This
morning, we look at Lorna’s life in light of our readings, and how they might
offer us comfort and consolation.
Let
us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “Surely goodness and mercy follow
me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”[i] As we gather to reflect on
Lorna’s life, your Spirit reminds us that she now dwells in your house forever.
We thank you for the century she lived on earth. As the preacher wrote, “For
everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: a time
to be born, and a time to die.” We thank you for the opportunities you gave
Lorna to heal and build up; to weep and laugh; to mourn and dance; to embrace and
refrain. You blessed her life with many rich moments and memories, and for
this, we offer you praise and thanksgiving.
We
thank you for the many minutes as a quilter she had to tear and sew, to speak
and listen. We thank you for the many moments she lived through war and peace.
We
thank you for the gathering on her 100th birthday, and for the moments
she had as a member of the Nehrt, Osiek and Frederking families to love. We
thank you for the gracious mercy you showed her for any moment she hated or
sinned.
Father,
you make everything beautiful. We thank you for the beauty of Lorna’s life and
our memories of her. We thank you for instilling in her heart the gift of faith
and her joyful quest for eternal life in you, our Triune God. Blessed Trinity,
after we finish our mourning and leave from here to eat, drink and take
pleasure in Lorna’s memory, remind us that this too is your gift to us. Amen.
I
read recently that a good funeral serves the living by caring for the dead.[ii] It may sound strange
because we rarely discuss good funerals and how they serve the living. Yet, our
gospels each relate how Jesus’ family and friends gave him a good funeral – a proper
burial and a new tomb.
Today,
we give Lorna a good funeral. From the time the Extended Care staff at
Washington County Hospital released Lorna’s body to Campagna’s staff, to Cheryl
preparing the bulletin, and Lois and Jodi playing and singing, to Joanne
choosing readings and our church providing its pastoral care and meal, to
Trinity Lutheran cemetery preparing the grave, we give Lorna a good funeral. We
go the distance with her today – all the way to her grave – as the family and
friends of Jesus did for him.
We
prepared Lorna for this day. Undoubtedly, she prepared herself for this day.
She heard and read our Scripture passages many times in worship and in prayer.
Our Gospel reminds us that Jesus is the living bread that came down from
heaven.[iii] From the time Lorna
first took the Body and Blood of Christ in, with and under the bread and wine
on her confirmation day in 1927, she prepared herself for this day.
On
the moments after the death of her husband, Raymond; her grandson, Jeffrey; her
parents and others close to her, Christ’s Body and Blood brought Lorna great
comfort. Even last week, when I gave her Communion in her room at Extended
Care, God offered her comfort, and prepared her for this day.
Because
Lorna believed in our Lord Jesus, she was prepared for this day. Echoing St.
Paul, over her perishable body she put on the imperishable, and she covered her
mortal body with immortality on the day she was baptized at Trinity Lutheran
Church in Hoyleton, seven days after her birth.[iv]
By
meditating on how God met her and accompanied her throughout her life, Lorna
was prepared for this day. By meditating on how God meets us and accompanies us
through the means of grace – through the waters of baptism and in the Lord’s
Supper, when we first receive it at Confirmation and many times thereafter, we
prepare ourselves for this moment. In other words, we prepare for death by
dealing with the dying.
That
said; I am certain Lorna was grateful to all of you for remembering her. She
was not simply warehoused and forgotten. She was remembered and treasured – as
a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, the Frederking family and the Nashville
community. We see that when purchasing a card at Lee’s where we find buckslips
displaying obituaries. That tells me that the community remembers its dead –
and treasures the living moments these individuals lived.
I
think we can continue to remember Lorna by imitating her. St. Paul often
encouraged Christians to imitate him.[v] He encouraged new Christians
to imitate him and grow strong in their faith. If we are going to imitate
Lorna, we should take time to contemplate her favorite passage from the Bible,
the 23rd Psalm, which we said as our Introit.
As
we take time this day to contemplate its words, we do so remembering the Lord
leading her beside still waters – the still waters of baptism that promised her
eternal life. We remember God restoring her soul through the words of the Holy
Gospel and His Law in order to lead her in paths of righteousness for his
name’s sake.
Moreover,
because the Lord accompanied her, she did not fear her enemies – Satan, sin,
death and self -
And
when she approached the valley of the shadow of death, Lorna was undaunted for
the Lord was with her as rod and staff are to a shepherd.
Now,
through His people, the Lord lies her down in a green pasture – near fields of
corn, wheat and soybeans. A fitting burial place for one whose century of
living depended on farming those crops. Simple crops for a simple person who
now dwells in the house of the Lord and hears Him say, “Welcome to the table of
the Lord.”
Meditate
on this psalm and as you remember Lorna through these words, may God’s goodness
and mercy follow you all the days of your life. May the Lord keep you from all
evil and keep your life. May the Lord keep your going out and your coming in from
this time forth and forevermore.[vi]
And may the peace of God that surpasses
all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.[vii] Amen. …
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