Philip James Hansen Funeral Sermon

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Funeral for Philip James Hansen

Jesu Juva

“O Sweet and Blessed Country”

Text: Jeremiah 31:15-17; 1 Corinthians 15:20-27; Mark 16:1-8

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Rachel is weeping for her children. And today, so do we. The wages of sin is death. And since we live in a sinful world, we live in a dying world. A world where death is sometimes our daily bread.

These words about Rachel weeping, though, provide us with hope. For although she weeps bitterly, the Lord declares a future. And what the Lord declares is so. Although her children are gone, they are not gone forever. They shall come back, the Lord says. Twice. Divine repetition. It is absolutely sure. They shall come back from the land of the enemy, and they shall come back to their own country.

These words of the prophet Jeremiah were first spoken when Rachel’s children, the children of Israel, would be taken into exile in Babylon. There would be bitter weeping as child is separated from mother and father. But there is hope, the Lord declares. They shall come back from the land of the enemy. They shall come back to their own country, God promises. And seventy years later, they did. But that was just the beginning, just the foreshadowing. There was something greater God had in mind. A greater restoration.

So we hear these words of the prophet Jeremiah again in the Gospel of Matthew, when there is again great and bitter weeping. When again child is separated from mother and father. When in a murderous rage against the child Jesus, King Herod orders that all the little boys in Bethlehem, two years of age and under, be slain. But in using these words of Jeremiah, Matthew wants you to know that in Jesus, God is fulfilling His promise of hope. That though we live in a world of death, the Lord is here with us, to accomplish His promised restoration to return our children to us. And He would do so not with the death of those little boys in Bethlehem, but through the death of His own Son - His bitter suffering and death on the cross.

And so we heard these words today. On this day when there is again weeping for our children. That even as we weep, we remember the words and promises of God and have hope. Hope of a future. That our children shall come back from the land of the enemy, and come back to their own country. This country that for our children today is not Israel or the United States, and the enemy is not the Babylonians, the Assyrians, or a wicked king. The enemy they will come back from is death, and the country they will come back to is heaven. 

So while weeping for our children is meet, right, and salutary, we weep not as those who have no hope, but as those who know our Saviour, who led the way back from death in His resurrection, and back to our own country. Our own country of which we just sung . . .

The sweet and blessed country, The home of God’s elect!

The sweet and blessed country That faithful hearts expect!

In mercy, Jesus, bring us - and our children! - to that eternal rest

With You and God the Father And Spirit, ever blest (LSB #672 v. 4).

For as we also sang, and as we heard from Saint Paul, Christ conquered in the fight! Not just against satan and not just against our sin, but against the last and greatest enemy, death. A victory for all people. Those who die very old, and those who are taken from us very young . . . even, at times, while still in their mother’s protective womb.

But if Christ, the firstfruits of the resurrection, has been raised, that means there are many more to come! As children of Adam, we will all die. But as children of God, we will also all rise. What pains us now, what burdens us now, what lays us low now, will be destroyed. Every rule and authority and power. They look mighty now, and they act invincible now, but their destruction is coming, and coming soon -  when Christ returns and death itself is destroyed, cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14). But just as with the three young men in their fiery furnace, the power of death and the flames of hell cannot harm those who are with and in the Son of God, who is with us through it all (Daniel 3).

Satan though, of course, wants us to know none of that, but wants us instead to be confused and afraid in the face of death. Not knowing what to think. Unsure of what has happened. And to run from Jesus when faced with a hole in the ground and an equally big hole in our hearts. Like the women who went to the tomb that first Easter morning. When things did not work out as they expected. When their minds were blown and their hopes were dashed. 

But though that’s what satan wants, we will not! For we are not uncertain or unsure. We know what happened and are not confused. It is as the angel said: Jesus is risen! He is not here. He who once was dead is alive again and forevermore. See the place where they laid him. But then the angel said, in words reminiscent of Jeremiah, you will see him again, just as he told you. For Jesus came back from the land of the enemy, and He came back to His own country.

And because He did, our enemy death is defeated! And while we still live among the tombs of this world, they will soon be empty holes, too, when Jesus comes again in glory. And we will see Him. And we will see Philip and all who have died in the mercy of the Lord. We will see them alive, back from the land of the enemy, and in that sweet and blessed country of the Lord.

