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

Family and friends of Hilma, we are gathered here today because of death.  But more importantly, because death has been defeated by Jesus.  Faithful in much throughout her life. A part of the Ronfeld family is gone. A part of the Zion Lutheran Church family is gone.  Is Hilma missed? Absolutely. Is it sad?  Yes.  But there is something different – that difference is Jesus. We don’t grieve as those who have no hope. We grieve, but we grieve, in the sure and certain promise of Jesus. Death has no power over those who believe in Him.  The grave is but temporary.  For Jesus lives, and because Jesus lives, so too does Hilma.

Hilma expressed that it wasn’t too long ago that she finally realized that she was saved.  I must admit, I found that a little hard to take in. My first thought was, “But you’ve been going to church you’re whole life!  96 years of church and you just now get it???  How can that be?

And yet, isn’t this how many of us are. We are all plagued with doubts at times.  The whisper of the devil in our ears causing us to question the validity of the Bible, and the sincerity of our hearts. The haunting memory of past sins.  The anxious worry about the future.  We can put up a brave front, we can show the world how strong we are and how to persevere. Hilma did this going on a regular occasion.  I remember times over the last several years she would roll into Luther Hall for quilting and sit there, eyes alert and straight backed.  Even when her hands wouldn’t quilt, her ears could barely hear, and her eyes hardly see, here she was.  By the end of her time, though, she was worn out, tired, starting to actually look her age.

John 3:16 was Hilma’s confirmation verse, given to her on Aug 28, 1932 at the Lutheran Church in Ashton, Idaho.  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”  While those hands of hers that made so many quilts weakened and so much art couldn’t hold steady anymore, and an anxious heart over the well being of her family and friends, that verse always stood out for Hilma and grounded her in the Christian faith.  God not only sent His Son into the world, but offered Him to the world. Whoever believes in the Son of God, be it with a strong or with a weak faith, may have eternal life.  Worthiness does not depend upon the greatness or smallness, the weakness or strength of faith. Instead, it depends on Christ’s merit (FC SD VII 70-71).

Christ has died for all. But the benefits of His perfect life and death and resurrection are only received through faith in Him.  Make no mistake, Jesus is quite clear here. There is no salvation outside of Jesus. There is no hope beyond this life apart from Jesus.  Heaven and hell are not determined by how good of people we might or how well intentioned we are. “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believes is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”  It all depends on faith, and upon the faithfulness of Jesus.

At the graveside earlier this morning we read from Matthew 25, the parable of the talents, wherein the master says to his faithful servants and says, “Well, done good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.”  Hilma was a faithful steward with the gifts that God has blessed her with during this life.  She raised a family with her husband. She was a founding member of the Quilting group here at Zion. She was a fantastic artist. I heard she was quite the dancer in her younger years with her husband. She shared her faith with those she knew.  She received the gifts of God by faith and used them in service for others.  Was she perfect? No. Her goodness and her faithfulness were not in and of herself, but a gift of God in Christ Jesus.  She was a sinner, as are we all.  But she was a forgiven sinner solely because of her faith in Jesus.  She had that simple trust in God to guide and protect and save and deliver her in this life and into eternity.

Hilma has entered into the joy of being in God’s presence because of what Jesus has done for her which she received in her baptism, which she confessed throughout her life.  She awaits, along with all the saints, the final return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, life eternal.  Where, as Isaiah promised, those weak hands will be strengthened, those feeble knees made firm, the ailments of growing old and living in a sinful world finally and completely defeated forever. That is God’s promise for all who believe in Him as well. You do not have to wait until you’re 96 years old to “get it.”  The Gospel is for you today. The Good News that Jesus has died to save you from your sins, taking the punishment you deserve upon Himself, and delivering His resurrected life to all who believe in Him.  We are reminded today that the final word does not belong to death but to the resurrected Jesus: Rise, good and faithful servant, and enter into eternal joy.