I did my first funeral this past Saturday. It was for a woman I never met, but who used to regularly attend my church. Her daughter also attends our church, though I've never seen her there. Anyway, the family wanted the funeral to be a celebration of her life, so that's what I tried to do. Below is the service order and my sermon. The resources, unless otherwise noted, come from the UMC's Book of Worship.
Sorry about the formatting--it got a little weird in the copying and pasting process...
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Gathering
We gather this morning to celebrate the full and abundant life
of Margaret. I speak for those close to Margret when I say that we are grateful
for your presence and support today. During
this service we will hear from family and friends about the life they
experienced with Margaret. I’m told she loved to laugh, and so I’m sure
we’ll laugh at her stories. But because Margaret’s life was so big, we will
also mourn the hole she leaves in our lives.
That’s the mysterious thing about abundant life, isn’t it? There will always be laughter; there will
always be tears; but in the middle of all of it, there will be deep and abiding
goodness.
And so, remembering this mystery of life, remembering the pain
and the joy, and remembering God’s presence in the midst of it all, let us
pray:
Blessing AND Words OF GRACE
O
God, we come today to celebrate the laughter, life, and love Margaret had for you and for everyone she
encountered. We come, knowing that you
are the giver of life and conqueror of death.
Comfort us and give us grace, in the presence of death, to worship
you. Enable us to put our whole trust in
your goodness and in your mercy.
Holy
One, we know we can trust in you, because Jesus Christ, our sure hope, said:
I am the resurrection and I am the life.
Those who believe in me, even though they
die, yet shall they live,
and whoever lives and believes in me
shall never die.
I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end, the first and the last.
I died, and behold I am alive forevermore,
and I hold the keys of death.
Because I live, you shall live also.
God’s love, the hope of Jesus Christ, and the faithful presence
of the Spirit are made known through our lives.
Anywhere love, hope, and faith truly abide, God can be found, in the
world around us and in our own lives.
Let us listen to the witness of love, hope, and faith in Margaret’s life. You'll find the obituary printed on the back of your bulletin.
Obituary
(obituary is read)
What a full and beautiful and busy witness! Having heard about the family and friends,
work and joy contained within the long years of Margaret’s life, let us together offer our thanks to God for the
time we shared. Please join me in
reading the prayer printed in your bulletin.
Prayer
Eternal
God,
We praise
you for the great company of all those
who have finished their course in faith
and now rest from their labor.
We praise
you for those dear to us
whom we name in our hearts before you.
Especially
we praise you for Margaret,
whom you have graciously received into
your presence.
To all of
these, grant your peace.
Let
perpetual light shine upon them;
and help us
so to believe where we have not seen,
that your presence may lead us through our
years,
and bring us at last with them
into the joy of your home
not made with hands but eternal in
the heavens;
through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Amen indeed.
In a moment we will read together a psalm that is likely
familiar to most of us. We tend to focus on the imagery of walking “through the valley of the shadow of death”,
but the 23rd Psalm is about so much more than that. It is filled with images of abundance:
green pastures; cool, clear water; healing and restoration; bounty in the
presence of adversity; and all of this made available to us now, and
forevermore through God’s presence and provision. This is a psalm about the goodness of
life.
And so, as the choir prepares to sing Margaret’s favorite hymn, I think it is fitting that we read this
psalm together. You’ll find it printed
in your bulletin. I will begin. Please join me for the parts printed in bold.
Psalm 23 A Psalm
of David
The Lord is
my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me
to lie down in green pastures:
he leads me beside the still waters
He restores
my soul: he leads me in the
paths of righteousness for his
name’s sake.
Yes, 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.
You prepare
a table for me in the presence of my enemies:
you anoint my head with oil; my cup
runs over.
Surely Goodness
and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life: and I will dwell
in the house
of the Lord forever.
Musical Selection: How Great Thou Art
We have celebrated Margaret
in prayer, in scripture, and in song.
Now there are a few family and friends who would like to share some of
their personal stories and memories of Margaret
with us. Richard, Curt, and Norman…
Family and Friends Remember Margaret
Richard, Curt, and Norman
Thank you for sharing those wonderful memories.
Thank you for sharing those wonderful memories.
