Introduction

This is a funeral homily I preached at Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Beatrice, Neb., on Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2009.

Readings

Ezekiel 2:8-3:3
Psalm 119:105-112
1 John 1:1-4
Luke 11:28

Message

On the day of his confirmation in the Christian faith,
Bud selected the verse from Luke’s Gospel
that we just heard:

“But [Jesus] said,
‘Blessed rather are those who hear
the word of God and obey it!’” (Luke 11:28, NRSV)

This is a word of blessing for all of us
who, like Bud, strive to live as servants of God.

Jesus tells us that blessings fall upon us
when we hear God’s Word with the ears of faith
and then obey it, following him on the way of the cross.
On this journey, we can trust the words of the Psalmist:

“Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105, NRSV)

We can never know for sure
what illuminated path our feet will take
in our lives as disciples,
just as Bud probably did not imagine,
as he stood before the congregation
at Trinity Church in DeWitt
on that April confirmation day in 1938,
that his discipleship would lead
to the battlefields of Europe
and to the factories of Nebraska.

And neither Bud nor Mabel
could have guessed
that the vows they made in 1944
to stand together, listening to God’s Word and obeying it,
would bind them to one another as husband and wife
for almost 65 years.

This marriage, like any marriage,
is both a gift from God and a sign of God’s love for us.
We can enjoy and celebrate
the fidelity and love and care
that Bud and Mabel shared,
just because it was such a blessing in their lives
and a fount of love in the lives of others.

But at the same time,
this union, because it was a marriage made by God.
pointed beyond itself, reminding us of his faithfulness and gifts for us.
In a way, much as spouses are united in marriage,
Jesus Christ, the groom, binds himself to his Church, the bride.

And then, we all live in the intimacy of this sacred marriage.
Our bridegroom shares himself with us,
giving us his Word to nourish us,
saying to us just what he said to Ezekiel:

“‘Mortal, eat this scroll that I give you
and fill your stomach with it.’
Then I ate it; and in my mouth
it was as sweet as honey.” (Ezekiel 3:3, NRSV)

This Word is a Word of life,
a Word that gives us life here and now,
a Word that promises us eternal Life, even in the face of death.
This is why we can hear and obey when God speaks,
trusting that he will show us how to serve him now
and that he will gather us all together on that final day,
reuniting us with all who have died before us.

On that day, we will celebrate
in the endless marriage feast of heaven.
On that day, we will hear perfectly and obey fully
the “word of life,” as John’s letter says,
because “truly our fellowship is with the Father
and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
On that day, by God’s grace,
“our joy [will] be complete.” (1 John 1:1,3-4, NRSV) Amen.