Harold Schilling Funeral Wednesday Petnecost Twelve

            Dear Marian, Jan, Ron, Ann, family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ.  Grace and peace to you from God our father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  This is the day that the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it.  This is an awesome verse.  And since I have met your family it has come to have an even greater meaning.  So could there be a better verse for this moment?  I doubt it. 

            This verse is how Harold began his mornings.  No matter what time the morning began, this was the verse that was spoken.  Harold’s philosophy was there are no bad days, only bad moments.  Why let a bad moment ruin the whole day? After all This is the day the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it. 

            But what about this day?  What about today?  Can we rejoice and be glad in today?  Even though this moment is sad.  Even though Harold will be missed.  Even though everything is kind of surreal right now.  Can we rejoice and be glad is this day?  Yes. 

            We can rejoice and be glad for the great gift that Harold has been.  He has touched so many lives.  If there is one word to describe him that word would be “hero.”  And not just because he served our country in the Navy.  Though it would qualify him to have such a title.  That is how his family saw him.  That is how he was.  Harold always wanted to help.  He was always there to give a pat on the back.  Or to flash that famous Schilling smile or wink.  He was never to busy to play cards with his grandchildren.  And from what I understand he could really cut a rug.  He loved to laugh and tell jokes.  And is there anything funnier than the way he could get Uncle Bob to crack up?    Harold loved his family and he had a deep love for Jesus  And he shared that love and passed it on to his family.  As you remember all the ways that he has touched your lives, all the good times you shared, all that he has given you. You can rejoice and be glad, because this hero blessed you in so many ways.  And I am sure that you know that he would tell you.  This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. 

            When we “rejoice” in this day we are doing more than merely being happy or joyful.  For when we rejoice, we are rejoicing in who our God is, and what he has done.  So when we rejoice this day we are not only rejoicing for the blessing that Harold has been, but we are also rejoicing in who our God is.  He is love.  I pray that you may have the power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of God for you.  He is faithful.  His faithfulness reaches up to the skies.  He is with you always even to the end of time.  He will never leave you.  He will never forsake you.  Even as you walk through this valley of the shadow of death, his rod and staff comfort you.  As we rejoice in this day we are rejoicing in who our God is.  He is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  He is the God of all comfort and comforts us in our troubles.  He is the God who loved us so much that he sent his only son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.  So we rejoice in this day.

            When we are “glad” in this day, we are doing more than merely being pleased or delighted.  For when we are glad this day we are glad for our God’s salvation.  The God in whom we rejoice, has given to Harold, to you, to me salvation, and in this we are glad.  And this salvation has come in God’s son Jesus.  He came into this world.  He suffered and died on the cross and three days latter he was raised again to life.  In this Jesus paid the price for our sins.  Your sins.  My sins.  Harold’s sins.  That means there is forgiveness through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, you and I are able to have a relationship with God.  We are able to call him Father.  And we know that he will care for us. 

            When Jesus was raised from the dead he destroyed the power of death.  And though it seems that this day death has won.  Because Harold belongs to Jesus, death cannot win.  As we heard earlier, “When we were baptized in Christ Jesus, we were baptized into his death.  We were buried therefore with him by Baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live a new life.  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.”  This means, that on the last day.  Harold, along with all the other believers who have died in Jesus, will be raised to life.  And his body will no longer suffer from Alzheimer’s.  There will be no more sickness, no more sin, no more suffering and no more death.  And we will live with Harold and Jesus forever.  When we are “glad” in this day, as the psalm says.  We are glad in the salvation that our God has worked in our lives, and especially in the life of Harold.  So we are glad in this day. 

            This is the day the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Rejoice in the blessing that Harold has been.  Rejoice in who our God is.  Be glad in the salvation that he has given to Harold, to you, to me and all who believe.  Be glad that we will see Harold again.  This is the hope that you and I have.  It is a sure and certain hope.  You can take it to the bank. 

            In saying this I do not mean to imply that you should not be sad.  It is ok to be sad.  It is ok to miss Harold.  It is ok to cry.  And the tears will come.  In scripture we see Jesus react to the death of Lazarus with tears.  You don’t have to be strong.  It is healthy to cry.  When the tears do come, know that God is with you.  And that though we morn, we do not morn like those who have no hope.

            I am thankful that I have gotten to know you.  Your family is near and dear to my heart, and I am honored that you have allowed me to be with you in this time.  My prayer for you in this time is one that is seen in the liturgy.  It is, “Help us, we pray, in the midst of things we cannot understand, to believe and trust in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection to life everlasting.”

            In the communion of saints we know that God has given us to each other.  So that we can bear one another’s burdens.  We morn with you and are here for you.  Also we know that as we come together to worship God or to receive the sacrament that we are joining in the worship that is taking place in Heaven.  And that as Pastor Koch so elegantly put it on Sunday, at the other end of the table are those saints who have gone ahead of us.  At the other end of the table is Harold.

            In the forgiveness of sins we find peace.  Peace that comes from knowing that because God has forgiven us, we will be with him.  In the resurrection to life everlasting we know, as I said before, that death is not the final answer.  But that on the last day those who have died in Christ will be raised to life, just as he was raised to life.  And death will never again be able to touch them.  This is my prayer for you. 

            Marian, Jan, Ron, Ann.  This is the day that the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Amen.