The Journey Of Life
Sermon
Life Everlasting
The Essential Book of Funeral Resources
Object:
For a person without church affiliation
The Journey Of Life
Psalm 122; Luke 24:13-35
(In many communities across our country, pastors, like myself, are called upon frequently to preside over funerals for a person who had no affiliation with the local congregation. In many instances, the family did not have a congregational affiliation, either. This sermon has been effective in many such situations.)
I think of life as being like a journey. We travel through each day of life as though it were a trip. We hope, we plan, we look forward to what is ahead. We enjoy the present and remember the good times of the past. As we travel the road of life, we encounter some surprises along the way. We find unexpected hardships, delays, and problems.
Today, we pause for a moment having encountered an unexpected delay. We pause for a moment in our journey of life to celebrate and remember our sister, wife, mother, friend. We pause to give thanks to God for having been able to walk the road of life with her, for having the privilege of knowing her, and of sharing life with her. Today, we come together with our own memories of that life shared. We come with our own stories of travels, encounters, and remembrances. We come to share those memories and experiences. We come to remember that each was a gift from God, given as a blessing as we have walked along our journey of life.
We also pause in our journey to be refreshed and renewed in order that we can travel on. We pause to renew and restore our hope and our confidence in a kind, loving God. We pause to share our faith so that as we move on to the future, we might be able to recall the past and enjoy the gifts of the present.
To find hope and confidence, we turn to the scriptures that are the witness of faith of people who lived long ago. They are the faith statements of people who also traveled along the road of life and found it necessary to pause for some time to renew their faith and regain their trust in God. In both cases, we hear the words of people who suffered distress, discouragement, pain, and alienation. They were people questioning their lives of faith. They were seeking hope in the middle of what seemed to be hopelessness. They wanted peace in their distress.
The psalmist speaks of his life as being like a trip. In the trip, he imagined he found hope from the very beginning, from the very first time he was invited to travel. From the first stages of planning, there was hope. But this trip was unlike any other trip. It was the trip home -- the trip to the New Jerusalem, the center of all hope and faith. The temple was in Jerusalem, the center of all things, a place of security. The people believed God was present in the temple. The temple was the center of worship. It was there in Jerusalem, and only there, that the faithful could feel the presence of God. It was only in Jerusalem that God and all his presence, comfort, peace, fairness, and salvation could be felt, recognized, and celebrated. It was in Jerusalem that God dwelt in security, comfort, peace, and safety.
In the New Testament, there are references to the New Jerusalem -- the new place of comfort, rest, and peace. The new home, the kingdom prepared by God in Jesus Christ. The New Jerusalem in God's eternal kingdom -- the place we call heaven. It is the eternal dwelling place of God. It is the home we all journey toward, the hope of the future. It is the secure place where we are welcomed at our death, a place of comfort in grief, a place of health in sickness, a place of hope in hopelessness, a place of life in death.
Our sister has now completed her journey. She now rests from all her labors, trials, and hardships of this life. And there she has found joy and peace that surpasses all that she ever experienced on earth -- even in the best times of her life.
But you and I, we still travel our road of life. We still are on our journey in life. The gospel writer, Luke, tells us something about his faith as he tells the story of the two men walking along the road to Emmaus. These two disciples were desperate, despondent, disillusioned, and discouraged. Their Lord had died and he was nowhere to be found -- they could not even see his body. So they were traveling -- fleeing, really -- from the pain of the day he died. They hurt. They could not find him, so they moved on in their journey of life.
But as they walked, their risen Lord came and walked with them. They talked and shared, and as Jesus was asked innocent questions, they were allowed to share their hurt and pain, their confusion and distress. And in the process of their sharing, their conversation, and specifically in the sharing of a meal, these disciples recognized the Lord. He is risen, he is risen, indeed! Now they have found new hope, new meaning, new direction in their journey of life and faith.
My friends, today in this funeral service, we share our journey of life and faith. We, like the disciples, walk together sharing our moments of doubt, and our moments of faith. We walk as the wondering, hoping, hurt, confused, and discouraged.
But the Lord walks with us. He is present with us. He is sharing our journey and life with us, bringing us hope and new faith. Renewing us with his promises, of forgiveness, love, eternal life, a New Jerusalem, wherein all believers find eternal home in Christ.
Our sister has now passed from this life through the gate of death to her eternal home. There she may find the peace and glory of the kingdom of God. We walk yet along our journey. We walk by faith, and we walk with the risen Savior, in whom we have the hope and the promise that all believers, though they die, yet shall they have life -- new life, abundant life, eternal life. Thanks be to God for this hope.
Thanks be to God for his promises and the witness of his followers, of the gift of our sister's life, for our eternal home. And, thanks be to God for his love and mercy as we continue along the journey of our life, trusting in the hope of eternal life. Amen.
