Luke 2 29-32

Funeral Sermon

Irene Koepsell

Luke 2:29-32

“Mine Eyes Have Seen Thy Salvation”

Luke 2:29-32 “Lord, now let Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.

            Laura and Floyd, Doreen, friends and family, dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus, our Lord -- “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.”

            Everyone must leave this world.  No one can stay here.  Some people must depart after a shorter period of time and others after a longer period of time.  For all people, it is a relatively short period of time compared to eternity.  When a person leaves this world, this life and this world in death they don’t stop existing.  They don’t go into what some people call a soul sleep, where they unconsciously wait the day of the resurrection.  When a person dies their soul goes to its final resting place, a final destination.  The important thing, maybe the most important thing, is where that destination is.  The Lord has told us that there are only two final destinations.  One is a place of rest, in the presence of the Lord.  The other is a place of unrest and separation from God.  The scriptures tell us that on the last day the body will be raised and rejoined with the soul where it has gone.  We meet here with joy because we celebrate God’s grace and love in the life of Irene Koepsell.  We celebrate all the blessings that her heavenly Father has given her through her Savior Jesus Christ.  We meet here with joy because she saw here salvation and she has now departed in peace and is now in the glorious presence of the Lord in Heaven.

            The words of our text were spoken by Simeon.  He was an aged man that believed that the Savior was coming.  He had been promised that he would not depart this life until he had actually seen the Savior with his eyes.  When Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the temple to present Him according to the Law of Moses, Simeon came over and took Jesus in his arms and spoke the words of our text.

            Simeon was ready to depart this life in peace because he knew where he was going.  His eyes had seen God’s salvation which God had prepared for him.  Jesus was his salvation.  Jesus would make it possible for him to be saved.  Jesus, God’s only Son, would grow up, suffer and die for the sins of all people.  Most importantly for Simeon, Jesus would die for his sins.  Simeon recognized that he was a sinner.  He realized his desperate need for a Savior.  He believed in Jesus and he was saved. 

            Irene also lived to a very old age.  She was blessed with a long life.  She did not see Jesus with her physical eyes, like Simeon, but she saw Him with the eyes of faith.  She saw Jesus when she was baptized into His name and the name of the Holy life giving God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  In the waters of baptism God made her his own dear child.  She continued to see Jesus as she confessed her faith in Him, believing that He was her Savior that God had sent into the world for her.  This was her life-long confession of faith.  This was her faith as she departed this life to see the salvation that the Lord had prepared for her.  Two weeks ago Laura, Irene and myself celebrated the Lord’s salvation in her life.  I asked Irene if she would like to celebrate the Lord’s supper.  She most certainly did.  She bowed her head and folded her hands, we confessed our sins, and received the Lord’s forgiveness, in His Word and in His body and blood given for her.  She saw her salvation on that day and she sees it even more clearly today as she is with the Lord.

            Irene’s faith was expressed in her regular attendance to the River Church through out her life, where she heard God’s Word and received Christ’s body and blood for the forgiveness of her sins.  Here she saw her salvation, prepared for her.  Here she saw her Savior Jesus who died for here.  Her faith was expressed in the love that she had for her family and especially her husband Walter, her daughter Irene and her granddaughter Doreen.  Her faith was expressed in her life, enjoying the blessings that God had given her, cooking apple pies, getting her hands dirty in the garden and taking pictures.

            We thank God that he blessed Irene with a long life.  We thank him that He has taken her to be with Himself to the place that He has prepared for her.  Irene like Simeon can say, “Lord, let Thy servant depart in peace, according to Your Word, for my eyes have seen Thy Salvation which Thou hast prepared for me.”

            This Salvation has been prepared for you too.  As God loved Irene He loves you and has prepared a place for you.  God loves you so much that He sent His only Son into the world to save you and give you eternal life.  Follow in Irene’s steps and believe in Jesus, trusting alone in Him because he died for you to save you from your sins.  He came into the world so that even in death you and Irene could depart in peace, knowing that death is not the end but only the beginning.  It is the beginning of truly seeing our own salvation and the place of peace that God has prepared for each one of us who believes in His Son Jesus. 

            The peace that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through faith in Jesus Christ.  Amen.