He Breathed His Last

The reading for this afternoon highlights the depth of the connection between our brother in Christ, Craig, and our Lord. That connection is what this service and his life are about. What is remarkable here is not that Craig died, but that he died so well. Listen to these words from St. Luke’s Gospel concerning Jesus on the cross:

(Name) and Jesus Shared in Death What They Shared in Life and What They Now Share in Eternity.

I. (Name) confessed the faith.

II. (Name) lived the faith.

III. (Name) waited on God.

Sermon

The reading for this morning highlights the depth of the connection between our brother in Christ, (name), and our Lord. That connection is what this service and his life are about. What is remarkable here is not that (name) died, but that he died so well. Listen to these words from St. Luke’s Gospel concerning Jesus on the cross:

It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last. Now when the centurion saw what had taken place, he praised God, saying, “Certainly this man was innocent!” And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts. And all his acquaintances and the women who had followed him from Galilee stood at a distance watching these things. ()

Most of us here know that Craig lived with horrible pain most every moment of every day, for a long time. Lately, I understand he we dealing with a lung infection that had to make it hard for him to breathe. One of the things that commends this passage from Luke are these words: “He breathed his last” (v 46). Our Lord knew what it was to live with incredible pain, and labor for each small catch of air and then, finally, to lose. One of the tortures of crucifixion was the possibility of dying from asphyxiation before bleeding to death or dying of shock. Jesus knew and endured the suffering Craig knew and endured.

But why talk about Jesus’ death? Why focus on someone else when we should be thinking about Craig? Because

Craig and Jesus Shared in Death What They Shared in Life and What They Now Share in Eternity.

They were bound together in a way that means Jesus’ death was Craig’s death and Craig’s death was Jesus’ death. They shared in the same story—lived a single life between them.

I. Craig Confessed the Faith

This sounds odd to our ears, but let’s think about it for a moment. Craig and Jesus were bound together. As a young child God baptized Craig, and in so doing united him with Jesus. Craig heard the Gospel proclaimed, the Gospel that repeatedly assured him that Jesus is the vine and we are the branches, that we are one with him even as he and the Father are one. They had one body, that of Jesus Christ, and they had one Spirit, God the Holy Spirit.

So how do we know this is true? How do we know that Craig and Jesus were so intimately bound together?

We know this because Craig believed and confessed he believed. He witnessed to the faith and stood up to be counted among the people of God. He confessed the faith in the language of the Church from ancient times.

But there was another way, a very important way, in which Craig confessed the faith. He lived according to the Word of God and let the light of Christ shine through him into the lives of others. I’m told that Craig was fond of quoting from .

Matthew 6:34 NKJV

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Craig confessed the faith, the truth that he and his Lord were one, by letting Christ live in him and letting everyone see that.

II. Craig Waited On God

Craig confessed the faith by being a good father to Christopher and Renee.

Being a Christian father goes hand in hand with being a Christian husband. Craig was both. He confessed the faith in his love and devotion to his wife. To be a good husband is to love your wife as Christ loves his Church. (Name) and his wife never wanted to be apart if they did not absolutely have to be. By insisting that they not be apart, he was confessing that God had put them together.

He took in stride service in the infantry during World War II, a burden borne by so many of his generation. I can’t say he was unmarked by that service, but he was certainly not destroyed by it. It did not diminish him. He was a soldier, an infantryman, a man of arms, and yet right up to the end, he was always gentle. It was not his sinful human nature that made him so peaceful. It was the life of Christ within him, which he confessed quietly.

Craig Waited On God

He confessed the faith by being loyal, devoted, and patient. Though his motorcycle accident robbed him of being able to function like he wanted, Craig learned the lessons of waiting on God. He was virtually dependent on everyone for his care, which teaches us much about our relationship with God.

Of the continual confessions Craig made throughout his life, is that passage I quoted above: “Do not worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will worry about its own things.” And the reason why this is so important and relevant is because Craig knew that his Lord and God would be there to carry him into the tomorrows.

The Psalmist knew this too well: “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me; Thy rod and staff they comfort me.” (). The Lord Jesus was present with Craig at the end, and that should not surprise us at all, especially when death is imminent. The rod and staff of Jesus — our Good Shepherd — were there with Craig to comfort him in the end. This should comfort you as well, for it was that confidence in the forgiving grace of Jesus that made Craig’s life what it was and is.

Some people draw comfort with the thou, “How could he feel Jesus with him?” A far better question is “How could he not?” As closely bound to Christ as this Christian was, it is not at all surprising that when death seemed imminent, his Lord would be present. (Name’s) unshakable conviction that Jesus died for his sins and thus united him to his heavenly Father was God’s greatest gift to our friend. It was that confidence in the forgiving grace of Jesus that made (name’s) life what it was and is.

How dreadful would it be to face death without the rock-solid assurance that Christ will face it with you and that you are guaranteed victory in him? What misery it would be not to know what would come after death, only to find that it was the unspeakable loneliness of hell! Craig had no such fears, and his courage in the face of death was a beautiful confession of God’s grace. Christopher, Kelly, and Renee, your Dad wanted this assurance to be yours too.

The faith that Craig confessed so simply yet so fully, his genuine bond with Jesus, is the same faith God our Father has gives to all who believe. The secret to what sustained Craig through the trials of this live, and through the gates of death will sustain us as we wait to follow him in God’s good time. We look forward to the resurrection of the dead on the Last Day, because then all who believe will see Craig agin.

Craig’s life is like Jesus’ life. On the cross, Jesus breathed his last breath, but on Easter his breath was back. Last week Craig breathed his last breath, but now he has his breath back. Even though his death may leave us breathless for a while, by God’s grace we, too, will have our breath restored in God’s good time.

Note: This sermon is a reprise of the sermon “He Breathed His Last,” by Rev. Charles E. Varsogea, which appeared in Concordia Pulpit Resources, volume 9, issue 1.