This sermon was preached at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Ivanhoe (12pm).
Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Text (1 Corinthians 13:12)
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
Prayer: Lord God, our heavenly Father, enlighten our darkness with the light of your Holy Spirit, so that I may preach well and we all may hear well, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
In preparing for today’s funeral, and talking over preparations, it seemed as though today’s funeral is almost a kind of a sequel. It’s the same family, the same church, the same pastor, same funeral company, same organist, and the same grave.
But there’s also a sense in which every death on this earth is another sequel from the last one. But each death is also so incredibly unique. Because each person is incredibly unique to each person.
And today I’ve decided to focus on a small verse, which is part of a reading that is usually read at weddings, but today is so suitable for a funeral. These are words which are incredibly mysterious, in the sense, that they bring us down to earth at a time of great joy and exuberance, but also give so much strength at a time of sorrow.
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
One of the biggest differences between today’s funeral of Gwen, and Bill’s funeral in January, is that today there is no one here mourning their own marriage partner of more than half a century. Today’s a different occasion – it’s an occasion where now a chapter has closed in a family history. A new group of people are the oldest generation, and a new group of people are preparing to be the matriarchs and patriarchs of their own families.
And as we come here today to lay Gwen to rest, we remember that today is a day of thanksgiving. We thank our heavenly Father for the woman that Gwen was and what she was to all of us. We thank our heavenly Father for the mother she was, we thank God for the grandmother she was, we thank our heavenly Father for the friend she was.
We also come here to remember her as a woman whom Jesus Christ died for, a woman who was baptised into the Christian faith, by water and the Spirit, washed with the water and the word. We remember Jesus Christ who spoke his saving word to her, the same Jesus Christ who never lies.
Now Tania was a little bit naughty before – if you don’t mind me saying so – when she said that Gwen was “perfect”!! I was in America recently, and visited a town where there were Amish people, and apparently when they make quilts they always make sure there’s a mistake in it, because “only God is perfect.” Now I know that Tania was quoting her Dad, in a way – and I think there’s definitely some similarity to this and what Adam said when he first saw Eve: “This is at last flesh of my flesh and bone of my bone!” (At last, a brick who’s cut from the same stone!)
There’s also a sense in which when Christ speaks his words of salvation to us, all our flaws are covered up. And forgiveness and love are so closely connected, because when a person loves another, there almost seems no need for forgiveness. There’s an old expression that the greatest thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.
That’s the way a man loves a woman. That’s the way Christ loves the church. Just in the way Jesus speaks about you, it was almost as if there were no need for forgiveness. Even at his last breath, stretching his arms upon the cross, all he can think of saying is: “Father forgive them.”
But also we come here today to remember the many blessings we received from Gwen, and to remember her good attributes and to take them on board. To those of you who are parents and particularly mothers, she taught you something. And God sent her to you so that you would learn from her.
But here we come back to our text:
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
In a sense, we often judge ourselves as people upon what we know. But that’s not the way God sees it. We only know in part. We only know other people in part. And we only know ourselves in part.
But God knows us fully. He knows who we are better than we can ever know ourselves.
There’s a verse in the book of Psalms, in Psalm 139, which says:
O Lord, you search me and you know me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up, you discern my thoughts from afar… Search me and know my heart, and see if there is any grievous way in me and lead me the way everlasting.
On this side of the grave, everything is only known dimly. We only know in part. As it says: “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”
What God speaks to you, what God says about you, is what makes you holy.
If we had to work this out ourselves, we would probably tell ourselves that we are the worst thing ever to walk on the planet. We know ourselves better than we know anyone else. And all the stuff we hear about self-esteem and believing in ourselves, is sometimes really only a way of covering up the shame we don’t want to admit.
We only know in part. We only see in a mirror dimly. And this darkened knowledge and this impaired vision is our lot – and for our whole life, we will only know God dimly, and we will only know him in part, in the same way that we only know ourselves in part.
Even marriage and family we only know here in part, and dimly. When people get married, they don’t take vows for eternity, but until death. This doesn’t mean that in the next life we won’t see our loved ones, but in some sense, it will be a more insignificant aspect of the whole thing. It will be more important that we are together in the presence of another, Jesus Christ, who has died and risen from the dead, and looks at us face to face.
Because God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever believes in him will not die but have eternal life.
We could say in another way, Because “God knew the world fully, he sent his only Son, so that whoever is known by him will not forever look in a glass dimly and know in part but will know fully even as they were fully known.”
When a person loses their earthly life, someone always gains an earthly cross. And if we didn’t mourn her loss, then we wouldn’t be here. To say that we celebrate a person’s life is another way of saying, “I loved this person, and I miss them.”
And so Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” And trust me, says Jesus, “I know fully”, I know fully what it means to be human being, and I know fully what it means to be God who says what he means and means what he says. You, on the other hand, don’t know either of these things!
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Amen.
Lord God, our heavenly Father, we thank you for Gwen and all the many blessings we have received from her. Uphold us and strengthen us today as we take her to her final place of rest. Send us the Holy Spirit, your Spirit of comfort and of peace. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
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