The Eternal Words

Within a seven-day period I will speak at 3 funerals.  The first is today.

In talking with the wife of the deceased, she let me know I was to read only scripture at the graveside service.  When asked why, she replied, “I want to hear the old words.  I want to be comforted by the words of my childhood in that little clapboard church.  I want again to be reminded of the Reverend Crippen and a time when everything was safe.  I want the words, the words of God, to point us all to him.”  And when she later concluded our conversation, she said, “I want my family to hear something eternal.”

Here are the old words, the words of long ago remembered from childhood . . . the eternal words.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-9     A Time for Everything

¹ There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:

² a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,

³ a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

⁴ a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,

⁵ a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

⁶ a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,

⁷ a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,

⁸ a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

⁹ What does the worker gain from his toil? ¹⁰ I have seen the burden God has laid on men. ¹¹ He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

Matthew 11:28-30     Rest for the Weary

²⁸“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 5:1-12     The Beatitudes

¹Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ²and he began to teach them saying:
³“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
⁵Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
⁷Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
⁸Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
⁹Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

John 14:1-6      Jesus Comforts His Disciples

¹“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. ²In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you.

³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴You know the way to the place where I am going.”

⁵Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

⁶Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Revelation 21:1-5     The New Jerusalem

¹Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ²I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴He 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.”

⁵He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Psalm 23     A Psalm of David

¹ The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

² He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

³ he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.

⁴ Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.                     (All scripture taken from the New International Version)

As I hear the 9:00 a.m. bells from the Congregational Church down the hill, this morning, I am reminded of why the widow so deeply wants the eternal to be heard.  I am taken back to my own little country church and how I felt in those hard-backed pews when we all stood and the man of God read from the gigantic Bible on the pulpit.  How I’ve longed at times for such a simpler, faith-filled and unencumbered day.

I shall then close with prayer:

Father, we gather as a humbled people.

At the death of someone we love we are reminded

there are certain matters in life that are out of our hands,

out of our power to change and out of our ability to fully understand.

So then, Father, it is logical we should turn to you

for comfort and understanding.

And thus we come, Lord, in need of your loving care.

Reach into our heaped up hearts and massage our grief.

Tenderly bring your healing to the wounds of our souls.

And remind us we are not alone.

Teach us the truth of your presence.

Remind us you are the waiting Father who awaits his children to come to his knee.

Show us you are the Father who has taught us to call you “Daddy”.

Reveal to us the Father who is not at arm’s length, but within the range of a still small voice.

Remind us we need only knock and you will open the door.

Help us to form the words, Father . . . the words that will draw us together for good.

Amen.