Verna Schubert Funeral 15 May 2018

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: John 11:25
Theme: Resurrection and Life

Dear family, friends, and loved ones of Verna, and especially you, Everlyn and Jean, her daughters;

“Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”1 That was Verna’s confirmation verse, assigned to her some 72 years ago- but timeless. Verna no longer has to look forward in anticipation of the life to come. She now understands ‘godliness’ through actual experience; something we can only grasp by faith. Thanks be to our merciful Saviour, who has received her in to the divine presence, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, saints and angels, and all the company of heaven. Light, joy, and peace are hers beyond description.

Verna is now “complete”. But we are left diminished. It can be no other way. Grief is the most human of all emotions. It rocks us to the core because it brings us face to face with our ultimate vulnerability. We are powerless to stop the separation death causes. It stings so deeply because humans are made in the image of God and at some level we know that God’s original purposes have been thwarted.

Jesus Himself wept. As He stood at the grave of Lazarus His compassion was evident for His friend and for humanity. Jesus knew He would soon call Lazarus forth from the grave. Only Christ could truly know and understand that this separation from Lazarus was only very temporary, and still He wept. In so doing He stood in solidarity with the entire human race. When the divine Son of God assumed our human nature, there was nothing that we are or experience that He didn’t also possess, save for our sin.

Yet, He took that sin and bore it all the way to the cross. Verna believed He did that for her. She understood that she was not master of her own destiny. She had her transgressions, her failures, her regrets, her scars. She carried burdens, and mourned shattered hopes that few, if any knew about. No one traverses nearly 88 years of life without causing hurt, whether on purpose, through ignorance, or by apathy to others. Some things remain unreconciled, and those that are can often be improved. Verna knew, that like all of us, she was a sinner in need of God’s grace.





The Bible says, “He who has the Son, has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”2 It may sound too simple. It may sound too preachy. It may sound like a stereotype. It may evoke scepticism, resentment, denial or apathy. But when we arrive at the threshold of mortality nothing is more important. It is all or nothing. The one who ‘has’ Christ, has everything. Those who go it on their own will end up with nothing. There are no self-styled ways of entering the presence of God. Nothing that we have accomplished, nothing that we have pursued, not the greatest of intentions will compile for us a resume worthy of storming the gates of heaven. Christ alone is worthy. He made the sacrifice. He paid the price.

Heaven is not a hypothetical place conjured up to give hope to those desperate to find an optimistic angle when facing mortality. Those who doubt the reality of life beyond the grave characterized by a perfected and vibrant existence need to take up their misgivings with the Man who came from there, submitted Himself to death in our world, rose from the grave and returned to that dimension of eternal bliss. And heaven is not in some distant, far off corner of the galaxy. It is as close to you as you are sitting to one another right now.

Verna was a straight-shooter. It wasn’t her nature to put on appearances. She called it as she saw it with no spin or embellishment. You didn’t have to guess what she was thinking or tip toe around her feelings. She never caused a fuss or expected special treatment. Her affections were genuine, and her loyalties were never divided. She was God’s lamb. The Shepherd says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.”3 He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.”4

It seems like a long time ago since Verna was baptized. She wasn’t baptized in the church because she wasn’t expected to live. The mortality rate of twins was much higher in those days. But the Lord almighty had other plans. He saw her through the difficult early years arming her with resilience and determination. The promise and power of baptism doesn’t lose one iota of vitality or validity as the years roll on. In fact, Christian maturity involves growing into the depth and breadth of God’s baptismal promise. The Bible says it this way, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”5

Verna is in that glory now. When we reflect on the death of a Christian, grief doesn’t end in despair or loss of hope. Rather, we anticipate a reunion. In the midst of sorrow, we can be filled with gratitude for the blessings that were. We look forward to what will be. And what will be is described in this way, “The trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable.”6 And again, the Scripture says, “Dear friends, now we are children God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”7

Now, it’s impossible to describe how magnificent this will be. We will be raised to a state of existence in which we will enjoy the life of God unencumbered by any of the circumstances of this fallen existence. No burdens, cares, or anxieties will be experienced. We won’t be subjected to pain, exposed to danger, or otherwise occupied with any distress. Beholding the vision of God will be enthralling. Thanks be to God that Verna now wears the crown of life. She is at rest; a vibrant, sublime rest permeated with unending joy. Amen.


+ In nomine Jesu +

Christian Burial of Verna Dorothy Schubert
15 May 2018
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 1 Timothy 4:8 2 1 John 5:12
3 John 10:27-29 4 John 11:25
5 Colossians 3:1-4 6 1 Corinthians 15:52-53
71 John 3:2