And then, the breaths Philip was not able to take here, he will there. The sight he was not able to have here, he will there, and see things so glorious we cannot describe or imagine them now. What his little ears could not hear, they will hear there. He will hear saint and angels joining together in praise of the Lamb on His throne. The Lamb whose blood forgave all their sin and raised them to life. And he will join his voice with ours in that praise that will have no end.

That first Easter morning, the women saw the place where Jesus lay. Today, we will see the place where Philip will be laid to rest. And we will weep, and we will speak difficult words, and we will rejoice. For we know the Day is coming. The Day of resurrection. The Day of life. The Day of Jesus. The Day when death will be no more. The Day when Philip James Hansen’s little grave will be emptied of its prey, death is rendered powerless, and we mock death. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:55, 57)!

So today we weep with Rachel, Rachel weeps with us, and we weep together. Such tears are good. And we know our Father keeps all our tears in His bottle (Psalm 56:8). He knows them all. When faced with death, our Lord wept, too (John 11:35). And then He spoke. And at His word, death is turned to life, our mourning turns to dancing (Psalm 30:11), our tears are dried, and all the words and promises of God fulfilled. 

Today we wait for that Day, and it cannot come too soon. Come, Lord Jesus! Come quickly. Bring us back from the land of the enemy, and bring us - with little Philip - home to You.

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Roy C. Clark Memorial Service Sermon

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Jesu Juva

“Dying a Good Death”

Text: Luke 24:1-12; 2 Timothy 4:6-8;

Isaiah 25:6-9; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

Martin Luther said that the Christian faith isn’t so much about living a good life as it is dying a good death.

Because for all of us - believers and unbelievers alike - life has its ups and downs, good days and bad days, joys and sorrows. We strive for the good, but the bad is never far behind. I know I’ve gotten a lot more good in life than I deserve. Life throws you curveballs. And sometimes you knock them out of the park. But more often, I think, at least it seems to be true for me, you swing and miss. Roy loved his Nationals, so I thought I’d get a baseball analogy in here for him!

But dying a good death does not depend on our batting average in life. In fact, it is quite the opposite. For dying a good death, a confident death, a peaceful death, is when you die with faith in Jesus Christ and all that He has done for us. When we depend on His batting average and not our own. For on that Sunday morning, after His three days in the tomb, the women found out that Jesus had indeed knocked it out of the park with His resurrection from the dead. He was the victor, once and for all.

So though I was not there on that Thursday night, when the call came for Roy to leave this life and enter His eternal rest, I can say that Roy died a good death. I saw him that Monday. He confessed his sins, he received the Absolution of His Lord, we read the Scriptures, we prayed, and He received the Body and Blood of Jesus. He was ready and well prepared. And so Thursday night was not the end, but just the beginning of life for him. A life now safe and secure in Christ, so a life that will never end.

These last few years had been a struggle for him. I don’t know if life at any age is easy. Each age has its own struggles, doubts, and fears. And old age has its own. St. Paul described drawing near the end of his life as being poured out as a drink offering. It is a striking image. An emptying. But also it is an image of victory. For as Christians, as we are poured out, we are at the same time filled up. Our old life is poured out, so that a new life is poured in. Until finally our old life is swallowed up in death, and a new life raised up in victory.

But such pouring out is not easy. It is a fight. A fight to the finish against our sin and sinful natures, and against the old evil foe, who means deadly woe, whose deep guile and great might are his dread arms in this fight. A fight we are destined to lose, for on earth is not his equal. But for us fights the valiant one, Luther wrote and we sang (LSB #656 vs. 1-2). And because of His victorious fight, Paul goes on to say, there is laid up for [us] the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to [us] on that Day . . . to all who have loved his appearing - His appearing first in the flesh, and who are looking forward to His appearing again in glory. 

And it is with that confidence that Paul could write: I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. When we think of Paul’s life, we think of all that he did, all his missionary journeys, all he went through, and we marvel. But when Paul thinks about it all, he is grateful above all for this: I have kept the faith. Compared to the other stuff, it sounds so little! But you know it’s not. That’s the struggle above all others. When your body turns against you, when friends turn against you, when it even sometimes seems as if God has turned against you, keeping the faith is not easy. It’s a fight.

