Memorial Service for Audrey Karsten

Beloved family and friends of Audrey Karsten, it is an honour to share this day with you. You all knew her far better than I did, and yet, Audrey, like so many of God’s people, Audrey had a way of giving herself to those around her, so that in a short time, you could know her.

Audrey loved God. She possessed a heart after God, and this was evident in all that she did. When I visited her a week ago Thursday, she was quite weak, but her grip was quite strong still. He voice was faint, but she kept saying, “Thank you for coming to see me.” Her main concern was not for herself, it was for those around her.

When you think of Audrey, you must think of her in the manner of the parable of the good samaritan. Audrey was a good samaritan. She was a good neighbour. She loved others. She cared for those, who, toward the end, cared for her. She told me about some of the people she was praying for. Even while being served, she was serving.

, a psalm of ascents, recited by those on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, is a reminder about who God is. God is our helper, he is the maker of heaven and earth. The Lord watches over us. The Lord watches over our coming and going, both now and forevermore. The Lord watched over Audrey’s going from her life on earth to her coming into Jesus’ presence.

Because of her faith and trust in God, Audrey was able to rejoice in the Lord always. Regardless of her circumstances, she could rejoice. And that’s what the Apostle Paul wants us to do also.

Regardless of your circumstances (keep in mind that Paul wrote this from prison, he wrote it as someone who had known illness, health, who had known what it was like to have nothing, and what it was like to have a lot. He’d been shipwrecked, beaten, stoned and whipped, reviled and hated. And his message after all that: rejoice in the Lord.

We are rejoicing in the Lord. That’s key. The Lord, he’s our source of joy, of happiness, of delight! For the apostle Paul, for Audrey, you could’ve stripped away everytihng but the Lord, and they would have been delighted. You could have given them the whole world, but if you took away their Lord, they would have been sad, lost, and dejected without him.

When we find our delight in the Lord, we discover a change comes over us. We are able to excercise gentleness. In all the time I knew Audrey, I experienced gentleness. Now, I’m not saying she was perfect. I know that she was as much a sinnner in need of a saviour as the next person. I and others observed a gentleness, that came from the nearness of walking with the Lord.

I do remember reading this passage a few times with Audrey, most recently last week Thursday. I love that the Lord, that Jesus knows us so well.

When you hear the words, “Do not be anxious” don’t for a minute think that being anxious, worrying, being full of cares and concerns is something sinful that you need to avoid. Jesus is telling us not to be anxious, a. because he knows we will be anxious. and b. because he knows it is unnecessary to be anxious.

Here’s an example. Suppose your beloved child (all children are beloved) is heading off to college, far across the country. She’s driving. Alone. Who wouldn’t be a bit anxious, a lot anxious? But here’s the truth: Jesus says to you, “Why are you anxious? Don’t you know that I am with her? I am perfectly trustworthy. I am watching over her coming and going.”

Still, though, it is one thing to know that truth, it is another to know it in our hearts. So Paul continues: when you have anxiety, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

So, you’re anxious, you know Jesus is with you, or if you’re anxious for others, you know he’s with them, in every circumstance, pray and petition and make requests of God. God loves it when we pray. God loves it when we petition him. He’s our Father in Heaven. Every dad loves being asked things by their children! Sometimes us human fathers get exasperated, and don’t always respond well, or maybe that’s just me. But our Father is perfect. He takes the time. He gives himself to us. Ask.

Paul teaches us to ask with thanksgiving. Thanksgiving, gratitude, love, all remind us of the treasure that is God himself. We give thanks for the treasure of having God himself.

Then, God promises to guar our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus while giving us his peace. Peace is the antidote for anxiety, worry and care. Because God cares for us, we can receive the peace he gives us. We can trust him. No, that’s not a guarantee that everhything will be perfect. Jesus told us that in this life we will have trouble. We will have sadness, pain and suffering.

All of that is a a result of sin. All have sinned and have fallen short of God’s glory. But Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Jesus willingly died, paying for all our sins. All who trust in him, have everlasting life.

If you trust in Jesus, set your hearts and minds on all that is noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. Think on those things, don’t think on negative things. Whatever you’ve learned from scripture. Whatever you’ve learned from God’s servant, Audrey. Put those things into practice.

Let me conclude with just a few more thoughts. God gives us one another because we need each other. We can’t walk through life alone. God gave us the apostle Paul to teach us what we need to know to live in the joy of the Lord Jesus Christ.

God gave us Audrey so that we could learn from her what it is to be a good neighbour. What it is to love God. What it is to serve God with our whole life. What it is to pray for and care for others, even in pain, in sorrow, in trouble.

Let us do likewise. Amen.

And because of the importance of relationships here, I believe these relationships will continue in the new heaven and the new earth. Peter, James and John met Moses and Elijah at Jesus’ transfiguration.