Let us pray! Gracious Heavenly Father, this afternoon we
gather to mourn the passing of one of your redeemed Children, Jarvis Eugene
Young. We ask that as we gather to
remember the stories, the journeys, his love of working with his hands that our
mourning be turned into joy. For this
final journey we take today down the tracks of life for Jarvis has as his final
destination heaven. Thank You for
allowing us to hear his wisdom as told in stories and to know and to love him
and for the legacy that he has left for each of us, whether in memories, houses
or even and especially his love of trains.
Enable us to understand that the grace you offered him is the same offer
You make to each of us of Your Son and Jarvis Savior, Jesus Christ. May Your Gospel be a salve for our hearts and
enable us to truly forgive and comfort one another as we celebrate Jarvis Going
home. AMEN.
If you were to try and distill
and encapsulate the life of Jarvis Young in two words, they would be “Going
Home!” As a conductor on the Rock
Island, Jarvis love of trains was clear and unmistakable. Whether spinning the true to life yarns as a
conductor on the train tracks of life that connected towns, cities and especially
lives in a special and profound way. Or Jarvis
clear pride for having worked on the Rock Island when it was not only a family,
but where he trusted his children to be taken care of when traveling to see the
grandparents. So much did Jarvis love
trains that there are pictures of him in front of one of his favorite trains
the Union Pacific 844 in the back. If
you stop and look at the monitors in the narthex on the West and the sun deck
on the East, there are pictures of the 844.
Jarvis loved trains, not just the nostalgia, but the pride and power
found in their being powered by steam.
Sleek and majestic, full of vigor
for the route that the Rock Island or Union Pacific ran, these ‘steamies’ were not
only a unique breed of trains, but encapsulated the nostalgia of travelling by
train that made our country great. No
matter if it was short trips between Phillipsburg and Limon or even longer routes
that connected the East Coast to the West Coast. Travel by train, especially steam engines was
a part of Americana. Yet, no matter the
train, one aspect of travel by train that every crew and especially the conductor
looked forward to was the end of the journey when the crew would be going home.
Today we gather for Jarvis last
run. We gather for Jarvis ‘Going Home’,
his last ride to the station on the railroad into his heavenly home, where he
goes to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for all eternity. We heard read earlier, the 14th
Chapter of John that reminds us that Jesus goes to prepare a place for us. Jesus goes to make sure that we are welcomed
into our heavenly home so we can feel the comfort of home that only He can
give. Though our earthly home may be
nice and neat, entrance into paradise comes because of God’s promise of grace
made to each and every one of us with a simple connection of something that
Steam engines require in large quantities.
You would be right to say coal back in the day or diesel today, but more
importantly for ‘steamies’, without water, a steam engine would not move.
So to for Christians, without
Water intimately connected to the Word of God, poured over Jarvis head in the name
of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the eternal destination of heaven would not
be fulfilled. But Jarvis in, through and
by his baptism with Water and Word in a font similar to this one, was promised eternal
life by His Father in heaven. You see
Jarvis heard the call of God in and on his life and today we gather to not only
mourn, but celebrate how God called and made Jarvis His own through the Cross
of Calvary.
For in Jarvis baptism, he was
clothed with the garments of salvation pointing to the Cross of Jesus Christ. We remember that with the pall and today we
lay claim to and hold onto the promise of eternal life offered to and for him
by Jesus Christ. For when the water, the
clear, pure and healing waters of Holy Baptism were connected with the Word of
God, Jarvis was promised that one day he would enter into His Lord and Savior’s
Kingdom. No longer would sin have
dominion over his earthly life, no longer should he fear his earthly death. For in, through and by the Water of Baptism
connected with God’s Word, the promise of eternal life was made to Jarvis. No longer would satan have the power to
snatch Jarvis from God’s Holy Hands. For
in, with, through and by Jarvis washing in Holy Baptism, God would not only lay
claim to Jarvis, but fulfill for Jarvis the promise of eternal life.
Today we are witnesses of God’s
fulfilling His promise. Today we witness
the celebration of Jarvis entrance into his heavenly home. Today we lay claim to God’s promise made in
the last millennia and today, we thank God for His fulfillment of the promise
of eternal life and Jarvis entrance into heaven.
But it is not just a fulfillment
of eternal life, we gather today to celebrate the home God made in heaven with
many rooms that Dago “Daygo” enters into for all eternity. You all know Jarvis liked to work with his
hands, whether building or remodeling, deconstructing or reconstructing homes, when
he wasn’t working on the railroad. But
the home God has made in heaven that we celebrate Jarvis entrance into and that
he goes home to today is beyond compare.
For Jesus says, “I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that
where I am, there you may be also.”
You see, Jesus has already walked this path. Jesus you could say already has ridden the
rails and entered into His Kingdom. For
Jesus has not only prepared a perfecty place.
Jesus came last week and received Jarvis unto Himself. And Jesus fulfills His promise to Jarvis from
his baptism and comforts us today with the promise not only of eternal life,
but the sure promise, “that where Jesus is, there Jarvis will be also.” May we be comforted by God’s promise and look
forward to our going home one day as well.
For we celebrate this today because of God’s love for all of mankind
through His Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
This is the promise God fulfills today.
May we take comfort in this truth and celebrate God’s victory over death
through Jarvis Savior, Jesus Christ. For
today, Jarvis comes to the end of his earthly line. Today we celebrate Jarvis “Going Home” to be
with his Father, his Lord, his Savior in Jesus Kingdom prepared for him and one
day for each of us. AMEN.
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