Christian Burial of Jean Reichstein ( 1 August 2018)

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

Text: John 14:2
Theme: In The Father’s House

Dear family, friends, and loved ones of Jean, and especially you, Noel, Chris, Gloria, and Charlie, her children;

Losing a loved one often generates a strong mix of sorrow, frustration, relief, and even gratitude in people’s hearts. Grieving involves an irreducible complexity. But our gathering today truly is a celebration. Jean was ready to meet her Maker. She was ready to be released from the struggle. She was ready to be received into the place prepared for her in the Father’s house. She no longer has any worries or cares, trials or fears, pains or sorrows. She is home. She is at peace. Thanks be to God for His merciful love!

In our gospel reading today, the disciples were afraid of losing a loved one. They were understandably filled with apprehension. Jesus had been speaking for some time of His betrayal, His passion, and His death and resurrection. It wasn’t yet clear to them how these things would all happen or what the end result would be. Knowing their anxiety, He steadies their hearts and minds. “In My Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.”1

And there it is, the promise that is the rock-solid foundation of our faith; words full of life and hope and truth. They are divine words, not human ones. After all, who dares speak into the powerful darkness of death and call it to account? All mortals are speechless in the face of it. We are silenced. We are stripped of all resources to confront it. All of our most vigorous protests, negotiations, or plea-bargains are meaningless chatter. All advances in medical science only prolong the inevitable. Death is the consequence of sin reaching maturity in each individual. Adam and Eve weren’t created to die. So, it’s natural to fear death as the greatest threat.

Sometimes people mistakenly think death is a natural thing and that the older one gets the more one should be comfortable with it. Undoubtedly God does use the loss of joy in living to increase the acceptance of dying. When the will-power is broken the end usually comes quickly. Fatigue dulls peoples’ perspectives and weakens their resolve. The fight to live simply becomes too hard. But if age and frailty alone decrease the fear of dying it’s only because Satan has gained the upper hand in the war of attrition. That’s why the Scripture says, “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come and the years approach when you will say, ‘I find no pleasure in them.’”2 And so the Bible calls to recognize that death is a concession, a recognition of the fallen state in which are held captive in this sphere of existence.

Understanding this makes the truth of Jesus’ death and resurrection all the more critical. Those who are attached to Christ are freed from the punishment of sin, freed from the power of death. Jean’s confirmation verse was the from the fifteenth chapter of John. It is the reminder of Christ that if our lives become severed from His we no longer bear fruit for His kingdom. “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in Me and I in, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”3 But with Him, all things are possible.

Jean was confirmed in a then-vibrant congregation in Galga. That was in 1941. In those days, Sundays were set aside to be in God’s house and with one’s family. They were observed more faithfully as days of rest. Though manual labour was required for survival, the pace of life was not so frantic. The temptation to over-schedule was not so pressing. The war was also on at that time and that meant a more acute awareness of the things that should truly be valued. Life was recognized as precious.

My how times have changed! Many families don’t even eat meals together. Sunday is just another day for most people. And many struggle to find meaning and purpose in the present or the future. Darkness and depression encroach on many lives. Loss of hope is common. A spiritual centre of gravity no longer exists for many. The church right across the country is now in such dramatic decline that it’s likely to be labeled one day from historical perspective as precipitous. But comparisons are not our main purpose here.

We are here to reflect on and draw strength from the promises of the gospel. Salvation is by grace, through faith, for Christ’s sake. Jean entered heaven in the only way possible: Through the matchless mercy of God’s Son. Earlier we heard the apostle Paul express it this way, “I am convinced that 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.”4

It’s pretty hard to say it anymore convincingly or emphatically than that! Believers have an unbreakable promise that’s backed up with the Son of God’s victory over the power of death. He was nailed to a cross- the victim of Calvary. But the tomb could not hold him. In those events the debt of sin was covered, the punishment for disobedience was endured, the voice of Satan was silenced, the power of death was destroyed, light and life, peace and joy were secured for eternity.

Dear friends, our society is struggling to place proper value on the gift of life. Because death is not the original intent of God it’s understandable that grieving can be severe. Here one day and gone the next! That’s the cold, hard reality of death. Even when you’re expecting it, it can be a heart-numbing, mind-boggling, soul-vexing experience. Someone is lost, and we cannot replace them. We should never avoid grief or feel guilty about it. The death of a loved one causes a tear in the fabric of our relationships and it’s not easily stitched up. An identical piece can never be sown in. Every individual is unique and cannot be replaced. Jean Reichstein is no exception.

The promise of Jean’s baptism has now come to fulfillment. God claimed her as His own child and she now receives the family inheritance. That inheritance is no collection of sentimental objects or keepsakes or even memories. It is a place in the eternal kingdom of His glory. As the Bible says, “The Spirit Himself testifies…that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs- heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.”5 Jean is God’s child. She now enjoys the glories of His heavenly kingdom. She is in the place prepared for her. Amen.
+ In nomine Jesu +

Christian Burial of Jean Margaret Reichstein
1 August 2018
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 John 14:2 2 Ecclesiastes 12:1
3 John 15:5 4 Romans 8:38-39
5 Romans 8:16-17