Funeral of Ruth Esther Hall (4 October 2019)

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

Text: John 11:25ff
Theme: The Divine Call

Dear family, friends and loved ones of Ruth; Heather, her mother, Mackenzie and Scarlett, her children, and especially you, Paul, her husband,

Where to start? Who has the right to speak to these people, on this topic, at this time; to this mother, to these children, to that husband, to this family? Opinions will vary. Some contenders have more credibility than others. Only One is peerless. He says, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”1

Well, “We brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”2 The sage advice of the Scriptures is to exhaust all of our efforts and energies in the love of others, to go all in, leave it all on the field, don’t hold back, give it all you have. That’s what Ruth did, that’s what she believed, that’s who she was. She wasn’t a spectator, she wasn’t a bystander, she certainly wasn’t a quitter. And she wasn’t apathetic about the who and the how and the why- those details that actually give life meaning. She had her opinions and she wasn’t afraid to voice them.

Did Ruth have regrets? Of course, no one’s life progresses flawlessly. To err is human. To think that we are faultless in our motives, measures and movements is sheer arrogance or complete denial. But any regrets Ruth may have had were certainly not caused by indecisiveness of action or lack of initiative. Ruth didn’t sit around waiting for life to happen. She could be pretty high-octane. She was full of vitality, life, love and happiness.

Death can be stunning in its brutality and the grief that ensues absolutely incapacitating. It takes no prisoners and makes no concessions. With cold-blooded ruthlessness it eviscerates all who cross its path. There is no sense in, and really no way to, minimize or dismiss it. Vociferous efforts at placing blame might achieve some level of cathartic release but they won’t alter reality or compensate for death’s toll. You can scream at God, curse, swear, shout Him down. You can revile His name and desecrate His decrees in protest, complaint, or disgust. The Psalms of the Bible are full of raw expressions of emotion. The most significant was this one, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”3 It was uttered by the One who was abandoned at the cross. There was a reason for that, an exceedingly important reason.

Jesus Christ, the Architect of the universe and Redeemer of humanity stood at the grave of a dear friend named Lazarus and He wept. He shed tears that were weighted with more than human sympathy. He knew the power of death, its devastation and its sadness. You see, lies repeatedly told still remain lies. Lies confidently told still remain lies. Lies cheerfully told still remain lies. Human autonomy is a lie. We have no power of self-definition or self-preservation. These are lies. We are not sovereigns. Apparent success might be achieved in conditioning, brainwashing or anesthetizing but in the moment of revelation the truth will be vindicated.

We must at least consider the possibility that God’s omniscience is superior to our myopathy. God sees all, His gaze pierces time and eternity. Our vision is confined to the limited scope of our temporal experience. The Holy Spirit can lead us from possibility to probability and then onto conviction. To believe in God at all is to recognize that we, you, me, all of us collectively, are not God. It is one step towards acknowledging our mortality.

Don’t think for a moment acknowledgment of mortality is a path we stroll down easily though. We have inbuilt denial mechanisms and they are powerful. Cognitively we accept that someone could get struck by lightning, and someone could get run over by a bus, but that’s a far cry from believing that would actually happen to us. When someone we know suddenly drops dead of a heart attack, is taken down by motor neuron disease, or snatched away by cancer’s complications our mindfulness of mortality is likely to be piqued considerably. The question is, where do we go with that? Does it lead to a reality check? Do we seek reconciliation with God or retreat to our own maneuverings?

The point is not to be morbid, macabre, or fixated with death, but to authentically consider the only viable resolution. The answer is not what, but Who. Christ is the only one who has been there- all the way there- and back. The crucifixion was the implosion of death’s power. With sin atoned for death lost its source. The pathology became obsolete. The resurrection was the triumph of life. Death for the believer becomes a transition to an unimaginably vibrant existence.