As a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army, as a Tank Commander in the 2nd Infantry Division, Roy knew something about fighting. But while he retired from a long career in the military, this fight of faith has no ending in this life. You don’t get to retire from it. The devil keeps attacking, keeps trying to undermine our faith. And in this battle, Roy, too, had experience. When his dear Audra was taken from him far too soon. When friends turned against him. When he had to battle his own sins that rose up within him. He did not win all those battles, just as we don’t. But his Saviour did, and filled Roy with His forgiveness and life. For the Lord had laid up for Roy a crown of righteousness. A crown promised him when he was baptized into Christ, and a promised repeated with every Absolution, every feeding at the Lord’s Table, every Benediction. So that when the pouring out came to an end, it was not the end, but the beginning of a new and full life.

Because when our old life is swallowed up in death, we know there is one who has swallowed up death forever! That’s what Isaiah proclaimed, as we heard tonight. That on Mount Calvary, Jesus swallowed up death by dying and then rising to life again. And on Mount Calvary, Jesus prepared for us that great feast of rich food, well-aged wine, rich food full of marrow, and aged wine well refined. Isaiah describes it in the words of an amazing earthly banquet, but is really describing the heavenly banquet that satisfies our hunger for life. For life in Christ. Life that not even death can take away from us. A banquet that starts here, in this life of hardship, tears, and struggle, but continues forever in that life of victory, rest, and where the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and take away the reproach of his people . . . from all the earth.

I know that is a banquet Roy looked forward to, maybe especially as his ability to swallow here in this life became a struggle. That happens to many older folks. And being no longer to eat your favorite foods must be a great sorrow and sadness, and a difficult part of the pouring out. But thanks be to God, Roy did not lose his ability to eat and drink the feast of His Lord, the Body and Blood of Jesus. He continued to receive that food, forgiveness, and life to the very end. A blessing I hope I, too, receive.

And so we gather tonight, we do not grieve as others do who have no hope. We know that The Strife Is O’er, the Battle Done (LSB #464). We gather tonight to praise our God and Saviour for His great mercy and love toward us, and to thank Him for the blessing that Roy was to us. Roy was the patriarch of our congregation - not only because he was the oldest, but he was a founder of our congregation, and in some ways its foundation in those early years. He found us this building to meet in - I still don’t know how he did! He was the first president of our congregation, and served in that role for many years. I remember walking around the neighborhood with him in those early years, going door-to-door and introducing ourselves. He hosted so many things at his home, from midweek services, to Oktoberfests, to Bible Studies, and a Confessions study group. We even once filled his house with items donated for a community yard sale and completely junked up his first floor! But he didn’t mind. He took shifts in our booth at Viva Vienna. He was faithful in coming here, rarely missing a Sunday, and giving rides to others, too. He made great soup for our Lenten soup suppers. When he moved into an Assisted Living facility, he insisted on treating me to lunch when I visited, after which we’d go up to his room and feast on Jesus. He always made sure to get his beloved Peanut Butter crackers. I could go on and on. And I’m sure many of you have stories of your own. We will miss him.

But besides all that, two things stand out for me about Roy. First, when I called him as the president of the congregation some 23 years ago now to tell him I had accepted the call to serve here as pastor, I could hear the tears in his voice. Tears not for me, but in gratitude that the Lord had sent them a pastor to care for them. And then when Roy’s life had begun to be poured out, but he was still able to come to church, he would struggle to come up to the altar to receive the Lord’s Supper. He had to walk carefully and slow. It would take a while. But it was important to him. And it fills my heart with joy every time I see that - whether an older saint struggling to walk up to the altar, or one of our youngest, still learning to walk, straining to put one foot in front of the other and walk up to the altar. I rejoice not in the struggle, but the faith that is shown. 

The same faith, I think, shown by our Lord as He Himself struggled to carry His cross up Mount Calvary. Roy struggling to receive the salvation that Jesus struggled to provide for him there. On the cross, Jesus committed His Spirit into the hands of His Father. And almost two weeks ago now, Roy did the same. And when the Lord returns, so will Roy. And there will be life. Only life. 

Roy will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery sometime later this year. You know, I think that would be a good place to be when Jesus comes again on the Last Day. To see all the graves open and joy and life arise in that place of sorrow and death. Joy and life for Roy and Audra, for Michael and Althea, and All the Saints (LSB #677) who died in Christ buried there. What an awesome day that will be.

So in the end, while the Christian faith isn’t so much about living a good life as it is dying a good death, I think Roy got both. And Roy helped us to have both as well. All glory to God, for giving him as a blessing to us. And all glory to God, for the confidence and joy we have tonight, and always, as we await that Last Day, the great and awesome day of the Lord. 

