I only met Dorothy a few times at Baptisms. She was friendly and open.
But last week, as I met with Loretta and Karen and some of the family, I learned of a warm and adventurous person who happily took on challenges–like making wedding gowns and bridal party dresses–and who dealt with life with good humor.
She liked to mark holidays in a big way, putting up decorations and sending out cards with notes. She wrote Christmas letters and letters for special occasions. She did for others, including not just family members, but also neighbors and friends.
I loved hearing about how she and her family dealt with the inevitable conflicts that arise in any family. She spoke her mind and the other family member spoke theirs, then there would be peace between them. It reminds me of what God’s Word says: “If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day.” (Ephesians 4:26, Good News Translation) In other words, dust-ups between people who love each other are inevitable; but by God’s power, our call is to resolve our disagreements, forgive each other, and move on. Dorothy seemed to live this.
She was well-loved. I like what Mason wrote in one of his notes to me during my meeting with the family last week: “She always cared for us…She never been rude to us…She is loved.” That’s a great eulogy by an eight-year-old!
But in the midst of your sorrow today, God’s Word brings you all both comfort and hope. Both of the Bible passages the family has chosen for today bring these two gifts from God.
Psalm 23 is the most famous of the 150 hymns that make up the Old Testament book of Psalms. Its composer, King David, was a shepherd. So, not surprisingly, David saw God as the shepherd of people who put their trust in God.
I loved hearing about how she and her family dealt with the inevitable conflicts that arise in any family. She spoke her mind and the other family member spoke theirs, then there would be peace between them. It reminds me of what God’s Word says: “If you become angry, do not let your anger lead you into sin, and do not stay angry all day.” (Ephesians 4:26, Good News Translation) In other words, dust-ups between people who love each other are inevitable; but by God’s power, our call is to resolve our disagreements, forgive each other, and move on. Dorothy seemed to live this.
She was well-loved. I like what Mason wrote in one of his notes to me during my meeting with the family last week: “She always cared for us…She never been rude to us…She is loved.” That’s a great eulogy by an eight-year-old!
But in the midst of your sorrow today, God’s Word brings you all both comfort and hope. Both of the Bible passages the family has chosen for today bring these two gifts from God.
Psalm 23 is the most famous of the 150 hymns that make up the Old Testament book of Psalms. Its composer, King David, was a shepherd. So, not surprisingly, David saw God as the shepherd of people who put their trust in God.
Sheep, it should be said, are stupid. They easily get lost, wandering off for the next enticing thatch of grass, heedless of danger. They’re defenseless against predators, just like you and I are subject to the dangers of sin, death, and temptation. Just as sheep need shepherds, we need God, our good shepherd, to lead us away from sin, death, darkness, and despair, to lead us to forgiveness, life, hope, and peace.
Jesus, God the Son, called Himself “the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep.” But ten centuries before Jesus’ birth, David could see that God wanted nothing more than to shepherd, to lead, anyone who trusts in Him through the hard moments of this life into an eternity with God beyond all grief, tears, or goodbyes.
David writes in our psalm, which is a kind of love song to God: “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing…Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:1-4) The God we know in Jesus doesn’t run away when we grieve or hurt. He stands with us. He walks with us. And because He's been through grief and death, He understands us when we go through the same things!
But He does more than that. Psalm 23 also says: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies [even the enemies of death and grief and the sin that alienate us from God and others]. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows…” (Psalm 23:5) Because, as our other lesson from Romans 8, reminds us, nothing can separate us from the love the good shepherd Jesus has for us, we can know, with King David that God’s “goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6)
You and I have an advantage over King David. He knew God through God’s Word and God’s promises, to be sure. He had experienced God’s love and God’s power and God’s forgiveness in the depths of grief and heartache, as well as his own sin. But today, you and I can see and experience the greatness of God’s love for us more certainly. In Jesus Christ, God the Son, God took on our human flesh and He became our servant, dying on a cross bearing our sin and our death in His sinless body. God absorbed all our sin and death and grief into Himself on the cross so that, when God the Father raised Jesus from the dead, He could open up life with God for all who repent and believe in Jesus. Jesus told the grief-stricken Martha, and He tells you today: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die…” (John 11:25-26)
In the crucified Jesus Christ, God promises to be with you in every situation that life in this fallen, imperfect, and sometimes hurtful world may bring.
Jesus, God the Son, called Himself “the Good Shepherd who lays down His life for the sheep.” But ten centuries before Jesus’ birth, David could see that God wanted nothing more than to shepherd, to lead, anyone who trusts in Him through the hard moments of this life into an eternity with God beyond all grief, tears, or goodbyes.
David writes in our psalm, which is a kind of love song to God: “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing…Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:1-4) The God we know in Jesus doesn’t run away when we grieve or hurt. He stands with us. He walks with us. And because He's been through grief and death, He understands us when we go through the same things!
But He does more than that. Psalm 23 also says: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies [even the enemies of death and grief and the sin that alienate us from God and others]. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows…” (Psalm 23:5) Because, as our other lesson from Romans 8, reminds us, nothing can separate us from the love the good shepherd Jesus has for us, we can know, with King David that God’s “goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6)
You and I have an advantage over King David. He knew God through God’s Word and God’s promises, to be sure. He had experienced God’s love and God’s power and God’s forgiveness in the depths of grief and heartache, as well as his own sin. But today, you and I can see and experience the greatness of God’s love for us more certainly. In Jesus Christ, God the Son, God took on our human flesh and He became our servant, dying on a cross bearing our sin and our death in His sinless body. God absorbed all our sin and death and grief into Himself on the cross so that, when God the Father raised Jesus from the dead, He could open up life with God for all who repent and believe in Jesus. Jesus told the grief-stricken Martha, and He tells you today: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die…” (John 11:25-26)
In the crucified Jesus Christ, God promises to be with you in every situation that life in this fallen, imperfect, and sometimes hurtful world may bring.
In the risen Jesus Christ, God promises that He will be our good shepherd even beyond the gates of death, leading us to an eternity where there is no more grief, no more tears, and where all who have died trusting in Christ will be with God.
Friends, as you trust in Jesus as Dorothy trusted in Jesus, you can be sure that you will live in God’s house along with her forever.
Who knows? She may already be planning what cookies she’ll bake for your arrival. May God bless and comfort you all in the promise of Jesus’ resurrection! Amen
Who knows? She may already be planning what cookies she’ll bake for your arrival. May God bless and comfort you all in the promise of Jesus’ resurrection! Amen
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