Dear friends in Christ, “To live is
Christ, and to die is gain.” These are
words that we need to be reminded of on a day like this, when we gather
together to mourn and weep at the loss of a husband, father, and friend. We need to hear this promise of God when we
hurt, and are frustrated, and dealing with things that we cannot
understand.
To die is gain. This is true for dear Elroy. This past few years have at times been
difficult for him. He had cancer removed
from the end of his nose. He had trouble
catching his breath after a very short walk.
Some Sundays, I know it was difficult for him to even make it up the
ramp into church. His body was beginning
to slowly fall apart, wear out, and to fall apart.
It is our sin that is the source of
this aging, and ultimately of our deaths.
It is sin that brings pain and suffering to our lives. It is sin that at times makes this world
unbearable. And so it is because of sin,
that we weep and mourn today.
But to die is gain, this past Thursday
evening, Elroy left sin behind and inherited peace, and comfort beyond all understanding. He is now at rest, no longer dealing with sin
and its effects. Christ has brought him
out of this vale of tears and into the great feast of peace and comfort in heaven. He no longer suffers. He no longer faces the challenges of this
world. He no longer hurts, or
aches. He is at the great rest earned by
Christ for all who believe in him.
By Christ’s own death and resurrection,
death is not the end for Elroy. Christ says as much in our Gospel text
today. “I give them eternal life, and they
will never perish. No one will snatch
them out of my hand.” And so Elroy is
with the very Christ who made that promise to him.
And what then of us. We are still here. We still hurt and weep and cry. We still don’t understand why these terrible
things happen.
To live is Christ, St. Paul
writes. As we mourn in the days and
weeks ahead, we trust in Jesus and his forgiveness, not only for Elroy, but
also for you and me. We know that Christ
has died for our sins as well. He has
shed his blood, to make the same promise to we who weep and mourn as to those
who leave this world behind and gain heaven.
Dear friends, your sins are forgiven by
the death of Jesus. Life is promised to
you by His glorious work. We may weep
and mourn today, but we do so with hope, knowing that for Elroy, and for us,
that death is not the end. But that death has been swallowed up in
victory. We live day by day, with no
where to turn except to Christ. To live
is Christ, even as we one day ourselves wait our own death, where we too will
gain heaven and peace. There we will see
God face to face, there we will join Elroy in the unending feast. There, life will be ours forever.
It is really true. To live is Christ, and to die is gain. That was God’s promise to Elroy, and to you,
and to me. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