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon for the Seventh Sunday after Epiphany

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Jesu Juva

“Paving Our Way and Having Our Backs”

Text: Genesis 45:3-15; Luke 6:27-38; 1 Corinthians 15:21-26, 30-42

 

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

The story of Joseph - just a small bit of which we heard in the Old Testament reading today - is an amazing story. Most of his brothers hated him and wanted to kill him. Instead, they decide to sell him to some foreigners headed down to Egypt. Make a little coin off their then, still, teenage brother. In Egypt, he is purchased as a house slave, and serves his master Potiphar until he is falsely accused of sexual misconduct with his master’s wife, at which time he is thrown into prison. There he becomes kind of the head prisoner, charged with overseeing the other prisoners, until finally, being able to interpret the Pharaoh’s dreams he is pulled out of prison and made second in command of all Egypt. It was a meteoric rise. A real rags to riches story. But it took a long time to get there. 

So when Joseph is finally re-connected with his brothers - who, remember, started all this with their hatred! - you could hardly blame him if he took a little revenge. Or a LOT of revenge! And he was in a position to do so. No one would have questioned him. A golden opportunity for a little payback. But he doesn’t. Instead, he loves his enemies. Does good to those who hate him. He blesses those who cursed him. And he does not demand back what had been taken away from him. And we marvel at Joseph for this. How could he?

Joseph’s brothers, meanwhile, continue to live with their guilty consciences. For as soon as things start to go sideways for them, they immediately assume God is getting them back for what they had done. First thing on their mind. Divine payback for their heinous sin. So when Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers - for up until now they didn’t recognize him after so many years, after he had grown into a man and looked like an Egyptian - they are horrified, terrified. It said dismayed in the reading we heard today, but that’s not strong enough a word. They are completely at their brother’s mercy, and they expect the worst. 

And I would even go so far as to say they wanted the worst. They wanted Joseph to hate them back and get revenge, so then they would be even. It was what they deserved. And then, they would feel better about themselves, hate themselves a little less for what they had done, once they were paid back for what they had done. . . . But this? No, don’t be nice to us Joseph! Now how can we set things right? Now how can we ever be even? 

They couldn’t, of course. And if left there, like that, with them being evil and their brother being good, things probably would have continued to deteriorate with his brothers. They would have continued to feel guilty, and in their guilt would have continued hating their brother for not paying them back and leaving them there to stew in their guilt, and maybe hating him even more for acting so much better than them and thinking he was better than them. That was part of the reason why they hated him in the first place! The rift would only grow wider. 

Unless it was not really about Joseph . . . and not really about them. Unless it was God who paved the way for him to be there, and God who had his back while there. That’s why he survived the journey. That’s why he survived the false allegations against him. That’s why he rose to the top in prison, and why he rose to second in command of all Egypt. And if the psalms had been written, perhaps Joseph would have quoted the one that said: This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes (Psalm 118:23). More on that in a bit.

But since the Lord had paved the way for him to be there, and had his back while he was there, since the Lord was in charge, that set Joseph free. That’s why he could do what he did. And that’s why his brothers could accept what he did. He was free to love and forgive and do good to his brothers. To not worry about getting even, but to marvel at what the Lord had done and was accomplishing through him. 

And so it is with us. Those things Jesus said to us today, that we saw in Joseph, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you, turn the other cheek, don’t demand repayment or seek revenge . . . how can we do those things? They seem, with very few exceptions perhaps, impossible. You won’t get ahead in this world by being that way. You’ll be taken advantage of. You have to look out for yourself, get even yourself, save yourself.

OR . . . recognize, as Joseph did, that the LORD is in charge. That the Lord is paving the way forward for you, and that He also has your back. Knowing that set Joseph free. Free to live not as a slave to sin, to his sinful urges and desires, perhaps for a little payback and revenge; but free to live differently. Free to love and forgive and do good. Free to do not just what sinners do, but more. And better. Free in Christ to be, as Jesus said, merciful, even as your Father in heaven is merciful.

The Apostle Paul was a little more blunt about it today when he said, Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. Don’t go on living as if God wasn’t merciful, as if Christ hadn’t come, as if His death and resurrection doesn’t matter, as if you’re the same as everyone else, even those who have no knowledge of God. You’re not! You’re different. So live different. Don’t keep doing what your sinful nature tells you to do, and so be a slave to it. Live free from that, because you are. Free like Joseph, who knew that God both paved his way and had his back.

