Esther Freundt Funeral 16 July 2019

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

Text: John 14:1
Theme: Trust Rewarded



Dear family, friends and loved ones of Esther; and especially you, Ann, Sue, and Mark, her children;

The Holy Scripture says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.”1 With these candid words the mind of God is revealed. He delights in receiving His cherished and beloved children into His eternal kingdom. Esther has been received. She has been rewarded. She has been crowned. She has been allocated her place in that realm where the sun’s light is not even a pale reflection of the brilliance of God’s glory. She is home.

Of course, heaven’s gain is our loss. Death is never a popular subject with…well, anyone really. It’s understandable. What is more eviscerating than a malevolence that has complete supremacy over us? Humans are mortal and from a purely human perspective there’s no positive way to spin that reality. The Bible acknowledges this truth with statements such as “Dust you are and to dust you will return.”2 Or, “You sweep men away in the sleep of death; they are like the new grass of the morning.”3 Mindful, but not macabre, the Bible teaches us to be aware of our mortality.

Life is fragile. It’s a gift, not an entitlement. It’s a privilege, not a right. Yet, how easily our expectations run ahead of our capacities. The Giver must give, and the receivers must receive. We are the receivers and the equation will never be reversed. To believe otherwise is a delusion on the grandest scale. We might scrape together some collection of possessions and accomplishments during this short time on earth and call them our own, but what is that, really, in the grand scheme? Is not our status before God all that matters in the end? Is there anything that God lacks that we can supply? Is there any achievement of ours that He need recognize? Is there any sacrifice with which He will be impressed?

Dear friends, we are sinners by nature. In and of ourselves we have no natural ability or even desire to love God above all things or love our neighbour as our self. In short, a holy and just God doesn’t tolerate unrepentant and unforgiven sinners. His justice prevents it. Yet, His heart bleeds over hardened hearts. He doesn’t abandon us to our own self-engineered demise. He sends to us His only-begotten Son.

And the Redeemer says, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”4 Again, “This is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.”5 And again, “Trust in God, trust also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms…I am going there to prepare a place for you.”6 Jesus Christ was crucified, laid in the tomb, and rose again on the third day to atone for the sins of every man, woman and child, no exceptions or exclusions. That truth is decisive for eternal salvation. Nothing can usurp it. Nothing can make it obsolete. Nothing can replace what Christ has done. People are saved by grace, through faith, or they are not saved at all.

Esther knew this. In her baptism Esther was adopted into the family of the Everlasting Father. She became a co-heir with Christ of His heavenly kingdom. And Esther remined true to her beliefs throughout her life, never absenting herself from the Lord’s house for unimportant reasons. Hers was very much a lived faith and a great example to others.

Esther was an unassuming person. She learned contentment and humility from an early age, and she modeled it right throughout her life. She didn’t like to be the center of attention. If you were hoping to see a montage of her photos on the screen, then you’ll be disappointed.
Esther endured the loss of her son Dean. The grief of losing a child at any age is an exceptional strain. It pierces the heart and leaves scars that can be managed, but never fully heal. It’s not that Esther wasn’t familiar with grief. He father died in a harvest fire tragedy when she was just the tender age of four. It wasn’t easy being fatherless in the middle of the great depression. But God provided avenues of support. These challenges strengthened her character and made her into the mature woman who was a blessing to so many. She will be greatly missed.

Grieving is never easy because it reflects that which makes us distinctively human- our creation in the image of God. But the Holy Spirit attends to those who grieve, and His presence sustains their trust in God’s goodness even when feeling empty and powerless. He steadies us with these words, “We do not want you to be ignorant about those who have fallen asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.”7 You see, without biblical hope, trust that God is a good as His word, that His promises will never fail, all that those who grieve have is memories- both happy reflections and sad regrets. But Christians look forward to reunion and life. As the Scripture says, “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him.”8

The peace that Esther now enjoys is much more comprehensive than just being released from the struggle of her frailty. Esther enjoys the profound, divine peace of being united with God no longer by faith. While we still live in this fallen existence, while these fragile, fleshly frames are still our homes faith is vital. Faith is the tether, the anchor, the umbilical cord, if you will, that connects us to that which we cannot grasp with our senses.

But for Esther, as with all the saints in heaven, faith is now obsolete. Esther no longer trusts in the Father’s goodness, believes in the Son’s promises, or relies on the Spirit’s faithfulness. She experiences the uninhibited presence of the triune God- His love, His grace, His compassion, His majesty, His glory- at every moment! That is a peace to look forward to! And it is the reason that even while we grieve, we can have genuine joy. Esther is crowned with eternal life. Yes, the fantastic final day of the resurrection of all flesh- when the body is reunited with the soul- still awaits. But Esther is already free. She is home.

In her later years, Esther used to launder the altar linens that are used to clean the chalice, the cup that holds the blood of Christ distributed in Holy Communion. How long she did this, I do not know. The cloths she collected were stained red with wine. She returned them gleaming white and ready to be of service again. It’s now a fitting image for Esther herself. She is clothed in perfect righteousness according the vision of the apostle John we heard earlier, “‘These in white robes- who are they, and where did they come from?’ I answered, ‘Sir, you know.’ ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’”9

Esther has been rewarded for her trust in the Saviour. She has been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. Thanks be to God for His immeasurable love! Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Christian Burial of Esther Victoria Freundt
16 July 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Psalm 116:15 2 Genesis 3:19
3 Psalm 90:5 4 John 5:24
5 John 17:3 6 John 14:1-2
7 1 Thessalonians 4:13 8 1 Thessalonians 4:13
9 Revelation 7:13-14