Funeral sermon for Lorraine Rosa, December 21, 2021
O Lord, we are gathered in sorrow, yet not as those who have no hope. We thank You for all the blessings bestowed on our sister in faith now fallen asleep and for all the blessings You have given through her. But most of all, we thank You for making her Your dear child by faith in Jesus Christ. Give us to have that trust in Jesus always. We ask this all in His holy name. Amen.
Dear friends in Christ, Jane, Brad and Marilyn, Marc and Kathy, Dawn, grandchildren, great grandchildren, relatives and friends: grace to you and abiding peace from the living God and His only begotten Son who lived, died, and rose again for you and for all. Amen.
I think anyone who knows Lorraine knows she loved to fish. She liked to tell you about it, too. Lorraine was probably the most likely person I know to come home with her limit. In fact, I heard recently that on one of her last fishing trips, she had her limit before the rest of the party had lines in the water. She was good at fishing, and pretty good at telling you about it.
Of course, fishing wouldn’t be fishing if it was always easy. Even Lorraine had days when the lake seemed empty, the fish wouldn’t bite, or it just wasn’t safe to be out on the water. Psychologists will tell you that this is why fishing can be so addictive. It is the excitement of that sudden twitch on the line, and the occasional big one, that keeps us coming back. If we caught a fish every time we threw out the line, we would get too bored to bother. Well, that’s what the experts say, whether they are right, or not, I have never had the opportunity to find out. Most of us go fishing just hoping for a nice catch, or in my case even a bite, but we aren’t surprised if we come home empty-handed.
Truth be told, many people treat the end of their life the same way. They hope there is something good to come. Many secretly plead that God won’t judge them harshly and won’t make them pay for the bad things they have done. Some look at their lives and the casket and fear shakes them to the core. Others try to fend off their terror by boasting about their evil and mocking the idea that God will judge.
Perhaps some of you here today don’t want to face the end of your days. Maybe it’s fear. Maybe it’s arrogance. Maybe you are worried about your secret faults. Maybe it’s just not knowing what lies ahead. I am here this afternoon to assure all of you that Hope in Jesus does not disappoint.
Romans 5:1-8 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. 6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NKJ)
We are here this afternoon to pay our respects and say good-bye to a dear friend, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, a person who made us smile in so many ways. There are so many things we could say about Lorraine, and so many good things to remember about her, but none of that would open the doors to heaven. In fact, if I concentrated on her life with this sermon, I would be afraid of offending her. Lorraine would rather have me tell you about Jesus and what He has done for her and for you.
Lorraine knew Jesus. She knew and treasured what Jesus has done for her. She knew the scriptures such I as I just read. She trusted the promises God gives. More than a few times, when I greeted her before church, she would tell me about some troublesome thing that had happened in her family or circle of friends. Yet, at the same time, she would assure me that Jesus had it handled. Lorraine lived her faith in Jesus knowing that Hope in Jesus does not disappoint.
Back when I was in seminary, whenever we studied a text such as this one from the letter to the Romans, it was not unusual for one of us to exclaim, “Man, there’s a lot of good stuff in here.” The rest of us would smile because, obviously, God’s Word is full of good stuff from beginning to end. Some of the central thoughts of the Bible are found right here in this text. Let me put the last thought first: “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Because we are sinners, it is natural for us to be afraid of God, and to fear His wrath and judgment. Death comes upon us because we are sinners, so that makes us doubly afraid of our end. Yet, before any of us could know Him, God had already planned our salvation. For our sins, Lorraine’s sins, your sins, and the sins of the whole world, Jesus gave His holy, innocent life in payment for our shortcomings. Because Jesus is both true God and true Man, and completely without any sin of His own, God accepted the payment of Jesus’ death as the full settling of the score. There is no more judgment to pay in God’s courtroom. God has always loved His people, so He made sure to provide a rescue from what we deserved.
Lorraine loved to hear about what Jesus has done for her and for all of us. She came to church last Wednesday evening, less than two days before God called her home, and she told us how glad she was to hear again the account of Jesus’ birth. The cookies were a nice treat, too, but for her the main thing was that Hope in Jesus does not disappoint.
