May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be
pleasing in Your sight O Lord, our rock and our redeemer!! AMEN!!
Let us pray! Heavenly
Redeemer, today we gather knowing that the veil of death has been drawn, and
that as we mourn Marty’s passing, our memories are our greatest gift and blessing
to sustain and comfort us as we gather here this morning. Yet, the promises You made to Marty in his
baptism and confirmation remind us of the undeniable truth we will see him
again. May we be comforted by the Gospel
poured over him and that he took responsibility for in his confirmation that
promised eternal life and salvation because of what Jesus Christ did on Calvary
for all of mankind, but especially Marty and all of the saints of his family
gathered here at Emmanuel to say goodbye.
AMEN.
One of my daughter’s favorite past-times, like most kids is to
play hide and seek. But unlike most,
Sarah has one distinct problem, she doesn’t stay quiet when she is hiding. No matter where she hides, whether behind a
door, under a table or chair or even under a blanket, Sarah is either laughing,
giggling or making some kind of noise that lets anyone and everyone know
exactly where she is hiding.
Recently, Marty played a similar game with his grandkids and in
true fashion, not only cemented one more memory for and with Autumn and Alexis,
but pulled back the veil of his love for his grandkids and revealed truly not
only his joy of being a grandfather, but also his love to ‘scare’ his betrothed
Avonelle. I was told there was many a
time, Marty would sneak up behind Avonelle and not say a word, not even breathe
and just wait for the right moment when she would turn around. And like most, Avonelle would jump, because
of not expecting him to be right there.
That playfulness revealed not only a love for his wife, but also Marty’s
playfulness, but also the knowledge that was imparted to him in his baptism and
confirmation.
Just as in the “Wizard of Oz” the wizard was found to be behind
the curtain, this morning, Marty is behind the veil of the pall that covers the
casket. The pall is for us a reminder
and remembrance of Marty being made a child of God in his baptism. When the water and the Word were poured over
him God made him His own and forever changed the trajectory of Marty’s life. Not only would he be known as a wheat farmer
here in Northwest Kansas, nor just a sheep herder, even being thrown from the
corral by an ornery animal, Marty in his baptism would be forever changed into
a child of God.
Yet the change wasn’t only from sinner to saint, it also included
his change of the knowledge imparted from God to him. Marty’s Confirmation verse came from Proverbs
and we heard it read earlier, surrounded by the wisdom of God. Let me read his confirmation verse again,
because in this verse the veil that covers Marty today was planted like a seed
on his confirmation day. “26 My son,
give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways.”
In Marty’s confirmation where he took responsibility for his faith
and life, God opened his heart and revealed the love He had for him that was
manifest in his parents bringing him for Holy Baptism. Through the Water and Word, God showered upon
him grace and every blessing and entered into Marty’s heart and revealed the
great love God had for him. A love that
was so profound that God gave His own Son in order to die on the Cross of
Calvary to set all of mankind free. And
by our covering the casket with the pall this morning we remember this and more
clearly celebrate the gifts given by God to Marty and to each and everyone of
us.
But this veil is not just a covering, it also is a reminder of the
blessings imparted during Marty’s life here on earth. Whether it was finding, marrying and being a
Father to a wonderful family with his betrothed Avonelle, by his being involved
in building the church that we gather in, the educational wing that still to
this day is used to educate our children and his grandchildren. Marty’s confirmation verse, consistently
provides the ability for us to understand Marty observed God’s ways by
worshiping God on a weekly basis, but this only occurred because Jesus Christ
called and made Marty His own in his baptism into Jesus life, death and
resurrection. And today the harvest is
complete.
As a driver of a combine and even a grain cart, Marty knew that
one had to be careful during the harvest, even trying to insure his own
daughter Darla’s safety, but failing, not because of lack of trying, but
because in our fallen humanity we will fail.
But today, I stand here and proclaim this truth, God never fails. And today the veil of death is so close to
each of us, it covers us with sadness, but God has overcome death by and
through His Son, Jesus Christ. And we
just as Marty’s confirmation verse says, ‘observe God’s ways’. And God’s ways are perfect. The perfection is the promise we find in the
Cross of Christ that Marty has been baptized into and we cover his casket with
in the remembrance by the pall.
Yet, we also hear and can share in the promise made through Jesus
Christ and what we share together from the Altar of the Lord. In a few minutes we will share with one
another the greatest blessing of Jesus Christ precious Body and Blood, given
and shed for us for the forgiveness of sins.
This gift we share not only with one another here today, but also with
all the saints of all time and place of which Marty is now numbered among. As we partake of the gift of grace and
forgiveness, it is not only connected with the remembrance of Marty’s life here
on earth, but also the promise made by Jesus Christ in His baptism. Today we celebrate not his death, but the
harvest and the promise and fulfillment of the resurrection of Jesus Christ on
Easter Sunday and that promise made to Marty with his baptism into Jesus
Christ, life, death and especially his resurrection.
For when we lay claim to the resurrection of Christ, we though
separated by the veil of death are not separated from God, but covered by the
pall as a simple reminder of our baptism and the promises made for all of
mankind, including now Marty and one day each of us. May this truth of the Gospel be a salve and
comfort us as we mourn, but assure us of the fulfillment of the harvest for our
beloved wheat farmer Marty. And may the
Holy Spirit reveal this truth and surround us with the truth we know, trust and
believe in of the Gospel of salvation that we have heard and will shortly
receive through the Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. For now Marty rests under the pall in His
Saviors arms in fulfillment of the promises of God made to and for all mankind,
but this morning especially for Marty and all the saints of his family gathered
here to say goodbye. AMEN.
Now may the peace of God which surpasses all human understanding
guard our hearts and minds and comfort us today, because of what Jesus Christ
did for Marty and each one of us! AMEN!
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