What Was Broken Is Healed
Sermon
Life Everlasting
The Essential Book of Funeral Resources
Object:
For a young woman killed by a drunk driver
What Was Broken Is Healed
Isaiah 65:17-25; 2 Corinthians 5:1-5
If anyone could pack an entire lifetime into not quite 22 years. it was Sunny. She was exuberant, daring, full of energy, and loaded with love. Her short life was filled with friends, adventures, and special times with her family. Whether it was trying to ski when she didn't know how, or planning her career as a rock star before she even had purchased a guitar, Sunny gave life all she had.
We can't help but grieve over the loss of a woman so young and full of the zest of life. We can see the impact of her life in the extraordinary number of flowers that fill the sanctuary today. It seems unfair to us and to her that her life was cut short so suddenly, when so much living lay ahead of her. We know that life has a lot to offer and Sunny would have made a point to sample her share. The question of why pounds in our heads, but we will get no real answer to the question of why. We simply don't know why God allows such things to happen. We know that God gives us free will and that a driver used that free will for the wrong purpose. Because of that, Sunny was taken from us. At a time like this, even though we can't help but be angry, we have to find a way to heal so that we are not consumed by the anger. When we are in grief or sorrow, we turn to the scriptures for help.
The passage from Isaiah that I just read knows that some things in life are just not the way they should be. Because life isn't the way it should be, God creates anew. In God's new creation people will not die before their time. As the prophet says, "for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth." Isaiah knows that a life cut short is a tragedy. Isaiah knows that weeping and grief hurt and shake us to the very core of our being. Isaiah doesn't tell us why, but he holds out a vision for us. Isaiah holds out a vision of a time when life will truly be fulfilling. No one will die before savoring all of life's wonders. Through Christian eyes we see Isaiah's vision pointing toward the resurrection, toward God's new creation and God's eternal dominion.
In the resurrection, what was taken from us is restored, what was broken is healed, and what was denied us is given in full. One part of Isaiah's vision is the wolf and the lamb lying down together. This is a poetic way of describing reconciliation, where what was once separated is brought together. We automatically think of Sunny being reconciled with her great-grandparents, and her grandfather. One of the ways this passage comforts us is to point us to that reconciliation, where we offer one another hugs and kisses, where our relationships are restored, never again to be interrupted.
The Apostle Paul offers us further comfort. He says our bodies now are an earthly tent that we put off so that we can put on an eternal dwelling place. We never fully understand the mystery of death. Our questions sometimes just hang in the air. Nevertheless, we trust Paul's assurance that death is not final, that when the body we have now is destroyed, we put on a heavenly dwelling place. That dwelling place never wears out; it cannot be hurt; it can never feel pain, fear, or grief again.
For now we miss Sunny, and our hearts ache to see her, to hold her, hear her laugh, and to see the sparkle in her eyes. We have each other to hold on to in our grief. We have God's Spirit to comfort us. We have prayer to cleanse our souls and the church to strengthen us. To Sunny's parents, her grandmother, grandparents, and her sisters, let me say that we in the church are here for you. We are God's gifts to each other. We are here for you to cling to while we wait for God's new creation, God's new heaven and earth. We are here for you while we wait for the time when we are free of pain and grief, free of danger and free of death.
Thanks be to God, who knows our hearts, who has conquered the power of death. Thanks be to God who has prepared for us an eternal dwelling in which we are reconciled to each other and share true fellowship with God Almighty. Amen.
What Was Broken Is Healed
Isaiah 65:17-25; 2 Corinthians 5:1-5
If anyone could pack an entire lifetime into not quite 22 years. it was Sunny. She was exuberant, daring, full of energy, and loaded with love. Her short life was filled with friends, adventures, and special times with her family. Whether it was trying to ski when she didn't know how, or planning her career as a rock star before she even had purchased a guitar, Sunny gave life all she had.
We can't help but grieve over the loss of a woman so young and full of the zest of life. We can see the impact of her life in the extraordinary number of flowers that fill the sanctuary today. It seems unfair to us and to her that her life was cut short so suddenly, when so much living lay ahead of her. We know that life has a lot to offer and Sunny would have made a point to sample her share. The question of why pounds in our heads, but we will get no real answer to the question of why. We simply don't know why God allows such things to happen. We know that God gives us free will and that a driver used that free will for the wrong purpose. Because of that, Sunny was taken from us. At a time like this, even though we can't help but be angry, we have to find a way to heal so that we are not consumed by the anger. When we are in grief or sorrow, we turn to the scriptures for help.
The passage from Isaiah that I just read knows that some things in life are just not the way they should be. Because life isn't the way it should be, God creates anew. In God's new creation people will not die before their time. As the prophet says, "for one who dies at a hundred years will be considered a youth." Isaiah knows that a life cut short is a tragedy. Isaiah knows that weeping and grief hurt and shake us to the very core of our being. Isaiah doesn't tell us why, but he holds out a vision for us. Isaiah holds out a vision of a time when life will truly be fulfilling. No one will die before savoring all of life's wonders. Through Christian eyes we see Isaiah's vision pointing toward the resurrection, toward God's new creation and God's eternal dominion.
In the resurrection, what was taken from us is restored, what was broken is healed, and what was denied us is given in full. One part of Isaiah's vision is the wolf and the lamb lying down together. This is a poetic way of describing reconciliation, where what was once separated is brought together. We automatically think of Sunny being reconciled with her great-grandparents, and her grandfather. One of the ways this passage comforts us is to point us to that reconciliation, where we offer one another hugs and kisses, where our relationships are restored, never again to be interrupted.
The Apostle Paul offers us further comfort. He says our bodies now are an earthly tent that we put off so that we can put on an eternal dwelling place. We never fully understand the mystery of death. Our questions sometimes just hang in the air. Nevertheless, we trust Paul's assurance that death is not final, that when the body we have now is destroyed, we put on a heavenly dwelling place. That dwelling place never wears out; it cannot be hurt; it can never feel pain, fear, or grief again.
For now we miss Sunny, and our hearts ache to see her, to hold her, hear her laugh, and to see the sparkle in her eyes. We have each other to hold on to in our grief. We have God's Spirit to comfort us. We have prayer to cleanse our souls and the church to strengthen us. To Sunny's parents, her grandmother, grandparents, and her sisters, let me say that we in the church are here for you. We are God's gifts to each other. We are here for you to cling to while we wait for God's new creation, God's new heaven and earth. We are here for you while we wait for the time when we are free of pain and grief, free of danger and free of death.
Thanks be to God, who knows our hearts, who has conquered the power of death. Thanks be to God who has prepared for us an eternal dwelling in which we are reconciled to each other and share true fellowship with God Almighty. Amen.
