A SERVICE OF DEATH AND RESURRECTION for Kymberlee Dee DiGeronimo

GATHERING

Dying, Christ destroyed our death.

Rising, Christ restored our life.

Christ will come again in glory.

As in baptism Kymberlee put on Christ,

    so in Christ may Kymberlee be clothed with glory.

Here and now, dear friends, we are God's children.

What we shall be has not yet been revealed; 

   but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him,

    for we shall see him as he is.

Those who have this hope purify themselves

    as Christ is pure.

THE WORD OF GRACE

Jesus said, I am the resurrection and I am life.

Those who believe in me, even though they die, yet shall they live,

    and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.

I died, and behold I am alive for evermore,

    and I hold the keys of hell and death.

Because I live, you shall live also.

GREETING

Friends, we have gathered here to praise God

    and to witness to our faith as we celebrate the life of Kymberlee Dee .

We come together in grief, acknowledging our human loss.

May God grant us grace, that in pain we may find comfort,

    in sorrow hope, in death resurrection.

HYMN*

Please rise in body or in spirit as we join in singing our first hymn “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”, hymn # 89 in the red hymnal.

PRAYER

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Let us pray.

Eternal God,

we praise you for the great company of all those

   who have finished their course in faith

   and now rest from their labor.

We praise you for those dear to us

   whom we name in our hearts before you.

Especially we praise you for Kymberlee,

   whom you have graciously received into your presence.

To all of these, grant your peace.

Let perpetual light shine upon them;

and help us so to believe where we have not seen,

   that your presence may lead us through our years,

   and bring us at last with them

    into the joy of your home

    not made with hands but eternal in the heavens;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

PROCLAMATION AND RESPONSE

NEW TESTAMENT LESSON

Revelation 21:1–7 NRSV

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” 5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

HYMN *

Please rise in body or in spirit as we join in singing our first hymn “Amazing Grace”, hymn # 378 in the red hymnal. We’ll sing verses 1, 2, 4, & 5.

GOSPEL LESSON*

Luke 24:13–35 NLT

13 That same day two of Jesus’ followers were walking to the village of Emmaus, seven miles from Jerusalem. 14 As they walked along they were talking about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things, Jesus himself suddenly came and began walking with them. 16 But God kept them from recognizing him. 17 He asked them, “What are you discussing so intently as you walk along?” They stopped short, sadness written across their faces. 18 Then one of them, Cleopas, replied, “You must be the only person in Jerusalem who hasn’t heard about all the things that have happened there the last few days.” 19 “What things?” Jesus asked. “The things that happened to Jesus, the man from Nazareth,” they said. “He was a prophet who did powerful miracles, and he was a mighty teacher in the eyes of God and all the people. 20 But our leading priests and other religious leaders handed him over to be condemned to death, and they crucified him. 21 We had hoped he was the Messiah who had come to rescue Israel. This all happened three days ago. 22 “Then some women from our group of his followers were at his tomb early this morning, and they came back with an amazing report. 23 They said his body was missing, and they had seen angels who told them Jesus is alive! 24 Some of our men ran out to see, and sure enough, his body was gone, just as the women had said.” 25 Then Jesus said to them, “You foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures. 26 Wasn’t it clearly predicted that the Messiah would have to suffer all these things before entering his glory?” 27 Then Jesus took them through the writings of Moses and all the prophets, explaining from all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. 28 By this time they were nearing Emmaus and the end of their journey. Jesus acted as if he were going on, 29 but they begged him, “Stay the night with us, since it is getting late.” So he went home with them. 30 As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. 31 Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! 32 They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?” 33 And within the hour they were on their way back to Jerusalem. There they found the eleven disciples and the others who had gathered with them, 34 who said, “The Lord has really risen! He appeared to Peter.” 35 Then the two from Emmaus told their story of how Jesus had appeared to them as they were walking along the road, and how they had recognized him as he was breaking the bread.

SERMON

Friends, we gather here today because we find ourselves in a season of grief.

