I didn’t have the chance to know Erma well. But there are a few things I did get to know about her. For example, she was devoted to her family and willingly talked about them at length anytime I asked. She was an incredibly hard worker, a characteristic fostered in her while growing up on a farm. She seems to have been able to tackle and conquer almost anything she put her mind or her hands to do: sewing, rug-braiding, cooking, lawn work, gardening, painting, decorating. She also had a forceful and memorable personality, even in her waning days: She was neither short on opinions nor a sense of humor. She was also a realist: She understood that life around here doesn’t last forever; so, she had already given away many of the things she wanted to go to others long before she passed.
While her family can gratefully say Erma lived a good, long life, the loss of a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, inevitably leaves a hole in your life. So today, I want to share two promises from Jesus that can encourage you now and in the future.
The promises of Jesus, God the Son, can be trusted. Jesus bore the punishment of death for sin that we deserve. Then, He rose from the dead to open up eternity with God to all who repent and believe in Him. So Jesus and His promises really can be trusted. I love the way Saint Paul’s words in Romans 3:4 are rendered in The Message: “Depend on it: God keeps his word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth.” You can bet your life and eternity on the promises of Jesus.
So, two promises from Jesus then. The first is recorded in the passage from Romans we listened to a few moments ago, Romans 8:31-39. There, Paul, no stranger to adversity or suffering, said to all who put their trust in Jesus as God and Savior, “...neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)
Because Jesus has risen, He can be with us no matter what circumstances confront us in this life. A friend of mine was dying, cancer cutting her down at what seemed too young an age. “Are you ever mad at God?” I asked her. “I was at first,” she said. “But then I remember He’s right here.” The book of Hebrews in the New Testament refers to Jesus as “our great high priest,” and says that in Jesus, “we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted [or tested] in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) And it’s this sinless Savior Who sympathizes and stands with all who turn to Him right now, today. That’s Jesus’ first promise to you today.
The second promise from Jesus I want to share with you is found in our reading from the Gospel of John. There, Jesus has gone to the village of Bethany after the death of His friend Lazarus. His sisters Martha and Mary are disappointed with Jesus. They’re convinced that if Jesus had arrived sooner, Jesus could have prevented their brother’s death. Shortly after this, of course, Jesus will raise Lazarus from the dead, a sign pointing to Jesus’ power to overcome the deaths of every sinful human being who believes in Him. But before Jesus ever performed a miraculous sign, He spoke a Word to create faith in Him in the ones asking for help. Faith in Christ doesn’t depend on miracles, although Christ sometimes works miracles; faith in Christ depends on God’s Word and on what God did for us on the cross. Jesus tells Mary: “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.” And then Jesus asks her, “Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) At this word of promise, even in her grief, Mary replies, “Yes, Lord,...I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (John 11:28) Because Jesus rose from the dead, you can know that the promise of everlasting life with God through faith in Jesus alone is true. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life,” Jesus famously promises. (John 3:16)
And so, today and in the days ahead, you can live your lives in the light of these two sure promises from Jesus. First, He can be with you always. For those who believe, Jesus is never further than a prayer, a Bible reading, a worship service, or a sacrament away. Second, He can give you the peace and hope of knowing that all who believe in Him will live with God always. Not just in the imperfect confines of this fallen universe, but one day in the perfect peace of eternal life in the direct presence of Jesus Himself. Today and always, turn to Jesus; that’s where hope, peace, and life are found. Amen
While her family can gratefully say Erma lived a good, long life, the loss of a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, inevitably leaves a hole in your life. So today, I want to share two promises from Jesus that can encourage you now and in the future.
The promises of Jesus, God the Son, can be trusted. Jesus bore the punishment of death for sin that we deserve. Then, He rose from the dead to open up eternity with God to all who repent and believe in Him. So Jesus and His promises really can be trusted. I love the way Saint Paul’s words in Romans 3:4 are rendered in The Message: “Depend on it: God keeps his word even when the whole world is lying through its teeth.” You can bet your life and eternity on the promises of Jesus.
So, two promises from Jesus then. The first is recorded in the passage from Romans we listened to a few moments ago, Romans 8:31-39. There, Paul, no stranger to adversity or suffering, said to all who put their trust in Jesus as God and Savior, “...neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future,nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)
Because Jesus has risen, He can be with us no matter what circumstances confront us in this life. A friend of mine was dying, cancer cutting her down at what seemed too young an age. “Are you ever mad at God?” I asked her. “I was at first,” she said. “But then I remember He’s right here.” The book of Hebrews in the New Testament refers to Jesus as “our great high priest,” and says that in Jesus, “we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted [or tested] in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.” (Hebrews 4:15) And it’s this sinless Savior Who sympathizes and stands with all who turn to Him right now, today. That’s Jesus’ first promise to you today.
The second promise from Jesus I want to share with you is found in our reading from the Gospel of John. There, Jesus has gone to the village of Bethany after the death of His friend Lazarus. His sisters Martha and Mary are disappointed with Jesus. They’re convinced that if Jesus had arrived sooner, Jesus could have prevented their brother’s death. Shortly after this, of course, Jesus will raise Lazarus from the dead, a sign pointing to Jesus’ power to overcome the deaths of every sinful human being who believes in Him. But before Jesus ever performed a miraculous sign, He spoke a Word to create faith in Him in the ones asking for help. Faith in Christ doesn’t depend on miracles, although Christ sometimes works miracles; faith in Christ depends on God’s Word and on what God did for us on the cross. Jesus tells Mary: “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.” And then Jesus asks her, “Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26) At this word of promise, even in her grief, Mary replies, “Yes, Lord,...I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” (John 11:28) Because Jesus rose from the dead, you can know that the promise of everlasting life with God through faith in Jesus alone is true. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life,” Jesus famously promises. (John 3:16)
And so, today and in the days ahead, you can live your lives in the light of these two sure promises from Jesus. First, He can be with you always. For those who believe, Jesus is never further than a prayer, a Bible reading, a worship service, or a sacrament away. Second, He can give you the peace and hope of knowing that all who believe in Him will live with God always. Not just in the imperfect confines of this fallen universe, but one day in the perfect peace of eternal life in the direct presence of Jesus Himself. Today and always, turn to Jesus; that’s where hope, peace, and life are found. Amen
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