Introduction

This is a homily I preached on Aug. 11, 2009, at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Beatrice, Neb., for the funeral of a charter member.

Readings

Job 19:23-27a
Psalm 121
1 Peter 1:3-9
John 11:21-27

Message

One of the curious traditions
in the history of the Church
is to recall to memory
our forbearers in the faith
on the day of their second birth,
the day when they enter the Church triumphant.

Joan’s two birth days fall close together,
separated by only a little more than two weeks.
And together, they help remind us
of the overwhelming blessings of God.

When we celebrate the day we are born,
we give thanks to God
for blessing us with the gift of life,
for placing us in families,
for showering with the love of parents,
and perhaps brothers and sisters.

The celebration of a second birth day,
the day which marks the end
of our pilgrimage on earth
and God’s welcome home embrace,
is a quiet and bittersweet observance.

We who remain behind
face our loved ones’ second birth days
with a mixture of sorrow and gratitude.
Some phrases from the readings help us
to know we are not alone in our turmoil.

Job, in his pain, still confesses,
“And after my skin has been thus destroyed,
then in my flesh I shall see God.” (Job 19:26, NRSV)
St. Peter offers encouragement,
“In this [new birth] you rejoice,
even if now for a little while
you have had to suffer various trials….” (1 Peter 1:6, NRSV)
And Jesus comforts Mary
as she mourns the death of her brother,
“Those who believe in me,
even though they die, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me
will never die.” (John 11:25, NRSV)

Joan now has quietly marked
her second birth day.
And while a dash may separate
the years 1929 and 2009,
the punctuation following 2009
is not a period, but another dash.

Her death is not the final end,
because while her death
marks the end of her sojourn with us,
it marks her full embrace
of the “imperishable, undefiled, and unfading” inheritance
the Father promises each of us
through Jesus Christ
in the power of their Spirit
that conquers death through the victory of the cross.

And that is why we each will be blessed with a second birth day,
and why we can trust God’s promise, as the Psalmist writes:
“The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in
from this time on and for evermore.” (Psalm 121:8, NRSV) Amen.