The Way - A Mystery

Raymond and Kelly; Wilkens’ family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. May our risen Lord grant to us all today peace, comfort and strength as we mourn together Maryanne, your mom, aunt, sister, friend and fellow saint.

Today we are gathered for one of life’s saddest moments, the death of a loved one. As Maryanne’s pastor, it is my job today to offer you objective comfort and assurance from the Word of God. That is what a Lutheran funeral service is all about, giving objective comfort and assurance. It is not a subjective thing, where in one attempts to find strength and comfort by looking inside themselves, it is a matter of hearing God’s spoken Word that never changes, that is what makes it objective. The comfort, strength and assurance you will receive from me is God’s declared Word to you, it comes from outside yourself.

Almost three weeks ago we celebrated Easter. The world celebrates that holiday with bunnies and eggs, chocolate and other candies, and Easter baskets. Here in the Church, it has a whole different meaning. It is the highest celebration we observe: Jesus Christ rising from the dead. Because Jesus rose from the dead, after being crucified on the cross, there is awesome objective comfort for those who die in the faith. That is what our text this morning from the Gospel of John is all about.

Easter is the biggest thing in the Christian Church because since Jesus rose from the dead, after being crucified on the cross, there is awesome objective comfort for those who die in the faith. That is what our text this morning from the Gospel of John is all about.

The context of our text this morning is that Jesus had just told His disciples a short time prior to our text that “…when I am lifted up from the earth, [I] will draw all people to myself” (12:32), in other words, Jesus tells His disciples again that He is to be crucified and would rise again.

And so the text this morning begins with these words: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also” (vv 1-3).

This whole dialogue took place in order to comfort His disciples who were severely troubled by the fact that their beloved teacher was going to be betrayed by one of their own, falsely accused and condemned by the Sanhedrin (which is the Jewish legal counsel), and then brought before Pontius Pilate, who washed his hands of any wrong doing, because he found no fault in Jesus deserving death. But the Pharisees, chief Priests riled up the crowds to have Jesus crucified.

The point of His crucifixion was not that the Jewish religious leaders were getting their way with putting to death a trouble maker, who threatened their place of authority and therefore their wealth; no, the point was that this violent act was the way that God had planned to redeem the world of their problem with sin. God’s plan was a mystery. Jesus tells His disciples and you and I today that “[He is] the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through [Him]. (v 6)

All this is what Maryann believed in. She trusted Jesus as her Lord, she was Baptized into Him, as we read about just a few moments ago in the beginning of this service, from Romans chapter 6. Being Baptized into Christ Jesus, she, in essence, and spiritual reality, died with Christ in His death, and was raised together with Him in His resurrection. The apostle Paul in says “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ.” In Baptism, Maryann was clothed with Jesus, and His righteousness.

Why is that so necessary? Well, remember I brought up this little problem of redeeming the world from the problem of sin. Sin is not something anyone likes to talk about anymore. Probably because it has to do with our own shortcomings, our failures, our rebellion; and it makes people feel uncomfortable. But without the reality of our sin, the death and resurrection of Jesus has little to no meaning for us at all.

Sin is something that we are all born with. It started in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve who bought into the lie of the Satan that God was lying to them about eating the forbidden fruit. He said to Eve, “…You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (). Therefore, as the story goes, she ate of the fruit and gave some to Adam to eat. They were deceived into thinking God was withholding something from them, as prior to that, all they knew was God, and the perfect relationship He had with them.

Being like God is very tempting. I mean, who of us here today isn’t our own little god. We think we know better than Him; we live like we know better than Him, or at least don’t think He is serious at all about how we live our lives. It affects me also. I struggle with being my own little god, I know how He wants me to live, yet, I still, from time to time live how I want too. I smoke, I drink a beer now and then, I love a good glass of wine. I give in to the desires of my own flesh, especially when I eat too much, or don’t take care of someone that God puts in my daily path, because I feel too busy, or I make up a thousand excuses of why not to do something that is right. And the stuff that goes through my mind…ugh!

Everyone of us has these issues. We lie, we fantasize about sex with other people we are not married to, or we actually give in to those desires, we talk bad about our neighbor, we spread gossip, we want things that aren’t ours and sometimes we will go to extraordinary lengths to get them. We are prideful, boastful and everything in life is about “me-myself-and I”. Materialism rules our lives and we have shut God way out of our life. This is nothing new.

King David who lived about 1000 years before Jesus speaks of the culture in his day, who were struggling with, or just down right giving into these things, he says in Psalms, “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (; cf ; ).