Scripture Reading
Our scripture reading this morning comes from the Gospel of
John, chapter 10.
Hear the word of the Lord:
The
Parable of the Good Shepherd
Jesus said, “I tell you the truth: the man who crawls through the fence of
the sheep pen, rather than walking through the gate, is a thief or a vandal.
The shepherd walks openly through the entrance. The guard who is posted to protect the
sheep opens the gate for the shepherd, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls
his own sheep by name and leads them out. When all the sheep have been gathered,
he walks on ahead of them; and they follow him because they know his voice. The sheep would not be willing to follow
a stranger; they run at the sound of a strange voice.”
Jesus explained a profound truth through this metaphor, but they
did not understand His teaching. So
He explained further:
Saying, “I tell you the truth: I am the gate of the
sheep. All who
approached the sheep before Me came as thieves and robbers, and the sheep did
not listen to their voices. I
am the gate; whoever enters through Me will be liberated, will go in and go
out, and will find pastures. The thief approaches with
malicious intent, looking to steal, slaughter, and destroy; I came to give
life with joy and abundance.
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for
the sheep in His care. The
hired hand is not like the shepherd caring for His own sheep. When a wolf
attacks, snatching and scattering the sheep, he runs for his life, leaving them
defenseless. The hired
hand runs because he works only for wages and does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know My sheep,
and My sheep know Me. As the
Father knows Me, I know the Father; I will give My life for the sheep. There are many more sheep than you can
see here, and I will bring them as well. They will hear My voice, and the flock
will be united. One flock. One shepherd. The Father loves Me because I am
willing to lay down My life—but I will take it up again. My life cannot be taken away by anybody
else; I am giving it of My own free will. My authority allows Me to give My
life and to take it again. All this has been commanded by My Father.
My sheep respond
as they hear My voice; I know them intimately, and they follow Me. I give them a life that is
unceasing, and death will not have the last word. Nothing or no one can
steal them from My hand. My
Father has given the flock to Me, and He is superior to all beings and
things. No one is powerful enough to snatch the flock from My Father’s
hand. The Father and I
are one.[1]
This is the
Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Message of Celebration and
Remembrance
We have gathered today
to celebrate. To celebrate the life of Margaret, to celebrate God’s
presence in the life of the world around us, and to celebrate the fact that Margaret used her life to reveal the
kind abundant life and love God offers us all.
Our gospel passage
today, which echoes many of the themes of Psalm 23, speaks of this abundant
life. In the gospel, Jesus tells us he
came to give us joy-filled and abundant life, calling himself “the Gate” and
“the Good Shepherd”. How is Jesus a Gate
and a Shepherd, and why is that good news for us today?
Well, what does the
Gate do? The Gate is a source of protection. The Gate identifies those who belong and
those who don’t. The Gate allows access
to those who will care for the sheep.
Shepherds who will lead them to the grasses and waters of abundant life
are granted access without question. So,
anyone who intends to harm the sheep are refused access. That is why robbers and thieves are forced to
climb over the fence. The Gate protects
the sheep and only allows access to shepherds who will lead the sheep to joyful
and abundant life.
What does the Good Shepherd
do? The Good Shepherd is a provider who
leads his sheep through places of plenty.
The Good Shepherd is a protector, leading them safely through dangerous
valleys, and even going so far as to protect his sheep with his own life. When the sheep fall and are hurt, the Good
Shepherd gently and tenderly puts ointment on their wounds. He bandages all their hurts. He takes time with the sheep, getting to know
their individual personalities. Jesus,
our Good Shepherd, tells us elsewhere in the gospels that he knows his sheep by
name. He takes time to get to know what
makes each sheep unique. And the sheep
follow him because they know him. They
know his care. They know his
provision. They know his
protection. They know the calming and
comforting voice of the one who never lets them down.
Jesus is our Gate, our protector, and our Good Shepherd, the
one who leads us to places of abundance.
The one who comforts and heals us when we hurt. The one who has taken time to get to know us
personally. And when we begin to see
this care, this comfort, this call to fullness of life, we begin to learn his
voice. It takes time, but we begin to
see his voice in the world around us. Jesus
is our guide to a full and abundant life.
