Funeral for John Duncan

I just met John and Priscilla when they visited us in July. John didn’t say much to me, just that he enjoyed the service and would probably be back (which they were). And he shook my hand firmly. I shake a lot of hands, so his handshake still sticks out to me.

Our interaction was much like that for the next several months, until he and Priscilla expressed to me that they wanted to join our Miller’s family. We set that up and welcomed them into our congregation in late November. Needless to say, I was looking forward to getting to know this couple better. It saddens me that I really didn’t get the chance to know him yet.

Thankfully, the family has been telling me some of the things I didn’t know about him. One of the first things I learned over the last couple of days is that John was a Marine. For those of you who don’t know me, I am a 24-year Air Force retiree. So of course there’s some friendly inter-service rivalry…and we like to tease each other. But what many people don’t know is that I used to carry around a Marine recruiter’s business card in my wallet in my younger years. The Marine Corps had a few things that I coveted; they definitely have the best dress uniform, by far, of all the services. But they also have a pride in service that is unrivaled. And I’m sure if I’d had the chance to discuss that with John, that would have come through.

I also learned that John was a long-time worker in the banking industry - over 40 years. Working in that career field certainly exposed him to a lot of people, and I’m sure helped him make quite a few connections in his town.

I’m also told that John was a bit of a tinkerer. He would do things like build a little rope system to serve as a remote door opener to let his best 4-legged friends outside without having to leave his chair…and then use another rope system to let them back in. He also setup a chair lift so his bride wouldn’t have to carry things up the stairs. As I’m told, the more you look around his house, the more you see the little things he tinkered with. His hands were in everything. The more I learn about John, the more I realize I missed out not getting to know him better.

When I first learned of John’s death, I called and talked to Kelly for a few minutes. One of the first things Kelly told me was, “Pastor, I just want you to know that Priscilla is surrounded by people who love Jesus. Our family loves Jesus.” Amen sister. And it’s clear that John did, too. From the first Sunday he and his wife visited us, they were in that pew very consistently.

As I talked with John’s family about this service, there were certain things that John wanted to happen. First and foremost was Psalm 23. Sure, it may be the most well-known psalm, but that doesn’t make it any less powerful testimony of a faithful child of God who looks to the Lord for strength, comfort, and good life. Likewise with John’s choice of hymns: Amazing Grace we all know. It is about the total reliance of the believer on the God who redeemed him. And God’s grace is indeed amazing; so amazing in fact, that any Christian who appreciates it even a little, loves to tell the story. And that story’s goal is fulfilled on the old rugged cross. These hymns John picked speak so incredibly well to his faith in Christ.

Faith is a little bit of a tricky word. Often it doesn’t mean the same thing to a non-Christian as it does to a Christian. Faith is, for a Christian, how we receive God’s gift of grace and mercy. What does that faith give you? It gives you what John was looking forward to - what all Christians look forward to - what Jesus described in the Gospel lesson we just heard. “All that the Father gives me,” Jesus says - that is, everyone the Father gives to Jesus - “will come to me.” Let’s talk about that phrase for a moment. Some biblical scholars I trust suggest that this translation is not nearly strong enough.

First, it’s really “all that the Father 'has given to me,’ which describes the gift as having been made once for all and as now being permanent as such a gift.” [R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel (Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 464.] It’s already done. The gift of the Father’s grace, accomplished on the cross in the death of His Son, is complete. And “all” in this case means everyone who does, has, or will trust in God’s promises…and that means for all time.

Second, when Jesus says that all of these “will come to me” what Jesus is really saying here is “shall get to me.” If you’re not a language nerd like I am, that might seem like not much of a difference, but I think there’s a world of difference there. What Jesus is saying is that everyone who the Father has promised to give to the Son WILL get to the Son. It will not fail. Why? Because the promises of God never fail.

Whoever gets to Jesus will not be cast away. They will get to remain with Christ…and that’s forever. This is where our Christian hope is. Eternal life with God because of Christ. And who are these who “get to him”? This is not some group with difficult entrance requirements. It’s not a secret society. All you need to know is what Jesus told us himself: “For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life...” Believe in him. Believe that he died for you on that Old Rugged Cross, took your sins with him and buried them in the grave, and opened the door to everlasting life with God.

And the next part is equally important: “and I will raise him up on the last day.” With Jesus’ own death and resurrection, we are shown that death is not the end. It is not the last chapter in the book. Jesus’ story does not stop on Friday. Jesus’ story is only partly about his death on that Good Friday. The real power of Jesus’ story is the empty tomb on Easter Sunday, where he showed us that he has authority over death itself. In his resurrection, he showed us God’s plan for all of us who believe in Him.

John believed in this, and all those around him who love and trust Jesus know what this promise means. It means that we will all be together again on that last day when Jesus raises us up. Of course it’s sad that John is not here with us now. That is the sting of death that we feel. But that sting gets less painful when we remember that it’s not the end of the story. And until that last day, we have yet another promise from God: we know that John is in his Heavenly Father’s tender care.

Very shortly, I’m going to ask those of you who share my Christian faith to stand and recite with me a statement of our faith. This Creed dates back over 1500 years, and it summarizes what it is that we believe, what John believed, and what gives us a reason to hope.

I want us to depart today with the absolute certainty that God is calling all of us to trust Him and to lean on Him. Because God wants nothing more than for all of us to be with Him. And because of His Son Jesus Christ, we can. Christ kicked open the tomb, and opened the door to the Father…and he has offered this to all of us as a gift. He’s paid the price, so all we need to do is accept it, just as our brother John did.

I am comforted to know that, while I didn’t know John well, our Heavenly Father who knows every one of us so well, now has John in His care. May all of us find peace in that, until we see each other again on that last day.

Would you please pray with me? Good and Gracious God, we thank you for giving us hope in uncertain times, in a chaotic world, and in our moments of great loss. Help us to always remember that hope, and to believe you when you say to us “do not be afraid”. We know that you always keep your promises, and it is because of your promises that we don’t need to fear anything in the world. Drown out the voices that would tell us otherwise. Help us to lean on you more each day, and to believe and trust in all that you have done for us to ensure our eternity with you. Most of all, we thank you for sending your Son to accomplish all of this. We pray all of this in His Holy Name. Amen.

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