(Reprinted from "In Sure And Certain Hope," CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio 45804, © 1985.)
The Journey Of Life
Psalm 122; Luke 24:13-35
(In many communities across our country, pastors, like myself, are called upon frequently to preside over funerals for a person who had no affiliation with the local congregation. In many instances, the family did not have a congregational affiliation, either. This sermon has been effective in many such situations.)
I think of life as being like a journey. We travel through each day of life as though it were a trip. We hope, we plan, we look forward to what is ahead. We enjoy the present and remember the good times of the past. As we travel the road of life, we encounter some surprises along the way. We find unexpected hardships, delays, and problems.
Today, we pause for a moment having encountered an unexpected delay. We pause for a moment in our journey of life to celebrate and remember our sister, wife, mother, friend. We pause to give thanks to God for having been able to walk the road of life with her, for having the privilege of knowing her, and of sharing life with her. Today, we come together with our own memories of that life shared. We come with our own stories of travels, encounters, and remembrances. We come to share those memories and experiences. We come to remember that each was a gift from God, given as a blessing as we have walked along our journey of life.
We also pause in our journey to be refreshed and renewed in order that we can travel on. We pause to renew and restore our hope and our confidence in a kind, loving God. We pause to share our faith so that as we move on to the future, we might be able to recall the past and enjoy the gifts of the present.
To find hope and confidence, we turn to the scriptures that are the witness of faith of people who lived long ago. They are the faith statements of people who also traveled along the road of life and found it necessary to pause for some time to renew their faith and regain their trust in God. In both cases, we hear the words of people who suffered distress, discouragement, pain, and alienation. They were people questioning their lives of faith. They were seeking hope in the middle of what seemed to be hopelessness. They wanted peace in their distress.
The psalmist speaks of his life as being like a trip. In the trip, he imagined he found hope from the very beginning, from the very first time he was invited to travel. From the first stages of planning, there was hope. But this trip was unlike any other trip. It was the trip home -- the trip to the New Jerusalem, the center of all hope and faith. The temple was in Jerusalem, the center of all things, a place of security. The people believed God was present in the temple. The temple was the center of worship. It was there in Jerusalem, and only there, that the faithful could feel the presence of God. It was only in Jerusalem that God and all his presence, comfort, peace, fairness, and salvation could be felt, recognized, and celebrated. It was in Jerusalem that God dwelt in security, comfort, peace, and safety.
In the New Testament, there are references to the New Jerusalem -- the new place of comfort, rest, and peace. The new home, the kingdom prepared by God in Jesus Christ. The New Jerusalem in God's eternal kingdom -- the place we call heaven. It is the eternal dwelling place of God. It is the home we all journey toward, the hope of the future. It is the secure place where we are welcomed at our death, a place of comfort in grief, a place of health in sickness, a place of hope in hopelessness, a place of life in death.
Our sister has now completed her journey. She now rests from all her labors, trials, and hardships of this life. And there she has found joy and peace that surpasses all that she ever experienced on earth -- even in the best times of her life.
But you and I, we still travel our road of life. We still are on our journey in life. The gospel writer, Luke, tells us something about his faith as he tells the story of the two men walking along the road to Emmaus. These two disciples were desperate, despondent, disillusioned, and discouraged. Their Lord had died and he was nowhere to be found -- they could not even see his body. So they were traveling -- fleeing, really -- from the pain of the day he died. They hurt. They could not find him, so they moved on in their journey of life.
But as they walked, their risen Lord came and walked with them. They talked and shared, and as Jesus was asked innocent questions, they were allowed to share their hurt and pain, their confusion and distress. And in the process of their sharing, their conversation, and specifically in the sharing of a meal, these disciples recognized the Lord. He is risen, he is risen, indeed! Now they have found new hope, new meaning, new direction in their journey of life and faith.
My friends, today in this funeral service, we share our journey of life and faith. We, like the disciples, walk together sharing our moments of doubt, and our moments of faith. We walk as the wondering, hoping, hurt, confused, and discouraged.
But the Lord walks with us. He is present with us. He is sharing our journey and life with us, bringing us hope and new faith. Renewing us with his promises, of forgiveness, love, eternal life, a New Jerusalem, wherein all believers find eternal home in Christ.
Our sister has now passed from this life through the gate of death to her eternal home. There she may find the peace and glory of the kingdom of God. We walk yet along our journey. We walk by faith, and we walk with the risen Savior, in whom we have the hope and the promise that all believers, though they die, yet shall they have life -- new life, abundant life, eternal life. Thanks be to God for this hope.
Thanks be to God for his promises and the witness of his followers, of the gift of our sister's life, for our eternal home. And, thanks be to God for his love and mercy as we continue along the journey of our life, trusting in the hope of eternal life. Amen.
(Reprinted from "In Sure And Certain Hope," CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio 45804, © 1985.)