Theodore Clark

Greeting

Good Morning and welcome to the memorial service for Theodore Clark, beloved son of Carissa Dietsche and Damien Clark. We are here today to remember his short life with us, to grieve together over his loss and to comfort each other in the hope that we have to see him again one day. To that end we will open with the scripture reading from

2 Corinthians 1:3–11 (ESV)

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 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.

5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. 6 If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. 7 Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. 10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

11 You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

Will you pray with me now...

Lord God, sometimes we don’t know what to say and all we can do is just turn it over to you. That is the case today. We turn to you who is our comfort and strength during this time of trial over death. We know that You are the giver of life in the name of your Son Jesus Christ, who is the source of eternal life. We don’t understand what you are doing in all of this, but we trust in You, knowing that even though we don’t understand your ways you have your purposes in them. So we trust you today.

Father, you know our grief. Give us peace and comfort in the way that only You can. Dry our tears. Soothe our pain.

We know of the cross and the death of your Son, Jesus. We know too of the empty tomb. How thankful we are that Jesus rose on the third day, never to die again. We cling to his promise, “Because I live, you shall live also.”

Thank you, dear Father, for his victory over death and for the grace and love that share in that victory with us. Comfort us in our loss, deepen our trust in you our Savior; and strengthen our resolve to live for him.

In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

At this time I would like to ask you to consider the weighty and comforting words of the following song. It is a song entitled “ Glory Baby” and it was written by a husband and wife duo from the band Watermark when they faced the loss of their infant. (The words are printed in your program?)

Glory baby, you slipped away As fast as we could say baby, baby You were growing, what happened dear You disappeared on us baby, baby Heaven will hold you before we do Heaven will keep you safe Until we're home with you Until we're home with you We miss you everyday, miss you in every way But we know there's a day when we will hold you, we will hold you And you'll kiss our tears away, when we're home to stay We can't wait for the day when we will see you, we will see you But baby let sweet Jesus hold you, until mom and dad can hold you You'll just have heaven before we do You'll just have heaven before we do Before we do Sweet little baby, it's hard to understand it 'Cause we are hurting, we are hurting But there is healing, and we know we're stronger people Through the growing, and in knowing All things work together for our good And God works his purposes Just like he said he would Just like he said he would We miss you everyday, miss you in every way But we know there's a day when we will hold you, we will hold you And you'll kiss our tears away, when we're home to stay We can't wait for the day when we will see you, we will see you But baby let sweet Jesus hold you, until mom and dad can hold you You'll just have heaven before we do You'll just have heaven before we do I can't imagine heaven's lullabies And what they must sound like But I will rest in knowing Heaven is your home And it's all you'll ever know All you'll ever know We miss you everyday, miss you in every way But we know there's a day when we will hold you, we will hold you And you'll kiss our tears away, when we're home to stay We can't wait for the day when we will see you, we will see you But baby let sweet Jesus hold you, until mom and dad can hold you You'll just have heaven before we do You'll just have heaven before we do Yeah, you'll just have heaven before we do Before we do

Three months is not a long time to get to know someone, especially when it is the first three months of someone’s life. But Theodore made his mark in his three months.

I had a older farmer type gentlemen stop in my office and you could just tell he was holding back his tears as he asked me what I knew about how Carissa, Tiana and her family were doing after hearing the news. Like all of us, He shook his head in disbelief. Then he told me of how just last Sunday Theodore had made his day because he was just such a smiley little guy. He said in his “salt of the earth” kinda way, “He was such a happy baby.”

That of course that was just the impact Theodore’s joy had in one encounter with a farmer at our Church, but those here today have had many more encounters with much greater impact. Damien and Carissa you spent hours and hours with Theodore, and even though I am sure he wasn’t always smiley, ...today... even those frustratingly late nights or early mornings seem like precious memories that you long to live in again. Because his short life had a deeper impact on the two of you, his parents, than anyone else.

The big question that always looms over times like these is always “why” and make no mistake… I am not hear to offer the answer to that question. I don’t know. It is above my pay grade. Only God knows why 3 months with us, was all Theodore needed to be and do all that God had destined for him.

What I do know is that it is right and fitting that we grief over the loss of the life that we expected to have with Theodore. God gave us tears for this reason. He knew that in this life we were going to need our tears. They have been and will continue to be used as we remember Theodore and wonder about the many “what could have beens”.

And grief is one of the most difficult parts of the life that we all have to walk in, but God has not left us alone in our grief. He has given us the gift of each other to grieve together.

Jesus said “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Mt 5:4) and the Apostle Paul instructs us to Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (Rom 12:15) There is just something in how God has wired us that helps us when we gather together with others in both seasons of joy and seasons of grief. So we know that it is right and fitting to remember Theodore together through our tears.

We also know that Jesus loves Theodore. I love the imagery of Jesus holding little baby Theodore right now and my hope is that as much as we miss him, we can know that he is experiencing something extraordinary right now.

The revered King of Ancient Israel, King David had to say goodbye to an infant son. When David was told that the child was sick and dying he stripped off his royal garments and humbled himself, put on mourning clothes and sat in sackcloth and ashes for days without eating as he cried out to God to please save his son.

So desperate was his condition that when that prayer was not answered and the son died no one wanted to tell David, thinking that it might completely push him over the edge. But when David heard people whispering, he asked if his son had died and they had to answer their King.

But to their surprise David got up, bathed and sat at the table again ready to eat. When asked about this surprising response,

2 Samuel 12:22–23 (ESV)

22 He said, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.”

My wife and I took great comfort in this verse when our oldest son James was born into heaven, and this is my hope for you Damien and Carissa. Even though we desperately miss them, our sons are being loved and cared for in ways that our meager words could never describe. It feels like they have been taken from us, and in a sense they have, but God has also given. Just as he gave us our sons, even for a short time, God the Father gave us His son.

John 3:16–17 (ESV)

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

In his love for us, God was willing to give up His son so that we would have the opportunity to see ours again someday, and to spend eternity with them. For it is only through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ that any of us have hope. Because in this life we are not always given answers to our “why” questions, but they can lead us to further into the question of “when”.

The book of Revelations is the last book of the Bible and it is all about the last things on earth. The Apostle John is given a vision of future events for all mankind and he wrote them down for us. He says in chapter 21...

Revelation 21:1–5 (ESV)

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Before the closing prayer, we will listen to the song “Your Hands” by J.J. Heller?????

"Your Hands" - JJ Heller

I have unanswered prayers I have trouble I wish wasn't there And I have asked a thousand ways That you would take my pain away You would take my pain away I am trying to understand How to walk this weary land Make straight the paths that crooked lie Oh Lord, before these feet of mine Oh Lord, before these feet of mine When my world is shaking, heaven stands When my heart is breaking I never leave your hands When you walked upon the earth You healed the broken, lost and hurt I know you hate to see me cry One day you will set all things right Yeah, one day you will set all things right When my world is shaking, heaven stands When my heart is breaking I never leave your hands Your hands that shaped the world Are holding me They hold me still