Sermon Tone Analysis

Funeral for Rev. Otto Schreiber

April 24, 2006

John 10:11, 14-18

*“A Good Shepherd of The Great Shepherd”*

Introduction: Ruth Ann, Paul, and John, family and friends and all of us who are Christ’s sheep, of which Pastor Schreiber shepherded all these long years, grace to you and peace from our God and Father and our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen

            On Thursday morning, in the presence of his loving daughter, Ruth Ann, our pastor Otto Schreiber fell asleep in Jesus Arms.

We all know that this was a day that he longed for.

More than anything he longed to behold the face of his Savior Jesus, to embrace and be embraced by the One whom he spoke about and served all these long years.

Now Pastor Schreiber knows and sees His Savior as He was known and seen by Him.

For Otto it is a great and glorious day.

For us we still travel in the land veiled by tears, suffering and death.

But Otto knows none of these anymore.

His veil of tears, suffering, and death, have been removed and now He enjoys eternal life with His God and his Savior.

Contrary to what we might think, this day isn’t about Pastor Schreiber.

He would not have me speak of him, though I will at times.

Matter of fact he would be utterly uncomfortable with such talk.

It was not his way.

Rather he would want me to speak about the One that made this day possible, he would want me to point my finger towards His Savior and God, Jesus Christ, his Great Shepherd, and our Great Shepherd.

The week before last we celebrated holy week.

We again pondered all that our Lord has done for us.

We saw Him triumphantly enter Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, teach in the temple, institute His Holy and life giving supper, We meditated on His prayers in Gethsemane, his betrayal, His passion and His death.

Then on Easter Sunday we joyfully celebrated Christ’s victory over death, we witnessed again His glorious resurrection.

We understand that He did all these things as The Great Shepherd who gives His life for His sheep.

He gave His life for Pastor Schreiber, and He gave his life for us.

Of course our Savior understood that this was the work that He came to do, the reason for His coming.

In our Gospel lesson Jesus said, /“11I am the good shepherd.

The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

14I am the good shepherd.

I know my own and my own know me, 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.

16And I have other sheep that are not of this fold.

I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.

So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

17For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.

18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.

I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.

This charge I have received from my Father."/

So our Lord choose to lay down His life so that forgiveness of sins and eternal life would be given to the whole world, and received by those that believe and trust in Him as Savior.

Christ choose to do these things for Pastor Schreiber and for us.

Just as sheep do not choose their own shepherd, we cannot choose our shepherd.

But we have The Good shepherd that chooses us.

Pastor Schreiber was chosen to be one of our Lord’s sheep.

92 years ago Pastor Schreiber was called to follow Jesus.

That call began when Pastor Schreiber was baptized with water into the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.

From that time, in faith, he followed his shepherd Jesus.

Like his Father William before him, pastor Schreiber’s call to faith was followed with a call to humble service as a called and ordained pastor, a shepherd following the good Shepherd, leading the flocks of Christ.

Jesus said, “/16And I have other sheep that are not of this fold.

I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.

So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”/

How is it that our Lord finds his lost sheep?

How is it that they will hear his voice?

How does He bring his one flock together?

Our Lord uses simple means to bring us salvation.

He uses His Word.

He uses water, bread and wine.

He uses simple, sinful men like pastor Schreiber, myself, and these men here, to proclaim God’s salvation and administer the sacraments.

God instituted the office of the holy ministry to provide for his sheep, to provide for His church to provide for us.

He takes men who recognize themselves as sinners, those that recognize their desperate need for forgiveness and draws them to their Savior Jesus.

Then he sends them out into the world.

This was the relationship that pastor Schreiber had with His Lord.

As holy as he appeared he recognized his own sin.

And he joyfully rejoiced in the forgiveness of sins through his Savior Jesus Christ.

This joy he shared with us.

God chose him to proclaim God’s law and just judgment and condemnation sinners.

God chose pastor Schreiber to proclaim God’s grace and forgiveness.

In our Epistle Lesson for yesterday Jesus speaking to the disciples, said, "Peace be with you.

As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you."

22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.

23 If you forgive the sins of anyone, they are forgiven; if you withhold forgiveness from anyone, it is withheld."

Pastor Schreiber was sent to us and proclaimed this word of peace.

God used him to pronounce our forgiveness, and for the good order of the church, God called him to give new life through baptism and give us forgiveness and life in the Lord’s Supper.

This is what a good shepherd does.

In 1938 pastor Schreiber was ordained at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church.

For 68 years he was the pastor and Shepherd of many churches, Trinity, Creston, IA., Trinity Cherokee, IA., St. John’s, Newhall, IA., Immanuel, Brookfield, WI, “The River Church” and St. John’s, Mayville.

During all those years and even the ones following, he was a good shepherd.

He was a good shepherd because he always pointed our attention to his Great Shepherd, Jesus.

Jesus worked through him to call many of us into the flock of God, to strengthen us and encourage us on towards our eternal home in heaven.

68 years in the ministry.

That is a long time, isn’t it?

One question I always had, but never expressed, was how did he do it?

I could ask many of the pastors here today that same question.

I’ve only been in the ministry for a few short years.

During those years I have already been scarred deep down to my very soul with the burdens and pains of ministry.

There is the burden of faithfully proclaiming both God’s Law and Gospel.

There is the bitterness of sharing the pain, suffering and death of God’s people on earth.

There is the burden of men’s sin, sin which condemns some to die in hell, sin that plagues our peoples lives and separates them from the peace that we have in Jesus.

There is the burden of not doing enough, or even of doing too much.

When I looked at pastor Schreiber I was amazed.

He seemed unscathed, unscarred, but I knew that this must not be true.

Ruth Ann, John, Paul, I know that you witnessed many of the challenges that he went through, that you went through with him and your mother Ethel.

Still, after all of it, He was at peace.

Why, he would often remind me.

Our Lord is always with us.

We get to celebrate God’s great love for his people in Jesus Christ.

We are witnesses to birth and God’s rebirth in the waters of Baptism.

We understand the joy of one repentant sinner.

We love and are loved by our people.

Could there be any better thing to be called to do? Pastor Schreiber did what he could do.

He understood his own limitations, he didn’t think too highly about himself.

Pastor Schreiber new that it was God working through Him, to do His will, to save the lost, and strengthen the sheep.