Funeral For James C Jancart

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14 “Don’t be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me. 2 My Father’s house has room to spare. If that weren’t the case, would I have told you that I’m going to prepare a place for you? 3 When I go to prepare a place for you, I will return and take you to be with me so that where I am you will be too. 4 You know the way to the place I’m going.”

I don’t know

How very sad for me, I never got to know Jimmy.
From what his friends and loved ones have told me, I think I would have liked him a whole bunch.
For starters, he drove a truck for Coca-Cola for 25 years, and I think that I sustain my life on coffee and diet Coke alone. So I’m grateful for that work!
Jimmy was an avid motorcyclist, so much so that he bought his bike in Florida and decided the best thing to do would be to drive it home.
I know that he was together with his beloved Michelle for 16 years, and that he loved both of his children very deeply.
I suspect he got that love from his own Father, and I’m told he was doing everything in his power to make his farm just like his dads.
I know that he always told people that he would pray for them.
I know that even more than that, he backed up those prayers with action.
Michelle told me that if anyone ever needed anything, Jimmy would actually drop what he was doing to help them. That’s the kind of guy he was.
And I know that he valued relationships, hanging out with those closest to him with some incredible bonfires and party game nights.
I’m sad that I didn’t know Jimmy.
And I’m sad that there’s a lot of other things that we don’t know.
We don’t know why some people leave us so soon.
We don’t know how someone’s life can end while they’re doing something that they love.
We don’t know why some families seem to suffer such unimaginable loss, Jimmy having lost both his sister and brother before he passed himself.
Believe me, I wish I had answers that would dry tears and brighten spirits, and maybe make sense of the world.
Sadly, I don’t have answers to these questions. I just don’t know.

I do know

I do know Jesus.
I know that for all the pictures of God in the world, Jesus starts with these words to us: “Don’t let your hearts be troubled.”
I know that Jesus draws near to those who hurt, that when those closest to him have passed away he weeps. He feels our sorrows.
I know that Jesus prepares a place for us, and that’s important.
It’s not about what we bring to the table.
It’s not about how good we are.
It’s not about how many times we did or didn’t go to church.
It’s not about whether we said the right words or prayed the right prayers.
It’s about what Jesus does for us.
Jesus prepares a place for us.
Jesus gives his life for us.
Jesus comes, embraces us, and takes us to himself.
Jesus does everything that we can’t do for ourselves.
So while there’s a lot that I don’t know, there’s a few things that I’m absolutely certain of as I stand before you today.
I am absolutely certain that Jesus loved Jimmy every bit as much as everyone here loved Jimmy, and quite a bit more.
I am absolutely certain that Jesus prepared a place just for Jimmy, and it probably has bonfires and motorcycles and farm animals.
I am absolutely certain that Jesus came and took Jimmy to his heavenly banquet hall
And I am absolutely, absolutely, ABSOLUTELY certain that Jimmy rests in the arms of his savior this day, this hour, this minute.
I hope you are as certain of those things as I am.
And yet I know that for as certain of Jesus’ love for us, we still carry a great deal of sadness today.
And I think that God has given us three gifts to lean in to today to help us through our time of grief and sorrow.

Three gifts

The Gift of God’s Love

We have so many reminders in the Scriptures of God’s love for us.
Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he saves those whose spirits are crushed. ד
Exodus 3:7-10 “Then the Lord said, “I’ve clearly seen my people oppressed in Egypt. I’ve heard their cry of injustice because of their slave masters. I know about their pain. I’ve come down to rescue them from the Egyptians in order to take them out of that land and bring them to a good and broad land, a land that’s full of milk and honey, a place where the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites all live. Now the Israelites’ cries of injustice have reached me. I’ve seen just how much the Egyptians have oppressed them. So get going. I’m sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.””
John 13:1 “Before the Festival of Passover, Jesus knew that his time had come to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them fully.”
I could do this all day.
Wherever you are in this, God pours unending love on you.
I hope you know that love, and I hope that people have told you how much you are loved by God.
But even if I’m the first person to say it, you are indeed love by God.
And so was Jimmy.

The Gift of our Memories

I was here a little bit early today, and I have been listening along with folks.
There are a lot of stories here!
I’m betting there are stories in this room that would make us cry.
I’m betting there are stories in this room that would make us laugh.
I’m betting there are stories in this room that have never seen the light of day.
And they should.
Our memories of Jimmy are a gift from God.
And they are meant to be shared.
So my encouragement to you today is to make sure that you share your stories.
Chat with your family in the car on the way to the cemetery.
Share a story over a meal tonight.
Call a friend who wasn’t here and swap tales of Jimmy all through the night.

The Gift of Each Other

Look around the room!
We are surrounded by people who have been touched by the life of Jimmy, a life well lived.
We are surrounded by people who know the grief and the pain we are experiencing.
We are surrounded by people who love, and have been loved by Jimmy.
Let’s embrace the gift of each other today.
And in all we do, let us do it in the love and the grace of Jesus Christ.
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