Someone we lost suddenly, with little to no opportunity for closure,

is no longer with us

and we are left behind wondering where God is in all of this.

That person is, of course, our beloved Kymberlee...

Someone who was the light in the room...

a kind, loving, compassionate person...

who touched the lives of everyone she encountered.

In our Scripture today, we find a similar situation.

Clopias and his fellow brother in Christ were traveling home...

feeling both defeated and confused.

First, let’s address the feeling of defeat that they had.

Like the 12 disciples, these folks were followers of Jesus.

They were disciples as well.

Jesus had many, many disciples and followers.

They were all hoping that Jesus would be the Messiah…God’s anointed King…who would defeat Israel’s enemies…ESPECIALLY the ROMAN EMPIRE.

And establish God’s Kingdom in Jerusalem once and for all!

There was just one problem...

The Pharisees and the Sadducees and political rulers of Israel rejected Jesus

and handed him over as a traitor to Rome and Israel alike.

From there…the ROMANS did what ROMANS do to traitors...

They Crucified him.

Let’’s put this in perspective...

Jesus went from celebrating passover with his disciples to being dead in less than 24 hours...

And disciples were left sad, in despair, and on the run...

As they were ALL implicated in the treachery…as co-conspirators.

They had ZERO time to process this TREMENDOUS LOSS...

And each of them went their separate ways into secluded hiding…as we see in this passage.

But that is NOT where the story ends is it…which leads us to their confusion.

They were dumbfounded by the news that Jesus tomb was now empty...

and the women who visited the tomb…said that angels told them that Jesus was alive!!!

Yet, how could this be?

No one simply gets up and walks out of a tomb after dying....

How could they possibly believe that...

And still, Jesus did perform many miracles during his life…including resurrecting Lazarus and a little girl from the dead...

So, they couldn’t deny the possibility either.

It is here, in the midst of tremendous grief, fear and confusion...

That a stranger meets them on the road...

meets them in the midst of their grief...

in the midst of fear...

in the midst of their confusion.

What does this stranger do, after asking why they look so distressed and befuddled?

He begins to point them to Scripture...

He points them to the source of WHO GOD IS...

as well as GOD’s PLAN as revealed in the Scriptures.

Hey points them to the fact that Moses and the prophets all prophesied that the Messiah would suffer before entering into his glory!

That the suffering was not the END...

and that DEATH cannot conquer God.

What’s more, the implication is quite present in this text...

Jesus is GOD…and GOD never abandons people in their grief and despair.

So, I am going to do the same thing that Jesus did,

In Deuteronomy 31:6-8, it says that God will never leave or abandon us, as it does in Deuteronomy 4:31, and Joshua 1:5.

In Isaiah 40:31, we are reminded that God will help us to mount up like eagles in the face of tough times...

and that God is with us and will strengthen us, help us, and uphold us in Isaiah 41:10.

In John 3:16 Jesus reminds us that God loved us so much that he came personally to rescue us...

Sacrificing himself in the process...

and in Matthew 28:20, Jesus assures us that He is with us to very end.

WOW! Right? Our God is LOVE and our God is with us…RIGHT HERE…and RIGHT NOW…

in our time of grief and need.

And that, my friends, is GOOD NEWS...

Despite, the situation we’re in…despite missing our beloved Kymberlee...

Despite her mom and dad having to do the unthinkable and beloved their beloved daughter back to God...

Jesus is here with us…assuring us that Kymberlee is NOT DEAD...

But is EXPERIENCING TRUE LIFE in God right here and right now.

What’s more, we are assured that we, too, will one day be reunited with Kymberlee and those who went before us.

This is, also GOOD NEWS!

Still, we are grieving here today...

And we know that grief has no timeline.

Like Jesus did in life, we too are going through the various stages of grief...

We are all experiencing the denial, the guilt, the anger (at God and others), the despair...

And we hope that, one day, we will experience peace through acceptance...