Ruth was baptized. It seems like such a small thing. But it comes with a mighty promise. It conveys all the blessings of the gospel- the unconditional love, forgiveness, and favour of God. Set aside any ideas that Ruth was more worthy of the gospel than the rest of us. She wasn’t. By definition the gospel is the Good News, the incomparable news, of God’s free and undeserved mercy in Christ. But Ruth was no less an object of His grace either. The cross was raised for her and she will follow His steps through the open grave into the Easter light just as Job confesses, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end He will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see Him with my own eyes.”4


Who can judge the relativity of grief? Is Heather’s grief, the grief of a mother losing a child greater than that of Mackenzie and Scarlett, children who have lost a mother? And what about Paul? Who will speak words of comfort that are more than thinly coated clichés, regardless of how genuine the intent? What gestures of support can compensate their loss? The memories, oh the memories of love, and laughter, sorrow and trauma! They will be vivid, captivating haunting, and comforting. But they are hollow substitutes for the real Ruth, the flesh and blood Ruth full of vigor and vitality. God alone must give the peace that human authority cannot give. We cannot give what we don’t possess. The Holy Spirit travels the road of grief. He lights the path.

Life is exceedingly precious. It is fragile. It is uncertain. It’s not guaranteed. Indemnity against its loss is not attainable. No price can purchase it. If an important relationship in your life is not reconciled, don’t wait, do what is in your power to resolve it. Life is short. This temporal life is a present gift but not a future promise. Cherish it. Value it. Relish it. Revere it. Celebrate it. In the caustic bitterness of our grief we can also celebrate Ruth’s life. We can do that genuinely and joyously. And we will!

Life will prevail because Christ has conquered. All who believe in Him will share His immortal life. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”5 Ruth would not have wanted us to mope around as if our lives were permanently bereft of meaning. Grief will have its say, but it’s not the final word. Ruth would have wanted others to remember her by engaging life in all of its adversities and prosperities, by living it to the full.

Imagine the skepticism, the anticipation, and the tension when Jesus stood outside the grave of Lazarus and uttered these words, “Lazarus, come out!”6 How would this end? At the divine command he crossed back over the threshold going the ‘wrong way’ from eternity back into time. But it was a pledge and preview of greater things to come. Ruth Hall has crossed the threshold into the Paradise that defies description. She has gone the right way. The temporal end is the eternal beginning. May the abundant mercy of God sustain us in our grief and our in our celebration. Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Funeral of Ruth Esther Hall
4 October 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Revelation 1:17-18 2 1 Timothy 6:7
3 Psalm 22:1 4 Job 19:25-27
5 John 11:25 6 John 11:43

Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (C) 2019

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

Text: Luke 16:19-31
Theme: The Rich Man and Lazarus

Dear friends in Christ Jesus,

Jesus spoke many parables. He did so because He had vital things to say. Parables use analogies or comparisons. Therefore, they have their limitations. There is no evidence in the Bible that a person in hell can have an actual conversation with a person in heaven. But Jesus employs that possibility in order to drive home His point. And He does so emphatically. The language and imagery here are striking. Poor Lazarus, who has been mistreated all his life goes to heaven, and the rich man who neglected him goes to hell. A conversation ensues. The purpose is to teach about ultimate and eternal truths. Unsurprisingly, Jesus Himself is the decisive figure.

In hell, the rich man not only begs for relief for himself but shows concern for his brothers that are still living. But the opportunity to act on his regret has passed. His eternity is locked in. “Between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.”1 The chasm is evidence of the unalterable will of God. The Almighty has determined the partition between heaven and hell, and it cannot be breached. The dimensions are impregnable.

The message is unmistakable: There will be no second chances. Once you’re in the position of the remorseful rich man it’s too late. Now is the time to heed God’s warning. Now is the time to repent. Now is the time to trust in God’s mercy. Now is the time for faith to show that it is active in love. Now is the time to consider what is really most important in life. Repentance cannot be scheduled by us for a later time. It must be initiated by the Spirit. The rich man’s lack of faith was evidenced by his lack of love. Everyday Lazarus was laid at his gate and yet each day compassion was withheld. Compassion is not an optional virtue for Christians. Faith and hard-heartedness are incompatible.

Dear friends, the call to turn to God and away from sin is not fluid; that is, it can’t happen on our terms. The parameters of our repentance are not discretionary. We can’t define them anyway we’d like. Abraham responds to the rich man’s request to send Lazarus to his brothers saying, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.”2 That is, they have the word of God; they have the Bible. But the rich man insists someone will have to come from the dead to get them to repent. Only such a dramatic event will shake them out of their stubbornness. They won’t be moved by anything less. Abraham’s reply is resolute, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”3

Here the climax of the parable is reached. Jesus is previewing the lack of belief that will accompany His own resurrection from the dead. Someone will indeed come back from the dead- and not just anyone, the Son of God Himself- and still many will remain skeptics.
“Seeing is believing”, they say, but how and what do we see? Do we believe God’s promises because we see, or do we see (with spiritual eyes) because we believe?

