Dulcie Westbrook Funeral (4 March 2020)

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

Text: Revelation 21:4
Theme: The End of Pain and Grief

Dear family, friends, and loved ones of Dulcie; and especially you Lew and Aileen, her children,

The end of all pain, suffering, and death is not a childish fantasy. It is the eternal reality of those who have crossed into the presence of God. This is the promise we have just heard from God’s holy word. When we reflect on the gravity of mortality no words of comfort really matter except those of Him who has defeated death and thrown open the gates of heaven. So, we gather with solemnity but also with joy, knowing that Dulcie has reached her final rest. Her journey is over. Her struggles are ended. Thanks be to God for His merciful love!

A Christian funeral necessarily has a confronting element because we can’t make light of serious realities. Consideration of mortality often evokes a guttural reaction. Death is menacing. It is dark and consuming. It has an inevitability that we cannot overcome. Death is not the natural way of things that some claim. It’s not part of some grand cosmic cycle that was intended from the beginning. Death is the mature consequence of sin. It is punishment leveled against the sinner for offending God’s holiness. Death severs all of our relationships and if left unresolved separates us from God’s goodness eternally.

Jesus Christ is the only One with the authority to offer resolution and reconciliation. Everything stands or falls on His sacrificial work for sinners. Our salvation is only by grace, only through faith. If grace in Christ is a fantasy, then hope is finally lost. If divine love is a fallacy, then ultimate meaning is shattered. If God’s promises are hollow, then existence itself comes unhinged. If the resurrection of Christ was only pious legend, then eternal death prevails. But, dear friends, Jesus Christ is indeed risen from the dead. The grave could not hold Him. Death could not bind Him. Hell could not subdue Him. Satan could not silence Him.

He says to us, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.”1 And the Scripture says, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”2 It sounds so simple and in one sense that’s true. But in another sense, it’s the most difficult thing in the world. There are many challenges to faith and the Holy Spirit is required for it to be maintained.

God, of course, knew what struggles Dulcie would endure and what blessings she would enjoy. From the moment of her baptism He reclaimed her as His unique creation and promised her an eternal inheritance. Dulcie understood the challenges of farm life, of family, and of relationships. Farming in the Mallee demands an astute gage of one’s capacities. If you don’t learn to adjust it can quickly break you. Dulcie learned to adapt even under trying circumstances. She knew she was a fallible human being- a sinner like all of us. She would have had her share of regrets, disappointments, and sorrows in life. But she also knew she was God’s child. She knew God had greater things in store for her.

The Scriptures encourage us to eagerly anticipate being released from all the consequences of sin. Consider these words of promise, “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body.”3 Again, “We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is”4 And again from Revelation 21, “He will wipe away 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.”5 Dulcie is now freed from all the burdens of this life.

Of course, we still remain in the old order of things and we must carry on. What do we learn from those who have gone before? We do we learn about the value of things temporal and things eternal? We have memories of the beloved. These memories are important. Inevitably such memories involve a mixture of joy and sorrow. People tend to be glorified at death, but we know that every life is fraught with fallibility. Every person needs forgiveness. And isn’t that all that matters in the end: Forgiven relationships? Our relationship with God and others?

The Scriptures tell us not to leave overtures of reconciliation too late. The Bible says, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”6 This isn’t meaningless ‘religious’ advice. Relationships that remain fractured at the point of death are the cause of much regret and heartache. Dear friends, Christ forgives the eternal offence of our sins. Any sins of others that we pardon pale in comparison. That doesn’t mean we are to discount the seriousness of the transgressions others have committed against us. Forgiveness is not about downplaying. Forgiveness is about valuing the sinner over the sin. Life is not only too short to bear grudges; our own sanctity is too limited to allow us to be self-righteous. The Scripture says, “Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”7 If the subject is too difficult to broach, seek outside assistance.

Lew, Aileen, the emptiness left by the death of your mother cannot be filled by any means that we possess. The poignancy of grief is a recognition of the irreplaceability of the loved one. The blessing that she was to you and to others is her legacy. But know that for the believer the end is always a blessed end. From human perspective dying may seem downright cruel. Physical pain and psychological trauma are suffered by many in the twilight of life. Frailties of body and mind rob life of even the smallest pleasures. Dulcie endured a long battle with dementia. While others can sympathize and even empathize, no two people trod the same path. Yet, at that point when the threshold is crossed, the believer is released from every burden of this fallen existence. The Psalmist says, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.”8

Dulcie was a baptized child of God. What she knew at the end is not nearly as important as the fact that she was known. God knew her. Christians believe “in the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.” Dulcie now awaits the resurrection of the body on the Last Day. But her heart is already at peace. Her mind has already been grated full clarity. Dulcie’s confirmation verse was from John 8. “Jesus said, ‘If you hold to My teaching you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”9 Dulcie has truly been set free. Thanks be to God! Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Christian Burial of Dulcie Norma Westbrook
4 March 2020
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 John 11:25-25
2 Romans 10:9-10
3 Philippians 3:20-21
4 1 John 3:2
5 Revelation 21:4
6 Romans 12:18
7 Colossians 3:13
8 Psalm 116:15
9 John 8:31-32