Answers To Consider
Sermon
The Word Is Life
An Anthology Of Funeral Meditations
This meditation was preached at the funeral of a 60--year--old woman who was shot to death by her son in their home.The woman's husband was resting in another room of the home when the shooting took place. The son remained at the scene until the police arrived.
We all know that a day will come when family and friends will gather to conduct funeral services for each of you. So, in that broad sense, we knew that this day would come for ____________. We knew that ____________ would die someday. She faced death by warding off a form of cancer. More recently she confronted the dangers of a stroke. Had any one of a number of health concerns caused her death, we would be gathered as we are to mourn her loss, to cherish fond memories of her, to share our grief, to lament her death. The violent nature of her death has heightened our emotions, and given us new ones. Bewilderment, anger, shame, regret, all add to the jumble of our emotions. And at times, disbelief, numbness, and shock take over in order to protect us. In these circumstances, our sorrow, our mourning, seem all the more compound.
At most deaths we wonder why. A death like this one causes us to ask why even more strongly, more searchingly. Why? Why did this happen? Was it hallucination? Was it mental illness? Was it a chemically induced destruction of the power
of reason? Was it a love/hate emotion suddenly tilted out of balance? Was it the power of evil and sin? Was it some incomprehensible part of a plan the purpose of which may never be understood? The question, why?, taunts us. It will for years to come.
We are in the depths of pain and sorrow. The question of why only throws us deeper into despair and depression. Therefore, I propose that the why question is not ours to ask today. There are other truly more important questions before us today. They come in many forms and meanings. Some of you may be asking, ''What does this do to the rest of my life?'' Others may be asking, ''How can I overcome this?'' Others, ''What good can come of this?'' Still others may wonder, ''How can this be avoided?'' Some of you will have questions I can't even imagine.
Even though I do not assume to know the questions most urgent to you at this time, I shall be so bold as to propose answers to your questions in light of the situation. You may formulate your own questions as we explore answers that speak to us in the depths of sorrow.
You, ____________ family, husband, children, sister, brother, and all relatives - also close friends and neighbors - are in the depths of sorrow. You will grieve over ____________ death and the manner in which it occurred. You are not alone. We share your sorrow. We are all brought together today into the depths of sorrow and loss. In this situation, regardless of what our pressing question is, the psalmist and other scripture writers have a message, answers, for us to consider.
One psalmist wrote: ''Out of the depths I cry to thee, O Lord! Lord, hear my voice.'' Out of our depths, O Lord, we cry to you. Lord, hear our voices. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand? Yet there is forgiveness with you. Hope, therefore, is the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plenteous redemption.
The psalmist wrote in a time of despair and sorrow. He wrote in a time when the people were in the depths. Out of
the depths he called desperately to the Lord. Out of the depths he knew a Lord who offered forgiveness, hope, steadfast love, and plenteous redemption. He offers us an answer to our troubling questions.
When we think of being in the depths, no other biblical person comes to mind more appropriately than Job. Job lost all he had, wealth, sons and daughters, and great herds. He was even plagued with sores. Out of the depths of his despair and sorrow he had plenty of questions. He wanted to know who and what for? He questioned God; he struggled with God. But he never gave up on God. For in all his misery, Job could still say, ''I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last ... I shall see God.'' Maybe our questions have to do with redemption. Out of our depths we can know that our redeemer lives. He who can give us new life lives; we can see him!
In another psalm, a psalmist writes, ''God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.'' Though the earth changes and the mountains fall into the sea, we shall not fear. The God of Jacob is our refuge. When we find ourselves in such depths of sorrow and bewilderment as now, God is our refuge and strength. He is our very present help. Trouble has overwhelmed us. Yet, we are not abandoned. God is with us. We turn to him for strength and comfort. If our questions deal with finding strength to go on, the psalmist offers an answer. Out of our depths, God is our refuge.
It may have seemed very odd to have read a part of the crucifixion story at a funeral service. But when we consider being in the depths of pain and sorrow, we may sometimes falsely assume that God doesn't understand what we are experiencing. Jesus himself cried to God out of the depths of suffering and sorrow. If our questions deal with forsakenness; it will help us to know that the one who saves us, God's very son, felt forsaken as well. Most Bible scholars and interpreters believe Jesus was quoting the 22nd Psalm. It is a psalm that begins in anguish with a sense of forsakenness but ends with confidence in God. It proclaims that God will not hide his face from the afflicted. The Easter stories assure us that Jesus
was not forsaken. God was with him through his suffering, and raised him to live and rule eternally as Lord and Savior of us all. Out of our depths we may feel forsaken - but we are not! If in our pain we should question whether God is with us or not, or even if he cares, let us remember the cross of Christ. The Lord does not hide his face from our affliction.
The apostle Paul sums it up for us. ''It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?'' To which he proclaims: ''Nothing!'' Nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ. Not tribulation, not family tragedy, not distress, not things present, not things to come, not life, not death. Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. If we should wonder about the love of God, Paul offers us an answer. God's love in Christ Jesus is an enduring love, a steadfast love, a redeeming love. Nothing shall separate us from his love.
