Pearl Sherstobetoff Funeral

My name is Joshua VanZandbeek, I am the pastor of Leask Gospel Tabernacle in Leask, where Tanys attends regularly.

In talking with Tanys and Auston about Pearl, I learned a few things about her life. Things that we have heard today: Her love of family, her hospitality, her hardworking nature. I also heard her commitment to both her Doukhobor heritage and her commitment to the church.

I asked Tanys a bit about Doukhobor life and culture, and one of the main things she brought up was peace. Now Pacifism and peace are a little different, but it’s the larger idea of peace immediately made me think of the verse Auston just read:

John 14:27 ESV

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

These are Jesus’ words to His disciples, not long before Jesus was arrested, tried, and eventually hung on a cross. In light of what was to come, Jesus speaks a blessing of peace over His disciples. This same blessing from Christ I believe brings us great comfort today, and a chance to think.

When you think about this word peace, what do you think of? Often we think of a trouble-free life, of maybe no war, or pain, or hurting. A tranquil life maybe, one that doesn’t have problems.

Here’s the problem, problems come! What happens when we face trouble, or trial? What happens when, like now, we experience loss? How can we have this peace when all is not necessarily well in our lives?

Especially when we lose loved ones, we might ask, where is peace? Death is a reality that is true for each of us, but when it comes it hurts and is hard. Losing someone we love shakes us, even when we have prepared for it for a while.

Jesus promises us a peace that, despite the turmoil we might be surrounded with, will not leave us. The peace Jesus promises in this passage goes far beyond that. This type of peace goes beyond our understanding. It carries with it the blessing of being in right relationship with God, and a sense of wholeness in all areas of your life, even in the midst of the storm. The same blessing of peace He speaks over His disciples is for everyone who has accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour. This is a peace that somehow permeates even when we experience loss or suffering or hardship. It goes beyond our understanding.

Philippians 4:7 ESV

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

What brought this passage to mind for today is how this is one of the tenants of Doukhobor heritage. A heritage which from everything I learn, Pearl did not take lightly. They try to strive for peace. To live lives that are peaceable. To live even in peace. But true peace, peace that cannot be shaken, can only be found in Jesus. Learning about Doukhobor lifestyle - a culture that was part of Pearl’s life and I’m guessing others here - made me think of Jesus’ words to us. Words that can be of great comfort when we experience the loss of someone loved.

It’s interesting that in the next breath Jesus says “Not as the world gives.” In this world, many things try to offer us peace. We look around and try to find peace in the relative stability of our current situation, or maybe on friends or family who are there. Sometimes we turn to things that are unhealthy for us, like drugs, alcohol, or something of the like. We desire a peace-filled life, and when our peace is shaken we try to solidify it again.

Jesus tells us here how to experience a peace-filled life. It’s through Him. We can try and seek other means of peace, whatever it may be, but to truly know peace, even when life around us is far from peaceful, we need to look to Him.

Finally, we read Jesus’ words at the end of this verse. They can be a great comfort to us when we go through times of loss. “Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Why should our hearts not be troubled or afraid?

Because in Jesus we are safe in the knowledge that no matter what we encounter here, He provides peace, and a peace that will surely go into eternity. For anyone who knows Jesus as Saviour, we wait in hope of His coming kingdom. And in that kingdom, the things that cause hurt and pain and turmoil will be gone.

Revelation 21:4 ESV

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.”

Though we experience trouble in this world, and pain, suffering, and loss, it doesn’t have to be the end. In Jesus, there is hope. Death becomes not the end, but simply a doorway, where we pass into the life that is filled with the peace found only in Jesus.

Pearl was deeply involved in church, and in her heritage. While we do not make the judgement call about where any person after death, we do trust the One who is completely righteous and just in His judgements. And that One is the same One who gives peace to all who accept Him as Lord and Saviour.

We are gathered here today to remember someone who loved her family faithfully, worked hard to care for and be hospitable to those that came to her home, and was selfless in her service to others. When we lose someone like that, it rocks our world, and it hurts, even when we see it coming. But, there is an offer for comfort, for peace, and for hope. That offer is in Jesus.

I’d like to encourage you to think about that today. It’s the same message I believe Pearl knew, from what I have learned about her life. Today gives us a chance to remember and to think about how we will respond to loss, and the day death eventually comes for us too. In that day, where will your peace be found? I pray that it will be found in the Saviour, who even now is walking beside each one of us as we honor Pearl’s memory and legacy.

I pray today you will take time as we remember Pearl to think about where your peace is found, and accept the offer of salvation from the One into whose hands we now commit Pearl.

Pray