Funeral for Gerry Rau

John 14

October 5, 2018

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

100 years, that’s a long time. It is hard to summarize the life of someone who has lived 100 years. It can’t be done. Summarize what is most important, and what still matters.

And did she ever witness and participate in a lot! Think of all the change that she saw in her life. Born at the end of WWI, she lived through the roaring 20s, the Great Depression, WWII, the 50s, the birth of television, space flight, disco, computers, the internet. From horse and buggy to cars. And up to the end, she still bragged about how she had never had a ticket while driving and that she wasn’t happy her license was taken away when she was 95.

But there was a constant in her life that shaped her more than anything else.  She is not unlike Ruth in the Old Testament reading. She met her husband, a story that she retold often, “Your people shall be my people and your God my God.” For over 80 years, she was a member here at Zion. She walked in faith alongside her husband, her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, great-great grandchildren. The same faith, the same Lord, the same hope of eternal life. She is a child of God. She is beloved in the Lord. She has victory over her sin, over the devil, over death.  She has the hope of the resurrection of the dead and she waits with the saints of God for that day of the Lord’s return. This is not just a summary of her life, but also of your life in faith.

You are a testimony of the grace of God shown to Gerry and through her to you. Over that 100 years, Gerry mattered. She made a difference. You here are witnesses of that difference. The family, the friends. The love, the joy, the happiness, the hope. She mattered. She mattered to you. She mattered to me. She matters to Christ, so much that He would die for her that she might live. You matter to Christ. He died for you, so that you might live. So that 100 years might seem as the blink of an eye in light of all eternity. Whether you live 50 years or 100 years here in this mortal life, in terms of eternity, what’s the life, the length of a lifetime?

Jesus says in the Gospel reading, “In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” Gerry knew that a place had been prepared for her, for her family and friends, even from before the foundation of the world.  And this is no temporary house, no hotel room, no care facility room.  This is a permanent residence, an eternal home, with Christ and with all the saints of God.

And Gerry knew the way. She knew the way that extended beyond 100 years and past this mortal life. It was a way that passes through death to the resurrection and life everlasting. It is the way that Jesus forged, where Jesus beckons people to follow, where Jesus is present. For Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.

Blessed are the dead in the sight of the Lord. Here on earth, death does not rob you of your life in Christ. For He has done it all for you, just like He did it all for Gerry. Don’t neglect that gift, don’t ignore it, don’t deny it. Gerry wanted to know you not just here and not, but for eternity.

She is blessed with life even now.

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” Let not your hearts be troubled. Hope in Jesus.  For in Him we rejoice. Gerry is home. She is with Jesus, with all her loved ones. And through our tears, through our loss, we have a glimpse of the heavenly home, of mansions so great it is beyond imagination. And we wait with Gerry for the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting, an eternal homecoming with Jesus. Amen.