Out of the depths of our sorrow; out of our jumbled emotions, we cry to the Lord. Lord, hear our voices. We mourn the loss of ____________ and the turmoil brought to the family. We remember with thankfulness the qualities of ____________ which endeared her to us. Let us move beyond the immediate question of why, to see that God offers us answers to many other pressing questions. Out of our depths we cry to the Lord. He hears our voices and offers us: forgiveness and redemption; hope and steadfast love; refuge and strength; his very presence with us; comfort and understanding; and the assurance that nothing, nothing in all creation, separates us from his love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
We all know that a day will come when family and friends will gather to conduct funeral services for each of you. So, in that broad sense, we knew that this day would come for ____________. We knew that ____________ would die someday. She faced death by warding off a form of cancer. More recently she confronted the dangers of a stroke. Had any one of a number of health concerns caused her death, we would be gathered as we are to mourn her loss, to cherish fond memories of her, to share our grief, to lament her death. The violent nature of her death has heightened our emotions, and given us new ones. Bewilderment, anger, shame, regret, all add to the jumble of our emotions. And at times, disbelief, numbness, and shock take over in order to protect us. In these circumstances, our sorrow, our mourning, seem all the more compound.
At most deaths we wonder why. A death like this one causes us to ask why even more strongly, more searchingly. Why? Why did this happen? Was it hallucination? Was it mental illness? Was it a chemically induced destruction of the power
of reason? Was it a love/hate emotion suddenly tilted out of balance? Was it the power of evil and sin? Was it some incomprehensible part of a plan the purpose of which may never be understood? The question, why?, taunts us. It will for years to come.
We are in the depths of pain and sorrow. The question of why only throws us deeper into despair and depression. Therefore, I propose that the why question is not ours to ask today. There are other truly more important questions before us today. They come in many forms and meanings. Some of you may be asking, ''What does this do to the rest of my life?'' Others may be asking, ''How can I overcome this?'' Others, ''What good can come of this?'' Still others may wonder, ''How can this be avoided?'' Some of you will have questions I can't even imagine.
Even though I do not assume to know the questions most urgent to you at this time, I shall be so bold as to propose answers to your questions in light of the situation. You may formulate your own questions as we explore answers that speak to us in the depths of sorrow.
You, ____________ family, husband, children, sister, brother, and all relatives - also close friends and neighbors - are in the depths of sorrow. You will grieve over ____________ death and the manner in which it occurred. You are not alone. We share your sorrow. We are all brought together today into the depths of sorrow and loss. In this situation, regardless of what our pressing question is, the psalmist and other scripture writers have a message, answers, for us to consider.
One psalmist wrote: ''Out of the depths I cry to thee, O Lord! Lord, hear my voice.'' Out of our depths, O Lord, we cry to you. Lord, hear our voices. If you, O Lord, mark iniquities, who can stand? Yet there is forgiveness with you. Hope, therefore, is the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with him is plenteous redemption.
The psalmist wrote in a time of despair and sorrow. He wrote in a time when the people were in the depths. Out of
the depths he called desperately to the Lord. Out of the depths he knew a Lord who offered forgiveness, hope, steadfast love, and plenteous redemption. He offers us an answer to our troubling questions.
When we think of being in the depths, no other biblical person comes to mind more appropriately than Job. Job lost all he had, wealth, sons and daughters, and great herds. He was even plagued with sores. Out of the depths of his despair and sorrow he had plenty of questions. He wanted to know who and what for? He questioned God; he struggled with God. But he never gave up on God. For in all his misery, Job could still say, ''I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last ... I shall see God.'' Maybe our questions have to do with redemption. Out of our depths we can know that our redeemer lives. He who can give us new life lives; we can see him!
In another psalm, a psalmist writes, ''God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.'' Though the earth changes and the mountains fall into the sea, we shall not fear. The God of Jacob is our refuge. When we find ourselves in such depths of sorrow and bewilderment as now, God is our refuge and strength. He is our very present help. Trouble has overwhelmed us. Yet, we are not abandoned. God is with us. We turn to him for strength and comfort. If our questions deal with finding strength to go on, the psalmist offers an answer. Out of our depths, God is our refuge.
It may have seemed very odd to have read a part of the crucifixion story at a funeral service. But when we consider being in the depths of pain and sorrow, we may sometimes falsely assume that God doesn't understand what we are experiencing. Jesus himself cried to God out of the depths of suffering and sorrow. If our questions deal with forsakenness; it will help us to know that the one who saves us, God's very son, felt forsaken as well. Most Bible scholars and interpreters believe Jesus was quoting the 22nd Psalm. It is a psalm that begins in anguish with a sense of forsakenness but ends with confidence in God. It proclaims that God will not hide his face from the afflicted. The Easter stories assure us that Jesus
was not forsaken. God was with him through his suffering, and raised him to live and rule eternally as Lord and Savior of us all. Out of our depths we may feel forsaken - but we are not! If in our pain we should question whether God is with us or not, or even if he cares, let us remember the cross of Christ. The Lord does not hide his face from our affliction.
The apostle Paul sums it up for us. ''It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?'' To which he proclaims: ''Nothing!'' Nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ. Not tribulation, not family tragedy, not distress, not things present, not things to come, not life, not death. Nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. If we should wonder about the love of God, Paul offers us an answer. God's love in Christ Jesus is an enduring love, a steadfast love, a redeeming love. Nothing shall separate us from his love.
Out of the depths of our sorrow; out of our jumbled emotions, we cry to the Lord. Lord, hear our voices. We mourn the loss of ____________ and the turmoil brought to the family. We remember with thankfulness the qualities of ____________ which endeared her to us. Let us move beyond the immediate question of why, to see that God offers us answers to many other pressing questions. Out of our depths we cry to the Lord. He hears our voices and offers us: forgiveness and redemption; hope and steadfast love; refuge and strength; his very presence with us; comfort and understanding; and the assurance that nothing, nothing in all creation, separates us from his love in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
