Thus says the Lord:
“In a time of favor I have answered you;
in a day of salvation I have helped you;
I will keep you and give you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
to apportion the desolate heritages,
9 saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’
They shall feed along the ways;
on all bare heights shall be their pasture;
10 they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
11 And I will make all my mountains a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
12 Behold, these shall come from afar,
and behold, these from the north and from the west,[a]
and these from the land of Syene.”[b]
“In a time of favor I have answered you;
in a day of salvation I have helped you;
I will keep you and give you
as a covenant to the people,
to establish the land,
to apportion the desolate heritages,
9 saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’
to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.’
They shall feed along the ways;
on all bare heights shall be their pasture;
10 they shall not hunger or thirst,
neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,
for he who has pity on them will lead them,
and by springs of water will guide them.
11 And I will make all my mountains a road,
and my highways shall be raised up.
12 Behold, these shall come from afar,
and behold, these from the north and from the west,[a]
and these from the land of Syene.”[b]
13 Sing for joy, O heavens, and
exult, O earth;
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted.
break forth, O mountains, into singing!
For the Lord has comforted his people
and will have compassion on his afflicted.
14 But Zion
said, “The Lord has forsaken me;
my Lord has forgotten me.”
my Lord has forgotten me.”
15 “Can a woman forget her nursing
child,
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
16 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget,
yet I will not forget you.
16 Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;
your walls are continually before me.
1 Corinthians 15:51-57
51 Behold! I tell you a
mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet
will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be
changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on
the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When
the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality,
then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
56 The sting of death is sin,
and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks
be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 10:32-33
So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will
acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever
denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Grace, mercy and
peace to you from God our Father through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our text today is from the readings just
read, especially these words from the Old Testament lesson, “Behold, I
have engraved you on the palms of my hands .”
Dear friends in Christ, especially friends and family of Marlys.
It’s a hard thing
that brings us together here today. A
mother, grandmother and friend has left us behind, and entered her eternal
rest. She’s gone to be with Christ, even
forevermore. And so today we weep, we
cry, and we mourn at our loss, because Marlys is gone forever.
But for us in some
ways, she’s been gone for awhile. She’s
had trouble remembering much of anything these last years. She didn’t recognize family. She didn’t recognize friends. She was unable to remember many of the most
important people in her life. It was
painful as we went to visit her, and she either loved us or was angry at us,
all without knowing who we really were.
This forgetfulness
was a result of Alzheimer’s, which itself was a result of the terrible sin of
this world. Marlys was full of sin, and
as a result, her body and mind slowly were destroyed throughout these last
years. Scripture is clear – those who
sin die. The bodies of guilty sinners
wear out. The minds of sinful people
become less clear. And that’s what
happened to dear Marlys, sin took its toll.
And perhaps that’s
what is most worrisome – that we ourselves too are sinful, we too are guilty
and wrong, and so one day our bodies too will die, and our minds will become
clouded because of our own sin and guilt.
I will suffer and die because of my sin.
You will suffer and die because of sin.
It will happen to us, as it does to all people.
And so today we
remember and realize the cost of sin.
Death. Suffering. Forgetfulness. Pain and sorrow. These are the wages of sin. These are the things we face every day, most
especially today as it hits us so closely and personally.
But even as we
face the terrible price for sin, we have a great promise. “Death is swallowed up by death.” St. Paul writes about it in our Epistle
lesson. “Behold! I tell you a
mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet
will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be
changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on
the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.”
The promise is
this, even as we forget things, as our memory fades, Christ has not forgotten
us, and He will not ever forget us. We
are engraved in the palms of his hand.
Engraved with iron nails, which held our Lord to the cross on our behalf. Engraved to show us vividly where His blood
was poured out for our salvation.
Engraved with the marks of our forgiveness.
He gave that
promise of forgiveness to Marlys many years ago, right here in this sanctuary
as she was baptized. He made her His
child, and promised in Water and the Word that He would never leave or forsake
her, that even if she forgot the simple things, that He would remember her and
care for her. That promise was for
Marlys also when she was confirmed here at this rail, and the pastor spoke
these words on her, “everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will
acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven.”
And even the last time I saw Marlys, she was able to speak some of the
words of the Apostle’s Creed, acknowledging her savior outwardly, as her savior
remembered and acknowledged her as well.
Dear friends the
same promise is yours as well. God
remembers you as well. He remembers you
as you mourn today. He remembers you as
you weep, as your body wears out, and as you one day face death. You too are engraved in the palms of his
hand. He will not leave nor forsake
you.
He reminds you of
all his promises as you regularly go and hear His Word. And one day, he will take you home as
well. To be in heaven, where Marlys is
now. To be at peace. To be in eternal joyful life. He will remember you, even as he has
remembered Marlys. In the name of
Jesus. Amen.
