Funeral of Betty Lyniece Lloyd (28 December 2019)

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

Text: John 14:3
Theme: Safe in God’s Presence



Dear family, friends, friends and loved ones of Betty, and especially you; Tracy, Matthew, and Sam, her children,

Betty has returned here, to the place of her baptism. That fact doesn’t change the primary reason we’re here- Betty is safe in God’s presence through trust in the mercy of Christ and it wouldn’t matter where her funeral was held. But it is a nice way to picture the Christian journey. Betty entered God’s kingdom through baptism, becoming His child, and now her soul has been received into His eternal care and we recognize that at the place where everything started. All of Betty’s struggles with the complications of sin have come to an end. She has been relieved of all pain, anxiety, worry or doubt. Her faith rewarded; she is at peace. Thanks be to God!

Dear friends, every funeral provides a clear opportunity to reflect on the universal human dilemma. When we’re in danger of losing perspective one simple question can shake us out of our lethargy: Have you forgotten that you’re mortal? The question was not posed by a DC comic hero to an ordinary citizen. Nor was it a satirical statement of an angry mother to a rebellious child meaning, “I brought you into this world and I can take you out of it!” Rather, it was a rhetorical device used in conversation between Job and his friends. “Can mortal man be in the right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker?”1 After overwhelming tragedy Job was doing some serious reflection about the meaning of life. Though pious and god-fearing his world came crashing down. The devil targeted him, and he was stripped of everything but his life. His convictions and priorities were immediately reassessed.

Dear friends, the Holy Spirit, through the Scriptures constantly teaches us (sometimes gently, sometimes firmly) to recognize the limitations of our mortality. Are the goals you set, the time you spend, and the resources you invest consistent with the belief that you are a mortal? You are a composition of earthly elements spectacularly coordinated to form a living being that nonetheless is exceptionally vulnerable to injury, decay, and death. The sophistication of your capabilities- the capacity of the human brain alone- is only beginning to be understood. Your entire physiological structure is marvelous beyond description.

But you are more than that. You have a soul. You were made in the image of God. You were made for eternity. Your soul will not one day simply cease to exist. That truth alone necessitates recognition of mortality. That’s why the Lord Himself says, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”2 There is only one judge. There is only one Redeemer. There is only one who can sustain life.

Have you considered what a profound blessing immortality will be? Beyond comprehension it still merits our reverent reflection. Not in a creative, imaginative way; rather in the way revealed by Christ who constitutes it. Immortality is not an entitlement and certainty not an inevitable achievement. Immortality is God’s gift of resurrection from sin’s death-imposing power. Sin exacts its divinely ordained punishment- the forfeiture of life. But Christ raises the frames of believers from their morbid slumber and restores them to incorruptible life.

We are not privy to the mechanism of this mystery, but God will achieve it in the twinkling of an eye3. The Scripture says Christ “…will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.”4 If that isn’t something to look forward to, it’d be a challenge to name something better? The absence of all of the consequences of sin, pain, sickness, sorrow, trauma, and fear of death is a life we can now only imagine.

But believers are forward-looking people. It’s not a coincidence that the creeds of the Christian church emphasize the future resurrection of the body, as the Apostles’ Creed does, saying. “I believe in the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.” Christ has already shattered death’s power by His own resurrection. This same faith Betty confessed throughout her Christian life, struggling, as do all believers, to follow the words of the apostle who said, “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”5 Betty’s faith is now obsolete for she no longer deals with things that are temporary.

Meanwhile, we’re still here in this transient existence and coping isn’t always pleasant. Here the consequences of sin and death are very tangible. Life is precious. When injury or death happen, our incapacities are candidly revealed. Grief takes no prisoners. There’s no use pretending. A loss has been incurred. A hole has been left. The loved one who has died cannot be replaced. There will never be another Betty Lloyd. There aren’t any shortcuts for grieving. We can’t rush through it or circumvent it. It will demand our energies and our resources. It will change how we approach things. Every reflection on death is an opportunity to reassess our own priorities.

Originally when Betty was diagnosed with cancer, she wasn’t too keen to take on the fight. The news gutted her, as you would expect. Darkness suddenly flooded her otherwise positive outlook. Her faith was put to the test. She said to me with humble resignation, “The medical resources may as well be used on younger people.” But then she came around to the notion that God might have some time and purpose for her yet. So, she pressed on gracefully, with some reluctance still. God blessed her with many more months and a matured perspective.

Betty was a genuine and sincere person. A devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, she cherished her family. Betty’s passion for fostering children helped to shape her into the mature Christian she came to be. She worked hard in the fruit industry. A realist; Betty was good listener and enjoyed a good laugh. Betty fought her fair share of battles in life. She didn’t blame others for her failures, mistakes, or shortcomings. She knew salvation was a gift. She knew Christ didn’t die pointlessly, but for her sins. She cherished that forgiveness, receiving it through the word of God spoken, and prayed, and sung, and in the sacrament of Holy Communion. Betty is safe in God’s presence. Hers is a profound and sublime peace. Thanks be to God!

+ In nomine Jesu +

Christian Burial of Betty Lyniece Lloyd
28 December 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Job 4:17 2 Matthew 10:28
3 See 1 Corinthians 15:52 4 Philippians 3:21
5 2 Corinthians 4:18