Ruby Gutsche Funeral (31 January 2020)

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

Text: John 11:25
Theme: Resurrection and Life




Dear family, friends, and loved ones of Ruby, and especially you; Greg, her son,

Ruby (Lorna) Gutsche has been released from all the constrictions and complications of sin. Her soul now rests in the care of the immortal God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. She is at peace. Ruby needs nothing from us now; not even our prayers. She has been relieved of every worry, anxiety, and care. She experiences no pain and faces no fear or distress. She now knows what it is to go beyond death. Thanks be to the Saviour who has secured the victory over sin and brought life and immortality to our fallen existence. Ruby has been freed from our fallenness.

But for us who remain, death is still a towering black shadow. God’s promises are for the living, having become fulfilled for the deceased. No one can outrun the specter of mortality. It overtakes us all. It brings us face to face with the big questions of existence. What considerations could be more serious than death and eternal destinies? Death is the universal nightmare of humanity. To believe otherwise is foolish. Therefore, reflection on mortality is not a time for conjecture, but for conviction. It’s not a time for ‘trying our luck’ or ‘throwing caution to the wind’. That’s why attention to the only One with complete credibility on the issue is essential. Who else can say, “I was dead, and behold I am alive forever and ever!”1 and that it was accomplished under one’s own power? Jesus alone!

You see, dear friends, the difficult part of Christianity is not the doing, but the believing. Christ has done the work. He has paid the price. He has served the sentence. He has borne the guilt. He has appeased the divine wrath. The difficult part for us is the believing. So completely incapable are we at taking God at His word, the Holy Spirit must do all the heavy lifting. He must first breathe life into our dead souls. He must grant us the faith we cannot muster for ourselves. Then the eyes of faith begin to see God for who He is. That was the case for Ruby from the moment of her baptism. The essentials of everyone’s faith journey are similar.

The ‘doing’, the following of God’s will, the striving to be obedient -even until death (a promise Ruby would have made at her confirmation)- then flows seamlessly from the believing. There are analogies. The infatuated groom doesn’t have to be told to desire his wife. The panicked child doesn’t have to be told to run to her mother’s arms. So, it is with the believer who desires to do God’s will. And this is true even though the selfish nature tries to reassert itself. One thing is for sure, God cannot be deceived. Do you think the Almighty God will be fooled by one single person who puts on the pretense of following God when there really is no faith in the heart? I wouldn’t count on those odds. The Scripture says, “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.”2 We can only repent of trying to fool God and others into thinking we’re not really poor, helpless sinners.

But we are, right to our last breath, Ruby not excluded. Ruby grew up on the farm and life on the farm in the first half of last century wasn’t for the faint of heart. Those years formed Ruby into the kind of person she would later need to be. The perseverance she developed carried her through many challenging circumstances. Herb’s death, nearly 30 years ago already, meant that Ruby faced a long widowhood. By God’s grace she carried on. Ruby lived during a time of tremendous change. She witnessed the transition from horses, to cars, to computers. She adjusted and made her way in the world. The world changed. The times changed. But her Saviour did not change. His love was an immutable constant in her life.

Ruby believed in a God who made good on His promises. Actions speak louder than words! Christ wasn’t a man of hollow words. He didn’t make speeches for the purpose of impressing audiences. He wasn’t running for public office or satisfying constituents. He spoke His intentions truthfully and He fulfilled those intentions to the point of death. He rose again from the grave and lives eternally. Not one promise is left unmet. Not one pledge is proven to be false. He said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”3

Similarly, Jesus said, “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 Ruby has fully made that transition. She awaits, with every believer from every time and place, the resurrection of the body on that great and glorious day, and its reunion with the soul. But her waiting is not characterized by boredom or drudgery. She dwells in the awesome majesty of God, experiences perfect peace, and is filled with inexpressible joy. Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with Me in paradise.”5

This fantastic truth tempers grief. The Scriptures say believers do not grieve like those who have no hope. Christians still mourn the loss of loved ones to be sure. Grief can be incapacitating. A vacancy takes place in family and community life. Adjustments must be made. Routines are altered. Emotions are strained. Memories are recalled to the frontal cortex again, and again, and again. And through that process we come to terms with the loss; but also, and more so over time, we offer up gratitude for the life that was. Greg, your mother will never be replaced.

But…..!!!! The grief of Christians does not end in despair. Greg, your mum has moved up to an even higher calling. The truth that is most audacious, most nonsensical, most ridiculous to the world is the only truth that matters in the end: Again, Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies.”6 No one else could bear the sins of the world. No one else could silence Satan. No one else could conquer death. Ruby understood that.

In the last phase of her life Ruby’s frailty restricted her participation in many of the things she loved. Ageing brought with it many health challenges. She soldiered on, but with limited capacity. Still, God granted her a long and active life. No one reaches the end of this journey without regrets, reservations, doubts or sadnesses. Ruby would have been no different. We don’t make light of them. We just entrust the weight of our mortality- with its darknesses, doubts, and disappointments- to Him who beams with resurrection light; remembering this, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”7 Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Christian Burial of Lorna (Ruby) Gutsche
31 January 2020
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Revelation 1:18
2 Hebrews 4:13
3 John 11:25
4 John 5:24
5 Luke 23:43
6 John 11:25
7 Revelation 21:4