Job 30 - “And now my soul
is poured out within me;
days of affliction have taken hold of me.
17 The night racks my bones,
and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest.
18 With great force my garment is disfigured;
it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.
19 God[c] has cast me into the mire,
and I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry to you for help and you do not answer me;
I stand, and you only look at me.
21 You have turned cruel to me;
with the might of your hand you persecute me.
22 You lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it,
and you toss me about in the roar of the storm.
23 For I know that you will bring me to death
and to the house appointed for all living.
17 The night racks my bones,
and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest.
18 With great force my garment is disfigured;
it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.
19 God[c] has cast me into the mire,
and I have become like dust and ashes.
20 I cry to you for help and you do not answer me;
I stand, and you only look at me.
21 You have turned cruel to me;
with the might of your hand you persecute me.
22 You lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it,
and you toss me about in the roar of the storm.
23 For I know that you will bring me to death
and to the house appointed for all living.
Isaiah 41 - But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
10 fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
the offspring of Abraham, my friend;
9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth,
and called from its farthest corners,
saying to you, “You are my servant,
I have chosen you and not cast you off”;
10 fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
John 8 - Donald's Confirmation Verse - So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you
abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and
the truth will set you free.”
Grace, mercy and
peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Our text today is the Gospel lesson read, also Donald’s Confirmation
Verse, especially these words, “the truth will set you free.”. Thus far our text.
Dear friends in
Christ, especially Helen and other family.
Some sixty three years ago, right here, in this font, Donald Milton
Bellin became God’s Child in the waters of Holy Baptism. On that day he received forgiveness of all
his sins, rescue from death and the devil, and the promise of eternal salvation
through the washing of rebirth and renewal in water and the word. Just three weeks later, he was confirmed in
that faith, as he confessed here that would rather die than fall away from the
faith. And as he made that promise,
Pastor Micheal spoke the words of our text to him. “The Truth will set you free,” and then you
will be free indeed.
Throughout many
years of his life, these words stuck with Donald. These words belonged to Donald as he entered
the armed services, “the truth will set you free.” They were with Donald as he moved to St. Paul
and worked for many years as an electrician.
They were with Donald as he married his lovely wife Helen. They were with Donald as he retired and moved
back here to Hankinson. The words were
with Donald up until the last few days, when finally he was set free from this
world indeed.
As we talked about
last night, the last few months and weeks for Donald were difficult. His health declined quickly and steadily. The man who liked to tell jokes and chat was
nothing more than skin and bones. The
last week or so of his life, he struggled greatly. The day before he passed, with every breath
he cried out for help, “Help me” he said, “Help me to get out of the bed, help
me to leave. Help me to finally enter
eternal rest.” His cry matched that of
Job in our first lesson, “And now my
soul is poured out within me; days of affliction have taken hold of me. The night racks my bones, and the pain
that gnaws me takes no rest.” And
so he prayed for help.
And where does that help come from? It comes from the promise of Donald’s
Confirmation verse, “The Truth will set you free.” Free from pain. Free from sorrow, free from suffering, free
from all the sin of the world. Christ’s
response to the shout of help is nothing else than freedom in these words, “fear
not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen
you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” And so on Tuesday afternoon, Donald was set
free from this world, and entered eternity with God.
The price for his
freedom from the pain and sorrow of this world is the very precious blood, and
innocent suffering and death of God’s own Holy Son Jesus in place of
Donald. God loved Donald so much He let
His Son Jesus come to this world. He let
his Son suffer, even more than Donald suffered.
He let his Son be beaten, and nailed to a cross. He let his son’s blood pour out as a sin
sacrifice and offering. He let his Son
die, to set all of us free from sin, even Donald.
Yes, that’s right,
you too are freed from the confines of this world by the Way the Truth and the
Life Jesus Christ. You too are rescued
from sin death and the power of the devil, and you too have life in the blood
of Jesus. You too, just like Donald our
dear departed brother, will be set free by the Truth, and if he sets you free,
you will be free indeed.
Dear friends,
Today Donald has life. And we have the
promise that one day we too will have life, and be with him even forever
more. Listen to His word, and believe
the truth, and the truth will set you free.
Amen.