And if we wonder what that fullness of life looks like, we need only
look to Jesus’s own life.
Following Jesus’s
example tells us that abundant life looks like helping others,
loving them more than you love yourself.
Abundant life is taking vacations when you need to, and being thankful. Abundant life in Jesus is eating with your
friends and family, telling the truth people need to hear instead of the lie
they want to hear, and being obedient and faithful to God. Abundant life is being gracious, loving, and
welcoming, and seeing the best in people even when they can’t see it in
themselves.
I never officially met Margaret. I only saw her once. But in talking with her family and friends,
people from our church, and in reading a little about her, I think Margaret lived abundantly. I think she was a hard worker who knew how to
have fun. I think she loved her family
and friends to the point of sacrifice.
I’ve been told she loved to laugh, but was also not afraid to speak her
mind, to tell you what she thought you needed to know instead of what you
wanted to hear. She taught and worked
and served and loved others in schools, churches, and community groups, seeking
to be obedient to the work God had planned for her to accomplish. And in addition to all of that, Pam told me
that her mother hugged everyone, welcoming you into her heart no matter whether
you were old friends or had just met for the first time.
Margaret had 80 years, and in that time she lived fully
and faithfully, following the Good Shepherd through many, many pastures and
life moments. She followed the Shepherd
through: marriage, schools, churches, children, grandchildren,
great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren, all the while learning what
it meant to follow the voice of the Shepherd into fullness of life.
Like Margaret, each of us have these life
moments, and each of these moments mark a passage. “When we are born we make the passage from
life in the womb to life in the family.
When we go to school we make a passage from life in the family to life
in the larger community. When we get
married we make a passage from a life with many options to a life committed to
one person." When we have children we
make a passage from a life devoting our time to our own pursuits to a life
devoting our life to the lives we have created.
"When [our children grow up or] we retire we make a passage from a life
of clearly defined work to a life asking for new creativity and wisdom. Each of these passages is a death leading to
new life. When we live these passages
well, we [become] more prepared for our passage into our final passage.”[1] When we live our life well, we prepare
ourselves to enter into eternal life well.
We know Margaret
lived these moments well. She lived them
fully, and she lived them following God.
And because of this, we know that she was well-prepared to live her
final passage. We know that she was
well-prepared to follow the voice of the Good Shepherd and enter from death
into eternal life. And because Jesus is
our caring Good Shepherd and our protective Gate, we know that whatever that
eternal life looks like, it will be as abundant and love-filled as her life
here with us has been.
And that is why we have
gathered here today to celebrate. And it
is good and right that we celebrate. And
it is also good and right that we mourn, for it means that we have loved and
lived well. And we can be assured that
Jesus, our Good Shepherd, whose voice we recognize in the story of Margaret’s life, works to heal our
hurts and bandages our wounds, even in the midst of our celebration. May it be so.
The
Lord has promised good to us. The Lord
is our Shield, our Portion, our Provision, and our Gate. He leads us through dangers, toils, and
snares, and saves us from those who come to steal and destroy the abundant life
he desires to give us through Jesus Christ.
God promises us deep goodness and abundant life here and now as well as
in the life that is yet to come. And so,
in response to these promises, let’s sing praise to our Lord. Please stand as you are able and join in
singing Amazing Grace. You’ll find the lyrics printed on the insert
in your bulletin.
Congregational Hymn: Amazing Grace
(See bulletin insert
for words)
It is God’s promise of Amazing Grace that allows us to give
thanks for Margaret’s full and abundant
life. A life that is different now, but
has not ended. Just as God is present Margaret’s life, God is with us here
today. And so, as we prepare to end our
service here, let us give thanks to the God of Amazing Grace.
Commendation and Prayer of
Thanksgiving
Please join me in prayer:
God
of love, we thank you for the life of Margaret,
for her
joy and laughter, for her love of
family and friends,
and for her witness to the abundance of life you offer.
We
thank you for all with which you have blessed us, even to this day:
for the gift of joy in days of health and
strength
and for the gifts of your Spirit’s
abiding presence and promise
in days of pain and grief.
We
praise you for home and friends,
and for our baptism and place in your
Church
with all who have faithfully lived and
died.