Is it clear to us today that Ava was washed of her sins, became a child of God, and received an inheritance in heaven when we saw the baptismal water applied and heard the Name of God proclaimed? Is the Bible’s claim that this young soul is able to trust in her Saviour empirically evident? Is that why we believe in the power and blessing of baptism? Or do we see the blessing of this sacrament because we believe the promise of God? Is it not our faith in God’s trustworthiness (a faith the Spirit Himself must give) that gives credibility to this action? And is that not so with all of the most vital truths? We can see the Almighty’s creation, but how do we see the Saviour’s redemption?

The same conundrum applies in our daily struggle to follow God’s will. Sometimes God causes us to really feel the consequences of our sinfulness. Embarrassment, guilt, shame, and humiliation all help motivate us to seek forgiveness for our offences. The Holy Spirit works this motivation in us this through the hearing of God’s law. That’s what repentance involves. Of course, we might also feel the consequences of sin in other ways- regret, brokenness, hurt, and trauma- and be unaware or unsure about whether we are victims, perpetrators, or both.

But what happens when we don’t feel the effects of our sinfulness? How easy is it then to seek God’s forgiveness? If we’re not feeling remorse or regret over sin- and perhaps we’re in denial- the Bible calls upon us to believe that we are sinners who still need Christ’s forgiveness. How easy is it to see that Ava Thorpe needs forgiveness! Not very! But we believe it because ALL are conceived and born in sin. God tells us something that human reason can’t readily understand. And, dear friends, it must be true at some level- and probably for many a subconscious level- that one reason church attendance is generally in steady decline is because people don’t feel the need for forgiveness? They don’t believe it’s vital.

One thing we can be certain of is that Jesus was always teaching things that were critical and vital. He wasn’t given to trivial chit-chat. Today’s He’s teaching that the God who saves cannot be found just anywhere. We cannot construct our own access to a Him. He reveals His identity to us. We can see His capability in creation, but we can only see His compassion in the crucifixion. His might is evident in the laws of nature, but His mercy is seen only through the eyes of faith. Our Saviour is the One who hung upon the cross. There is no other. And there is no other means to answer the inescapability of our mortality. To die estranged from Jesus is to be eternally lost. That is the glaring and unmistakable point of the parable today. The rich man died alienated from hope and trust in God. He died on his own terms in his own way- full of indulgence in this life, but full of regret in the next.

In relation to God we are all like Lazarus. Even those most capable, successful, and confident in worldly terms are completely reliant on the grace of God when it comes to spiritual security. Like Lazarus who lay outside the gate of the rich man with no capacity to help himself, so too, we would all lay outside the gate of heaven never to enter under our own power. Christ had to come to us outside the gate, heal us of our sins, feed us with His sacrament, and make us honored guest of His kingdom. When we gather at this altar to receive the blessing of Christ’s body and blood we dine with Lazarus. At this table we are his peers.

Jesus said, “I am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be saved.”4 His church is built on unalterable truth and “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”5 He said, The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”6 He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”7 What promise could be more comforting or assuring than these?

Jesus often taught using parables. In this way important spiritual truths were instilled. But the work of Jesus for our salvation was no parable, analogy, or illustration. Our redemption is not part of a virtual or simulated reality. Jesus breached time and space to become part of our fallenness. The gospel is not a theoretical ideology. The baby in the manger was the victim of the cross and the conqueror of the grave. Death itself has been defeated by Him. Satan is silenced. Hell is vanquished. Its gates are shut to all who believe while the gates of heaven are open. That’s vital information for Lazarus, and for us! Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Sixteenth Sunday After Pentecost
29 September 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Luke 16:26 2 Luke 16:29
3 Luke 16:31 4 John 10:9
5 Matthew 16:18 6 Luke 19:10
7 John 11:25

Funeral for Barbara Kalisch (27 September 2019)

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

Text: John 14:3
Theme: To Be Where I Am


Dear family, friends and loved ones of Barbara; Graham, Mark, Stephen, and Annette, her children, and especially you, Ralph, her husband of 65 years;

Barbara is no longer transitioning. She has reached the destination. She’s no longer progressing, she has arrived. She is no longer a pilgrim with us trekking through this wilderness, she has reached the promised land. The Saviour said, “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am”1 Thanks be to God that promise has now been fulfilled! Barbara has been released from all of the burdens of this mortal existence. She has been crowned with life. She is at peace.