Maryann was one of the most generous people I have ever met. When Eunice and I were in the market to purchase our first home, we went through Maryann. She worked her backside off to get us into the home we now live in. And when it closed and we moved in, she gave us gifts to help us get started. Raymond, you had shared with me how much money your mom gave away to just about every charity known to man. Yet one thing Maryann knew and believed, was that even that she could not buy her way into heaven. Even she was born sinful and desperately needed Jesus.

This is why Jesus was so important in her life. This is why she drug you along to church on Sunday’s before you had to stay home with Bob. She wanted to introduce you to Jesus who died for your sins, so that you can have forgiveness and hold tight to the promise of everlasting life.

Since everyone of us is sinful, and you cannot work out your own salvation, your redemption, your salvation had to come from outside of you. God took on human flesh when Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit, simply through the Word of God. His being born both fully God and fully man, was for your redemption. Sin has huge cost. Even if we were only to have committed one sin in the entirety of our life, we could never be able to pay the debt. God demands innocent blood for redemption.

When Adam and Eve sinned, they discovered they were naked, and shame came into the picture. Shame is a matter of being self absorbed. It knows what is right and it shows us our failure. Adam and Eve felt shame and so they sewed fig leaves together to hide their nakedness. After God cursed them, Satan, and the very earth, God shed the first blood ever. He took the life of an innocent animal in order to provide adequate coverings for their shame and guilt. He gave them animal skin to wear instead of those itchy fig leaves.

Blood is demanded by God as the price of redemption for sin. But the blood must come from an innocent, perfect, source. This is why Jesus was born. He never sinned, He kept all of God’s Law perfectly in thought, word and deed. Therefore, when He was nailed to the cross and gave up His life, shedding His blood for all of mankind, He made the payment God demanded for Maryann’s redemption, for your redemption, Raymond and Kelly, and for each and every one of us here today, even me.

This brings us back to Easter Sunday, and Jesus rising from the dead, and the promise He had made to His disciples shortly before His death, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me.” Maryann believed in Him, what He did for her, and the promise that was made to her. This is why she wanted to be in church every chance she could get. Because every time she came, she would bring her unworthiness of a sinful life and receive from Jesus, through me as His spokesman, the absolution, “In the stead, and by the command of my Lord Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins. In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Maryann was forgiven all her sin, and she held tight to the promise that Jesus was coming back to take her to Himself, so that where He is, she would be also. This is what being a Christian is all about. This is why Christian funerals are the way they are, at least us Lutherans. For we focus on Jesus. On His work done on the cross, the shedding of His blood that pays the price for all our sin. This is why Easter is such a big deal. He rose from the dead. Conquering our final enemy, death itself.

It’s a mystery. The Epistle reading from the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, he says, “Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of and eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (vv. 51-55).

Jesus is coming again. When He does, all the dead will be raised to life. Those who believe in Jesus go into His paradise, and the rest, well…we don’t really want to get into that today. Because today is not about the second death, eternal suffering and torment in hell. Today is about life! It is about Maryann’s life in Christ Jesus, and who He made her to be in her baptism: a redeemed child of God, forgiven of all her sins, and given the promise of eternal life. When Jesus returns, this body which has been cremated will be brought back to life. Flesh and bone, muscle, internal organs, coursing with blood, lungs taking in fresh air! She will never know sin again, because sin will no longer be a part of her existence, or ours. And because there is no more sin, there is no more suffering, nor more pain, no more sickness or disease, and no more death. For Maryann, and for all true believers in Jesus, death does not get the final word. Life does, perfection does, eternity in God’s paradise has the final word! Why? Because it is the promise of God. And He has never lied nor failed to fulfill His promise!

I leave you all with one more short piece of Scripture. From the book of Revelation, it is written: “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. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 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. 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.” (, ESV)

Maryann will have God Himself greet her in the flesh, and He will gently place His nail scared hands on her cheeks and with His thumbs gently wipe away her tears. All the garbage of this life will be no more. No more sin, no more suffering, no more sickness or disease, and no more death. For all those things will be gone forever.

Raymond, Kelly, friends, this is the Christian faith, it is all about Jesus! He does everything for you and your salvation, all you have to do is believe it to be true; that He is the Son of God, who died on the cross for your sins, and that God raised Him again. That’s it. It is so simple way too many people miss it. Yet, this is what Maryanne believed, this was her comfort and her hope in this life. I know she wants you all to experience this same comfort and hope, not only for today as we mourn her death, but for the rest of your lives. Jesus is calling you. In the resurrection, there will be a great reunion with those who have died in the the faith of Christ. I know she wants you all to be there with her.