Date: September 23, 2023
Funeral: Lilja Kruut
Text: John 14:1-6
Preaching Occasion: Zion Lutheran Church, Mt. Pleasant, MI
Appointed Scriptures: Psalms 116; Ecclesiastes 3:1-4; Job 19:21-27; Romans 8:31-39; John 14:1-6
Sermon Hymn: LSB #461 I Know That My Redeemer Lives
Tom, Lily, Annalie, beloved friends and family of Lilja, grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today, we mourn together the death of our beloved sister in Christ, Lilja. As Christians it is a bittersweet day. It is bitter in that she is no longer with us, for the darkness of death has taken her from us, as it will take all of us someday. Yet it is sweet in that she is no longer suffering as well as the knowledge that she is peacefully resting in our Lord, and the hope that we shall see her again at the resurrection when Christ returns in glory.
Because we are Christians, our grief is unique, even strange to the world. After all, we just sang a joyous Easter hymn, and in our closing hymn we will sing a song of praise to our Lord despite our grief. So, we don’t grieve like everyone else. As St. Paul says, we do not “grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep” [1 Thess. 4:13b-14]. It’s not that we ignore our grief or pretend death is not tragic, but as we grieve and shed tears of sorrow, we at the same time sing with joy in the Lord because of the salvation He won for us—for Lilja. Only at a Christian funeral will you find the paradox of joy and sorrow because of Jesus’ promise we heard a moment ago.
He said, ” ‘Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.'”
Jesus says He is going a certain way—to a place to prepare for those who believe in Him. His disciple, Thomas, is confused, perhaps responding on everyone’s behalf, “We don’t know where You’re going, Lord! So, how can we know the way?” And Jesus answers, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” The way, then, is Jesus. If you want to know the way to salvation, the truth of all things, and where eternal life resides, believe in Jesus. Take Him at His Word.
He says these words not too long before His crucifixion. So, the way He is going is the way of the cross, which is suffering. We suffer this life not only for being Christian but also the common human suffering we all share. Lilja experienced this. She experienced it not only from the world and the devil and her own sins, but also in the weakness and pain of her body, and in death. And today, we experience suffering in our shared grief.
Yet for Christians like Lilja, suffering and death are not the end of our discipleship, for the way of the cross of Christ is also the way of resurrection, which is eternal life—that’s the truth of the matter. Lilja knew and believed this. She believed in God, and she believed in Jesus. She also suffered, just as her Lord suffered. Visiting her was often difficult because she needed help sitting up and going to the bathroom. Simply existing was painful for her, and it was painful to minister to her and visit her. She was quick to impatience and anger because of her suffering. And who can blame her? She may have been weak in body and soul, but the way of the cross does not depend on the strength of one’s body or faith but on the object of your faith. The object of Lilja’s faith was Jesus Christ, who was crucified for her, you, and me, whose power is so unfathomably great that He rose from the dead.
When Paul wrote the words, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” [Phil. 4:13], he wasn’t writing about running a triathlon, going to a job interview, or taking a test. He was writing from prison where he had to sit in his own feces, waiting to be beheaded. He was at his weakest when he sat in prison, but he relied on the strength of his Lord, Jesus Christ, who is risen from the dead. Lilja’s room at the medical care facility was much like a prison to her. She couldn’t leave it of her own volition, and near the end she would’ve fully sympathised with Paul’s experience in prison, but she understood exactly what Paul meant. She might’ve been physically weak, and her faith may have faltered at times, but she relied on the strength of her risen Lord, Jesus Christ, because He promised a better room for her—a room where she is now resting and no longer experiences tears and pain.
She is with the Lord, the Master of the heavenly house where she now resides. Perhaps the best analogy to use to describe this heavenly house is an inn, for as we heard from Paul earlier, the Scriptures describe the death of a Christian as sleeping. As the earth will become a bed for her ashes, her soul now rests in the Lord in the room He has prepared for her just as He is preparing one for all who believe in Him. She will remain asleep in this heavenly inn with all the saints until that glorious day when the trumpet resounds to wake us all from our sleep, where we shall see Lilja again, to enjoy the beauty of the new creation for all eternity.
Until that glorious day, may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
The Lutheran Column 