Text: Matt 11:28-30
(Isa 25:6-9, 1 Cor 15:51-57)
In the name of + Jesus. Amen.
Dear Ronnie, Shirley, Louis, family, friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, and honored guests: “Peace be with you.”
Bubby was not a member of my parish, but he heard the Word of the Lord week in and week out on Wednesday nights as he attended the Divine Service with his beloved wife, Shirley – who was, of course, a member of my congregation, for whom I served as pastor for many years.
I know that Bubby believed in our Lord Jesus Christ, for he asked to become a
member of our parish. I gave him the
catechism and we planned on getting together to review it when he had his
stroke. Of course, this got in the way
of any formal study of the Christian faith.
But once again, Bubby knew the Gospel because he heard it for many years as he attended Divine Service. And you don’t ask to join a church if you hear something from the pulpit that you don’t agree with. So Bubby had truly placed himself under my pastoral care. I was with him, and with you when, our beloved Shirley was called to her heavenly home.
One of the passages in the catechism that Bubby heard over the years is Mark 16:16, in which Jesus says: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” I know that Bubby was baptized, and I know that he believed in our Lord Jesus Christ and His promises. Jesus died for Bubby and for all who confess Him.
We confess that our Lord Jesus Christ died to destroy death, as Isaiah prophesied about Him: “He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of His people He will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.” And death will be replaced by “a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine well refined.” For even as Jesus was raised bodily from the dead, we all await the resurrection of the dead. And in our flesh, we will eat and drink and embrace and laugh and will enjoy a great reunion with one another – not merely spirits in heaven, but as we say in the creed: “I believe in… the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.” We are destined to be reunited with our bodies, made perfect, made eternal, and made to enjoy the never-ending “feast of rich food” and “well-aged wine.”
This is how we Christians join St. Paul in confessing that moment that he calls “the last trumpet” when “the dead will be raised imperishable.” And then we will see the fulfillment of his words: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” This victory, dear friends, is Christ’s victory on the cross – a victory that He shares with Bubby, with Shirley, with you, with me, and with all people for whom He died and rose again. And so even though we mourn, we join St. Paul in mocking death: “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”
Yes, we mourn. We miss our loved ones. This separation from them weighs on our hearts and causes us terrible grief. But it is temporary, dear friends. It ends when the Lord says it ends. And even as we wait for Easter to come, we are also waiting for our Lord’s return and for the “last trumpet” – which gets closer with every passing day.
One of the things that happens to us when we age is that our bodies in this life begin to wear out. We are burdened with aches and pains that are typical in this fallen world. We become tired. Because of the fall of Adam and Eve – and because of our own sinful nature – we do not live forever in these mortal bodies, what St. Paul calls our “perishable” bodies. And so until we put on the “imperishable,” we grow weary. And as we age, we lose our own loved ones to death. And so we begin to yearn to be taken from this vale of tears to our Lord and to our loved ones who have already been called home. And to all of us who move in this direction as we age, and as we mourn our own losses, Jesus has words of comfort and reassurance: “Come to Me,” He says, “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.”
Dear friends, Jesus has done the heavy lifting. He paid for our sins by taking on our death at the cross. He is the sacrificial Lamb whose blood cries out for Bubby and for all of us, an advocate with the Father, our redemption price transferred to us at our baptism and ratified when we believe – as Jesus Himself teaches us.
You do not earn this salvation by works. It is a gift given in baptism that you grab hold of by faith, by believing this promise. And by hearing the Word of God, you indeed “Learn from [Jesus]” and you learn to trust His Word and His promises.
So rest assured that Bubby heard and believed this Word of God. And if you also are baptized and believe, you will see him again in eternity, on the mountain of the Lord, feasting on rich food and well-aged wine. You will see him again in the flesh, when the perishable puts on the imperishable at the last trumpet. For Jesus has borne the burden, leaving us a yoke that is light.
So, dear friends, you will need faith to get through the difficult days, months, and years ahead. You need Jesus. You need the Word of God. You need the Gospel, that is, the Good News of Jesus Christ. You need to be immersed in God’s Word and you need to trust your baptism: for “whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” This is what Jesus told Bubby and Shirley, and what He tells you and me, right here, and right now.
Let us grab hold of this promise and be comforted by it. For we will see Bubby and Shirley again, in the flesh, and the Lord Jesus will indeed wipe away our tears on that great and glorious day, when the trumpet sounds, and we put on the immortal.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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