Dear friends, death is the universal human crisis. Death is said to be ‘natural’; and it’s accepted as natural by many because that’s what we’ve been conditioned to believe is the settled consensus of humanity. People grow old and then they die. Sometimes they don’t grow old and that’s when we tend to struggle with the deeper questions of mortality. But death isn’t actually natural at all. It’s a consequence of sin. The Scripture says, “the wages of sin is death.”2 And because all people are sinners nobody can escape it.

Reflecting on mortality should always cause us to reassess our priorities in life. What gets you out of bed each day? What do we value, and why? Are we driven by selfish motives or do we live to serve others? In what, or who do we ultimately trust? Do we see each day as a pure gift that we’ve neither earned nor deserved? Do we recognize that there are no guarantees and that the time to draw near to God is never later, it’s always now? The way these questions are answered goes along way to clarifying whether ours is a biblical, Christian worldview. No power that we have, individually or collectively, can bring us through this valley of sorrow to the heavenly life. Only Christ can do that. He does it only by grace through faith. These truths dwarf all others in the end.

Death was never God’s plan, but He wasn’t remiss in addressing humanity’s transgression. The Son of God left the place of perfection and came to our state of corruption. He left the realm of life and came to the dimension death. He suffered. He died. He bore our sins. He rose from the grave. And He still purposefully, and passionately, and persistently pursues sinners. Remember the words of the apostle from a moment ago, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all- how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?...Christ Jesus-who died-more than that, who was raised to life- is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”3

Barbara was a faithful member of this congregation for many years. Here she enjoyed fellowship with God and with His people. Here she heard His words of wisdom, grace, and comfort. Here her sins were forgiven again and again. Here her faith was nourished through His body and blood in Holy Communion. Here she was strengthened to live her faith in all the different vocations to which God had called her.

And she did this faithfully, especially as a wife, a mother, a grand mother and great grandmother. Many people were blessed by her amiable presence and hospitable ways. It didn’t mean she was exempt from challenges or sailed through life without any regrets. She grappled with depression for more than half of her life. But Barbara was perseverant. By the grace of God, she pressed on through thick and thin. Her last days became a struggle and she was ready to be at home with her Lord.

She’s now enjoying the inheritance of her baptism. We heard the words at the beginning of the service, “Don’t you know that all of us who were baptised into Christ Jesus were baptised into His death?”4 That was true for Barbara, and now the threat of facing anymore melancholy has dissolved like mist in the noonday sun. But we’re still here and life must go on. Grief is clear evidence of our humanity. Grief brings scars, and scars, by definition are something we carry with us for the rest of our lives. Indeed, nobody goes through this life without accumulating scars. We might think we can cover them with cosmetic solutions much like those who chase eternal youth resort to all kinds of cosmetic enhancements to make themselves look younger (and supposedly better) than they really are. But that doesn’t work in the end. Only the Holy Spirit can fill the emptiness when a loved one passes. Barbara is safe in God’s presence and His truths, His warnings, and His promises are now directed at us.

Ralph, you and Barbara celebrated 65 years of marriage together. It’s an impressive feat that’s not likely to be matched by nearly as many couples in the next generation. The Bible compares the relationship between Christ and His bride, the Church to a marriage. More accurately, human marriage is just a reflection of the greater union between Jesus and believers. Human marriages have their challenges. They involve two sinners struggling to be faithful in accordance with God’s will. But Christ is the perfect Bridegroom who cherishes His Bride with sublime, eternal, and peerless love. Reflecting on this profound reality the apostle Paul says, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church, and gave Himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”5

Dear friends, Barbara has been presented to her God radiant, holy, and blameless. She now has her place at the marriage supper of the Lamb. It is the eternal celebration of those who enjoy the presence of the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, saints and angels forever more. Barbara believed her Lord when He said, “I will come back and take you to be with Me”6 Her trust has not been in vain. She also believed “in the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”7 And she will not be disappointed. Thanks be to God for His immeasurable love. Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Funeral of Barbara Kalisch
27 September 2019
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 John 14:3 2 Romans 6:23
3 Romans 8:31-32, 34 4 Romans 6:3
5 Ephesians 5:25-27 6 John 14:3
7 The Nicene Creed