he is good and true and not abandoned him DESPITE his feelings of abandonment.

When our feelings would betray or mislead us, we must speak truth.

So this too is what you must do. As you process your grief, your sorrow, your loss…let that drive you back to the promises of God, the works of God, and let it deepen your trust in God and your confidence in Him IN THE MIDST OF YOUR PAIN.

Make a list. Write it down. Detail and list all the ways God has been and continues to be faithful!

Celebrate the precious memories.

Do not run from the sorrow or pain but let that sorrow and pain propel you toward comfort in God.

In this way, God becomes a refuge and fortress for you.

In this way, God becomes your comfort in sorrow, your fortress in pain, your joy in loss.

In this way, God becomes your security in times of insecurity.

In this way, God becomes your safe haven.

Concluding Thoughts

So...

In the days ahead....recount the faithfulness of God.

In the days ahead, tell of His works (to each other and to yourselves).

In the days ahead, spend much time in the living word of God, taking comfort in WHO God is and in the work he is doing for His name’s sake and for our enjoyment of Him.

Remember with joy and gratitude the life of Ed and the precious memories that God granted you to share together.

And give God thanks for the joy of those memories. Let them press you into His presence even more.

Let’s Pray

Pray