Luke 11:9

Funeral Sermon for Lorraine Boehlke

October 20, 2017

Zion Lutheran Church + Nampa, ID

People loved by God. On a day like today, what is worth asking for? For family and friends to gather in honor and memory of Lorraine? For sharing memories and stories, tears and comfort in the midst of death? Handshakes and hugs? Another day with a loved one?

All these things are good, right, and salutary. And I pray that we are able to share in all those things today, and in the future. But I would like you to think about this a little more.  And I like you to think about in terms both of today, as well as April 14, 1935.  Lorraine was 15 years old, her sisters were 10 and 4 years old at the time. It was Palm Sunday at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Eustus, Nebraska.  Women were sitting on one side of the congregation, men on the other.  Her dad, who usually sat up in the balcony, through Lorraine never knew why, probably was sitting down closer to the front. It was Confirmation day. Lorraine would have had to memorize Luther’s Small Catechism, several Bible passages, and probably some hymns.  Some of this was in English and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of it was in German too.  At the end of the Confirmation rite, shortly before she would have received Communion for the very first time, her pastor read this Bible verse over her from Luke 11:9, Jesus said, “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.” And then it goes on in the next verse, “For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”

So I ask you again, in light of today, with the dead body of that woman whose those words were spoken over, a daughter and sister, a wife and a mother and a grandmother and greatgrandmother and friend, what is worth asking for? What is worth seeking? What is worth knocking on?

We have an answer to those questions, and the answer is found in Jesus.  These questions cannot simply be focused on the here and now, on life in this world.  God certainly answers those in Jesus, but the answer is much bigger than that.  It’s questions and answers that transcend this life, one that the devil, that your sins, that even death cannot silence.

I will argue that Lorraine is actually a good example of what this looks like in the life of a Christian. She lived a full life, a long life, with the love of many family and friends. She wasn’t perfect, and we know that. She had her shortcomings, her struggles, and her sin.  Just like all of us do.  Reading through an autobiography of sorts, primarily of her childhood life, marriage, and birth of two of her children illustrates just a small part of this.  Someone who lives as long as she did experienced a lot of history personally. She lived through the Depression, the Dust Bowl, World War II.  She went from travelling to a one room school by horse and buggy, to experiencing technological marvels unthought-of of in her younger years.  Outhouses and no electricity to the modern marvels of television and the internet. She raised children, saw them grow and have families of their own. What those eyes had seen, the lives that those hands had touched. In her later years, her memory was not that good. Maybe it’s a clique, but I am convinced that she had forgotten more than many people had ever learned. She rarely recognized me, but when I told her who I was she always knew her church. Even right before her death, as she heard the Lord’s Prayer, she never forgot her Lord.  She knew Jesus, and more importantly Jesus knew her.  And she died a blessed death.

What does Lorraine receive? Jesus says in Revelation 2:10, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of eternal life.” What does she find? From our Gospel reading today in Matthew 11, Jesus’ word of promise and invitation, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” What is opened up to her? The door to heaven with all the saints in glory.  Almost two weeks ago now, Jesus called her to eternal home.  When she was unable to move, He sought her out and found her. When she was unable to speak, His Word provided the answer to the questions she could not ask aloud. When her hands were too frail to do much, He opened the gates of heaven and carried her to Himself.

What’s worth asking for today?  There are lots of questions that you might have, lots of desires for which to ask. Shortly, we will commend the body of Lorraine into the Lord’s care until the day of the resurrection. This is THE question, and THE answer, from 1 Corinthians 15, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Lorraine enjoys that victory now, and through faith in Christ, so do you.