The second thought I would pull from this text is this: “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Man, there’s a lot of good stuff in this sentence. Christians have been justified by faith. That means that when we believe in Jesus as our Savior, God declares us innocent of all sin, and because He counts us innocent, He welcomes the believer into His presence. That certainly doesn’t give us an allowance to sin. Instead, it means that there is peace between God and believers because of Jesus.
Paul wrote that “we have access by faith into this grace.” Grace is God loving us because of Jesus. Loving us even though we could never earn it. Forgiving us even though we all have sinned. Among the gifts God gives us by grace is the faith that saves us. He gave that faith to Lorraine way back in 1935 when she was baptized into the Christian faith. The Holy Spirit nurtured that faith throughout her life, in Bible study and confirmation classes, in her attendance at church, and through the body and blood of Jesus in the Sacrament. Faith isn’t something we do, it is something God works in us through the power of His gospel, the Good News of all that Jesus has done for us.
When the sinner hears of the great love God has shown for us in Jesus, that word changes the heart. Lorraine confirmed her trust in what God had done for her, here at English Lutheran Church on May 29, 1949. Just two days before her fourteenth birthday, Lorraine was already confident that Hope in Jesus does not disappoint. That hope sustained her all the way through Friday morning when she met Jesus face to face as the Lord called her to rest and peace in His everlasting care.
The final passage I draw to your attention is the center of this text: “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” Hope in Jesus does not disappoint because it is given to us by God Himself. Through all the trials and hardships of life, God is tempering the believer’s faith, making it stronger and stronger by drawing us ever closer to Him. Through it all, God is at work in the believing soul to keep our faith in Jesus secure. Faith saves, not because we are so strong, but because Jesus is.
Jesus lived the perfect life that the law demands of anyone who would be saved. God credits that holiness to all who believe. Demonstrating His great love for us, Jesus kept the law on our behalf with all its righteous demands, but Jesus also gave His life to pay for our lapses in judgment, our flagrant sins, and even those sins we aren’t aware we commit. Jesus paid for them all. He paid in full for you and me and Lorraine.
Yet, some might still say, “How do you know? How can I be certain that any of this is true?” The answer is found at the stable at Bethlehem and at the tomb outside of Jerusalem. No, I’m not telling you to go there now. But the events that happened at those two locations are some of the most well-documented events in history. The whole Old Testament prophesied of those events to come. The New Testament and numerous outside reporters, even Jesus’ enemies, tell of the things that happened there.
We can be certain of the salvation Jesus has won for us, because it is a sure thing that Jesus, the Son of God from all eternity, was born in Bethlehem just as the prophet foretold. And, Jesus, the Son of Mary, surely suffered and was crucified on a cross at Jerusalem, died and was buried, and just as surely, Jesus rose from the grave alive and triumphant on the third day, just as He Himself had foretold on numerous occasions. Only a fool would deny that Jesus has done what He said He came to do. Lorraine was no fool.
My friends, we all want to know that when we come to the end of our lives, there will be something more. You can be confident that for your dear one, there is life in heaven, and her body will also be raised from the grave on the last day, glorified and reunited with her soul, so that forever after she will dwell with the Lord and with all the saints and holy angels in heaven. God has promised this, so it is as good as done. By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, St. Paul wrote, “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him by this baptism into his death, so that just as he was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too would also walk in a new life. For if we have been united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united with him in the likeness of his resurrection.” (Romans 6:3-5)
Now, I don’t know if there is fishing in heaven, but I do know that Lorraine is now enjoying the finest Christmas celebration one could ever hope to see. She is seeing face to face the Savior who gave His life here on earth so that she could dwell with Him forever in heaven. By His life and death, Jesus has opened the gates of Paradise to our dear sister in the faith and to all who believe in Jesus. Thus, Hope in Jesus does not disappoint. That hope is based on God’s promises and God’s actions for our salvation. Hear and believe what the Bible declares: “The Father loves the Son and has put everything in his hands. The one who believes in the Son has eternal life.” (John 3:35-36) Someday, when the Lord calls you who believe in Him to the rest and peace of heaven, Lorraine will be there ready to greet you, because truly, Hope in Jesus does not disappoint. Amen.
The peace of God, established and won for you, and for all, by the sacrifice of God’s own precious Son, be with you always to the very end of the age. Amen.