Lester Haas was buried in Pekin, Illinois on January 21st, 2012. His memorial service in Pekin was at the grave site during on a cold, winter day. So both the service and sermon were abbreviated. Here was the liturgy for such an abbreviated, combined memorial and committal service. Funeral Service (Memorial with Committal)–Lester Haas (19 Jan 2011)
Sermon Text: Ecclesiastes 3:1-11, especially verse 11
Today does not feel beautiful. The weather is cold. We are standing next to Lester’s grave. Today, weeping seems more suitable than recognizing whatever beauty the day may have.
Phyllis, how sweet it is, yet painful, to remember your love of Lester! How bittersweet your memories of turning a house into a home.
Death never seems right, let alone beautiful. Instead, when we see death or experience it close by, it always feels wrong. It is something ugly and morbid. That’s exactly what death is like.
But our sadness today is not the end of it all. Our text from Ecclesiastes tells us that more exists to life and death than only futility, pain, and suffering. And if we are to be ready to meet life or death, we must see the beauty of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. For only in Him can we find the true comfort we seek on this day of sadness.
In Christ, even a day like this becomes something of beauty. Today, we see the beautiful fulfillment of Lester’s Christian faith. God’s has fulfilled His promise of eternal life through Christ to Lester. While we yet struggle with the pain of the moment, for Lester, God’s promise that everything “works together for the good” (Romans 8:28) is now a reality.
Yet, we must confess this truth of Scripture. “Indeed, I was sinful at birth; I was sinful when my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5). But God would not let us perish. Consider the beauty of what God carried out through His Son. Through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, God removed the stain of our sin, which disqualified us from life with Him. As Scripture says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so in him, we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
The cross of Jesus was not, at first, something of beauty. But it is to us now. That ugly instrument of Roman execution has become the symbol of the Christian faith. Now we see the cross in Christian churches throughout the world. For the cross is the sign of our hope, life, and the beauty of our salvation.
Also, a hole in the ground is nothing of beauty, much less a rock-hewn tomb. But on this day of sadness, we remember the resplendent beauty of an empty tomb. The bonds of death could not keep Jesus in His tomb. That’s why on this day, we remember the beauty of the empty tomb. Because of Christ’s empty tomb, we know that we have not seen the last of Lester!
As Christ has risen from the dead, so will we. By faith in Jesus, in what He has done to save us, our resurrection to life becomes reality. That’s why, even despite our tears, we can see the beauty of the grave. For we know the day will come when Lester’s grave will be as empty as Christ’s. Through the beauty of Christ’s empty grave, we know that death cannot, and will not, have the last word!
And Phyllis, what of your future, the time that you thought you would experience with your beloved Lester? What will they be like? This much is certain: you are not going into the future alone! God is with you, and even in you, to bear you up when your sorrow stalks and haunts you in the days ahead.
God does not promise that your days ahead will always be easy. But He does promise to give us the strength we will need to face each new day. With St. Paul, we hear Christ’s voice saying, “My grace is enough for you, for My power is perfected in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Phyllis, and Lester’s family, cling to God’s Word and Sacraments. They can strengthen and bring joy to you even in the face of death and in the hardships of life. Lean on the community of Christ, God’s people, who can comfort and help you bear your burdens. Even more, cling to Christ Jesus, under the shadow of whose cross both life and death have become instruments of His grace. Amen.
