Funeral of Alice Dobrucky

“The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away” (Ps 90:10). By the Bible’s own accounting, Alice was granted a life beyond the normal measure, ten years in addition to what Moses calls “the years of our life.” And yet, for us who remain behind, for her husband and sons, for the family and friends who mourn her loss, eighty years seems far too short. Today we are confronted with the terrible nature of death that has intruded upon God’s once-perfect world. Even though we know that every one of us will die unless Christ returns first, we are still never prepared to encounter death. It always comes as a violent shock, and we are never ready to part with our loved ones. Something in our being recognizes that death is foreign to God’s created order. Separation is not what God intended. Death is evil. We will never see it as a friend. We will never welcome it. We will always feel the need to fight against it, because we understand that it is not how the world was meant to be.

As Christians we know that the separation death causes is only temporary. We know that we will be reunited with Alice and all the faithful departed. We know that our Lord has triumphed over death. We know that because he is risen, we too shall rise. This knowledge gives us hope, but it does not remove the pain of losing Alice. It does not staunch our grief. In fact with Alice that grief is more acute because none of us got to say goodbye. None of us had time to prepare to let her go. No, we will never look kindly upon death. We will never be friends. We will never declare truce. Death is our enemy. Indeed, it is the last enemy that we will face in this world.

In the face of this relentless foe, thanks be to God that we have a Shepherd. Speaking for every Christian, David confesses, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Ps 23:4). Everyone walks through this valley. No one escapes. But can you imagine having to do this on your own, without a Savior, without a Shepherd? Can you imagine having to face death without the only One who has defeated death? When we consider Alice’s time on earth, we can see how truly blessed she was to be in the care of the Good Shepherd all eighty of her years.

Alice was baptized on November 14, 1939. At that time Germany had just invaded Poland, triggering the start of World War II, one of the darkest times in human history. Our current crisis hardly compares to what our fathers and mothers faced in the previous century. But Alice had nothing to fear. Through holy Baptism, she had been added to the flock of God, which meant that nothing could harm her. Jesus had bound himself by his promise to give Alice eternal life, and nothing could snatch her out of his hand. For eighty years Jesus continued to lead Alice through this valley of the shadow of death. And during those eighty years, Alice heard his voice, and followed her Shepherd with joy.

Could there be a more blessed life than this? Surely goodness and mercy did follow Alice all the days of her life. God blessed her with a kind and faithful husband, with two godly sons, and with countless other friends, neighbors, and brothers and sisters in Christ. And we will all miss Alice dearly. We will miss her whisper that could be heard a block away. I will miss her voice added to mine during the Words of Institution. But we know beyond all doubt that she is in good hands. As she did in life, now Alice rests completely in the care of her Shepherd.

A week ago the hospital called and said that Alice would be coming home. Her husband and son prepared to receive her. But Byram was not her true home. This broken world was not her true home. It’s not your true home. Heaven is our home. Having kept his promises to Alice for eighty years, our Lord, in his perfect time, sent his holy angels to carry Alice to her true home. He had promised to give her eternal life, and now that promise is kept. He had promised to walk with her through this dark valley, and now the days of her pilgrimage are over.

Jesus says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (Jn 10:27). Last Wednesday, and she had done for eighty years, Alice heard Jesus’ voice and followed him, through the valley of the shadow of death and into eternal life. And now she will never perish, and no one will snatch her out of his hand. Amen.