Funeral Sermon for Alice Schaefer

October 20, 2018

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

Grace and peace to you from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Family and friends of Alice, what a joy, even in the midst of sadness and loss that we face, to be able to gather together today in the faith and the hope and the knowledge that Alice is with the Lord.  Alice has fought the good fight, finished the race, kept her course in faith. She has received the crown of righteousness, won by Jesus and received by her through faith in Him. Jesus had prepared her for death long ago, at her baptism when she was connected to His death and therefore to His life. He kept her in that faith, a faith that shaped her life, the way she lived, the people that she lived for.

There are many good things that we have to celebrate about the life of Alice. 92 years of life is sure to have created more memories, more stories, more laughs, more wonderment that we have time for today. There was a mischievousness in her that I could never pinpoint.  Something behind those eyes that let a person know there was more going on in that mind of hers than she communicated.  On the other hand, she sometimes communicated what she was thinking very… clearly. Is it fair of me to say that she could be stubborn at times?

But there’s also some bad things.  Growing old is not for the faint of heart. It is a form of suffering, for you see how frail a body is worn down by the wear and tear of the years. Alice didn’t remember much toward the end. Her body and mind were wearing out.  And it aggravated her.  She knew something was wrong, and she didn’t much care for it. But she also knew that the Lord was soon to call her to Himself.  She also knew her journey was in Christ, that as she grew old in Christ, those marks of age are marks of honor and wisdom and a reminder and yearning for eternal life with Him.  And then death came. And it did not belong. She was ready, yes, but death still came like a thief in the night. It is our enemy. It was meant from the beginning that people should die. We mourn when death comes our way, even when it comes after a long and full life like Alice enjoyed.  We mourn because we feel the loss, we feel the sadness.

Yet Jesus said, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in Me.” These words are spoken to people like you and I when in times of great need, of great comfort. The Lord had prepared a place for Alice. A place here on earth with so many of you. A place in your lives that cannot be filled nor replaced.  A place in the church where she sat week after week for so many years.  A place in heaven with the Lord. And a place in eternity with all the saints of God.