But that take time…and it takes GOD!

Let’s be honest, we have a lot to miss when it comes to Kymberlee...

Her bright smile, her creativity, and her compassion all defined who she was...

Just look around. We are still in the midst of a pandemic

and look at the people who came out to honor her and her family.

It says a tremendous amount about her…and the witness to GOD’s love that she was IN LIFE.

So, yes, we are here grieving this afternoon...

missing the loss of such a giant in our lives...

a woman who loved others as she loved herself...

A woman who invested in people...

And cared for them, family or other wise.

And yes, this period will have its ups and downs...

There is no time limit to grief…no easy way to say goodbye and accept the loss of the ones we love...

But WE, my friends, HAVE GREAT HOPE!

For we worship a GOD who has not ONLY invested greatly in us...

we worship a GOD who HAS CONQUERED DEATH.

We have GREAT HOPE because, through God, we will NEVER succumb to death,

But will be ALIVE and WELL for all eternnity.

Friends, while we can no longer see Kymberlee face-to-face...

She is very much still with us through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,

She is ALIVE and WELL…and her LOVE is with us always…just as God’s LOVE is with us always.

Kymberlee is enveloped in God’s perfect LOVE and, friends,

God LOVES YOU too...and will not leave you alone, or abandoned…

But will fill your hearts with the assurance of the ETERNAL LIFE awaiting you if you but keep your eyes on God,

And your heart set on LOVE.

LOVE is God’s essence.

LOVE is where we find Kymberlee’s legacy,

and LOVE is the foundation you can build your legacy upon too…

So do not let your hearts be troubled…do not let them be afraid.

For GOD is with you, and LOVE will guide you. Amen.

REMEMBERING KYMBERLEE

HYMN

Please rise in body or in spirit as we join in singing our first hymn “In the Garden”, hymn # 314 in the red hymnal.

THE APOSTLE’S CREED* (UMH 882)

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

creator of heaven and earth;

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,

who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,

born of the Virgin Mary,

suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried;

he descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again;

he ascended into heaven,

is seated at the right hand of the Father,

and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body

and the life everlasting. Amen.

COMMENDATION

PRAYERS

God of us all, your love never ends.

When all else fails, you still are God.

We pray to you for one another in our need,

   and for all, anywhere, who mourn with us this day.

To those who doubt, give light;

   to those who are weak, strength;

   to all who have sinned, mercy;

   to all who sorrow, your peace.

Keep true in us

   the love with which we hold one another.

In all our ways we trust you.

And to you,

   with your Church on earth and in heaven,

   we offer honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

O God, all that you have given us is yours.

As first you gave Kymberlee to us,

   now we give Kymberlee back to you.

Receive Kymberlee into the arms of your mercy.

Raise Kymberlee up with all your people.

Receive us also, and raise us into a new life.

Help us so to love and serve you in this world

   that we may enter into your joy in the world to come. Amen.

PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING *

God of love, we thank you

   for all with which you have blessed us

    even to this day:

for the gift of joy in days of health and strength

   and for the gifts of your abiding presence and promise

    in days of pain and grief.

We praise you for home and friends,

   and for our baptism and place in your Church

   with all who have faithfully lived and died.

Above all else we thank you for Jesus,

   who knew our griefs,

   who died our death and rose for our sake,

   and who lives and prays for us.

And as he taught us, so now we pray.

THE LORD'S PRAYER *

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10 

Thy kingdom come.

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11 

Give us this day our daily bread. 12 

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. 13 

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

HYMN *

Please rise in body or in spirit as we join in singing our first hymn “Hymn of Promise”, hymn # 707 in the red hymnal.

DISMISSAL WITH BLESSING *

Before you receive the blessing, please note that everyone is invited to Bella Italia on Rt. 206 South in Springdale, next to the Econolodge Motel.

The peace of God which passes all understanding

   keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God,

    and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

And the blessing of God Almighty,

   the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,

 be among you and remain with you always. Amen.