Now, admittedly, that throws our sinful human ecosystem out of whack! Our world which runs and thrives on things being and getting even. You get me a gift, I have to get you a gift! You hit me, I hit you. You hate me, I hate you. And then Jesus comes and throws everything out of whack! He didn’t hit, He wouldn’t hate, He freely gave and loved and forgave those who could never pay Him back . . . and the scales went like this! And like with Joseph’s brothers, that just made things worse to those who wanted even. To those who thought we have to make things even with God and built their whole careers on it. So they had to kick Jesus off the scales, get rid of Him, crucify Him. They had to look out for themselves, save themselves.

Except it didn’t work. Sin never works. It doesn’t make things better. If you think so, you’ve just bought into satan’s lies. 

Now, do you remember the psalm I quoted earlier, that I said I’d get back to? Here it is (in context): The stone that the builders rejected - Jesus, who they rejected, kicked off the scales, crucified! has become the cornerstone.This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. So now This is the day that the Lord has made; - and new day! - let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:22-24).

So Jesus paved the way for us first and foremost by going through death and the grave, and then rising from death, becoming the cornerstone of the Church and of our lives. Joseph was a little picture of that; a foreshadowing. He was dead and buried to his brothers, but then alive to them again. And in so doing - by the Lord’s doing - gave them a new day and a new life to live. And he wanted them to rejoice and be glad with him in it.

And just as Jesus paved the way for us through sin, death, and the grave, we have now a new life to live with Him also having our backs. He is before us and He is behind us, which sets us free to live without fear, and to do and be those things that He described today. Loving our enemies, doing good to those who hate us, blessing those who curse us, praying for those who abuse us, turning the other cheek, and giving without expecting anything in return. Not living like everyone else, because you’re not like everyone else! You are a baptized child of God. To rejoice and be glad in HIM.

But Joseph did more than welcome and forgive his brothers, although that would have been enough, right? He then also gave them a home, a place to live, and fed them. The only food there was, to sustain them. And we see in this, too, Jesus. For He hasn’t just forgiven us and saved us, although that would have been enough, right? He has also given us a home - first here, in His Church, and then ultimately with Him in His kingdom. And He feeds us with the only food that can sustain us through this world and life - His Body and Blood. That’s why God sent Joseph to Egypt and why the Father sent His Son into our world - to save, to feed, and give us a new life and a new home.

But if Joseph is a little picture, a foreshadowing of Jesus for us, He is also a little picture, a foreshadowing of what we can be in Jesus. Loving and forgiving and doing good. Not hating or striking back, but tipping the scales and upsetting the balance of those who are trying to save themselves. So that seeing things out of whack, they, too, turn to the only one who can save us. The one who goes before us and has our back. The one who is both God and man. Not because we have to do these things, but because in Jesus, we can. We are set free.

And then Jesus ends His words here for us today with a promise. 

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Now, those words, taken out of context, have been thrown in Christian faces these days, by people saying don’t judge me! You can’t judge me - Jesus said so! As if for Jesus, anything and everything goes. That’s not what those words mean. We can, of course, and we must confess what is right and wrong, what is true and false. But at the same time, staying in our lane, and like Joseph, entrusting all things to God. The God who goes before us and has our backs. He will do what is good and right, now and in the end. We don’t have all the facts. We don’t know the future. We don’t know His plans. So we trust. And when we do all those things that upset the scales today - when we love and pray and forgive and do good, when we don’t repay evil for evil - we do so knowing that - as Jesus promised today - we can’t out-give God. He has done and will do for us far more than we could ever do for others. And far more than we could ever get for ourselves.

That’s the truth Joseph finally realized. I don’t know how long it took him to get there, maybe it was when he finally got out of prison and put at the top of the pile. Ah ha! But maybe it was earlier, and such knowledge sustained him through all those difficult times. We’re not told. But for us, for you, whether you’re at the top or if you’re still at the bottom, it good to know that your heavenly Father goes before you, your Saviour Jesus has your back, and by His Spirit you have a home and the food you need.So come now to our Lord’s Table. He has nothing but good for you. 

For This is the day that the Lord has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad - and do good! - in it!

In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.