Above
all else we thank you for Jesus,
who knew our griefs,
who died our death and rose for our sake,
and who lives and prays for us.
Be
with us this day, and every day
until we greet you face to face.
Amen.
Services will continue at Schmidt’s Cemetary in Strain Japan.
Go with the love of God, the guidance of Jesus, and the presence
of the Spirit. Amen.
+
+ + Graveside SERVICE + + +
h
Gathering
Gathering
As we gather, hear these words from Psalm 16:
Therefore
our hearts are glad, and our souls rejoice;
Our
bodies also dwell secure.
You,
Lord, show us the path of life;
In
your presence there is fullness of joy,
In
your right had are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:9, 11)
Prayer
Let us pray.
O God, you have ordered this wonderful
world
And know all things in earth and in heaven.
Give us such faith that by day and by
night,
at all times and in all places,
we may without fear commit ourselves
and those dear to us
to your never-failing love,
in this life and in the life to come.
Amen.
Scripture Reading: Psalm
84
How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed it faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, indeed it faints
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise.
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
my King and my God.
Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise.
Happy are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob!
Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed.
give ear, O God of Jacob!
Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed.
For
a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper
in the house of my God
than live in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
he bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
happy is everyone who trusts in you.
than live in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
he bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does the Lord withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
happy is everyone who trusts in you.
Committal
Knowing of Margaret’s
trust in God, her newfound home with the Lord of hosts, and her joyous entrance
into God’s heavenly courts, let us offer Margaret
back into the arms of her loving creator.
Almighty
God,
into your hands we commend your daughter Margaret,
in sure and certain hope of resurrection
to eternal life
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
This
body we commit to the ground
earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to
dust.
Blessed
are the dead who die in the Lord.
Yes,
says the Spirit, they will rest from their labors
for their deeds follow them.
Join me in prayer:
Eternal
God, you have shared with us the life of Margaret.
Before
she was our, she is yours.
For
all that Margaret has given to make
us what we are,
for that of her which lives and grows in each of us,
and for her life that in your love will never end,
we give you thanks.
And
now as offer Margaret back into your
arms,
comfort us in our loneliness,
strengthen us in our weaknesses,
and give us courage to face the future
unafraid.
Draw
those of us who remain in this life closer to one another,
make us faithful to serve one another,
and give us to know that peace and joy
which is eternal life;
through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Jesus Christ unites us in life.
In him we are united with one another here, united with those who have already
gone on to eternal life, and united with those who will be born and, through
us, come to know the love of God. And so
as people grateful for this love and this unity, let us pray together the prayer
that Jesus taught us saying, “Our Father…”
The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father,
who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come; thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us
this day our daily bread.
And forgive
us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against
us.
And lead us
not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
For thine
is the kingdom, the power, and the glory,
for ever and ever. Amen.
God’s kingdom is forever.
And as Margaret lived an
abundant life here on God’s earthly kingdom, she now enjoys the abundance of eternal life in God’s heavenly
kingdom. And so, as we prepare to leave
this place, let us sing praise to God, for our life, for Margaret’s life, for the life that will be, and for God’s presence
and greatness now and forevermore.
CLOSING SONG: How Great Thou Art
When
Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And
take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then
I shall bow in humble adoration,
And
there proclaim, my God, how great thou art!
Then
sings my soul, my Savior God to thee;
How
great thou art, how great thou art!
Closing Prayer and Benediction
Join me in prayer:
God,
you are great. You are mighty and powerful, and we adore
you. We thank you for the gift of life. We thank you for the pain of loss, because we
know it means we have loved and lived well.
And so, be with us in our pain, reminding us of the life and love that
we have shared, and reminding us that you are always with us. Comfort us and guide us in the days ahead, in
the tears and in the laughter, as we seek to live abundantly into your love and
grace. Amen.
Now
may the Father
from whom every family in heaven and on
earth is named,
according to the riches of God’s glory,
grant
you to be strengthened with might
through God’s Spirit in your inner being,
that Christ may dwell in your hearts
through faith;
that
you, being rooted and grounded in love,
may be able to comprehend with all the
saints
what is the breadth and length and
height and depth
and
to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge,
that you may be filled with all the
fullness of God. Amen.
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