This sermon was preached at the Maryborough Crematorium, Maryborough, 1.30pm.
Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and
from our Lord Jesus Christ.
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at Jesus,
saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked
him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of
condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our
deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me
when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you,
today you will be with me in Paradise.”
Prayer: Let the words of my mouth and
the meditation of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and
our Redeemer. Amen.
Today as we come here for Elaine’s
funeral, we have the wonderful privilege of entering into God’s presence, and
receiving our comfort from him. Every time we gather together to hear God’s
word, there is always something new to learn from him. God’s own comfort is not
something that is natural to us, because we are human and he is God, and so it
always must be taught. Especially today when we gather for a funeral in the
face of death, it is a wonderful privilege and joy to receive our strength and
comfort from God himself.
And so today we come together to thank
God for Elaine’s life, to remember the good things that God has given to us
through her, and to commend her to God and his mercy and grace.
Today for our funeral text, I’ve chosen
a passage from the Gospel of Luke, from the part where he tells about the
events of when Jesus was on the cross. Often when we see the cross depicted in
a painting, or something, there are three crosses. The reason for this is
because Jesus was crucified between two criminals, one on his right and one on
his left. And our reading tells of a discussion that occurs between the two
criminals and Jesus while they are there.
But let’s just leave this passage for a
moment, and come back to Elaine. On the 18 March 1928, at the Nitschinsk family
home, Elaine was baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit. The reason why this was because we Christians believe that
Jesus died for the sin of the world on Good Friday and on Easter Sunday he rose
from the dead. After he rose from the dead, he sent his twelve apostles out on
a special mission and to them: Go and make disciples of all nations,
baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am
with you always to the end of the age.
And so when the pastor, all those years
ago baptised Elaine at her family’s home, he didn’t baptise her in his own
name, and by his own authority. Instead he baptised her in the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus promised the apostles: I
am with you always to the end of the age. So it’s not simply a pastor, or a
human being, who baptises people, it is Jesus who does it. He is the one who
works invisibly alongside and behind the pastor doing it.
So who is the Father, Son and Holy
Spirit? Well, let’s go back to the very beginning of the bible, where it says: In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. It also says that he
made people in his own image, male and female he created them, and God
blessed them. We also read where it says: And God saw everything that he
had made, and behold, it was very good. Later in the psalms, the poetry
written by King David, it says: You formed my inward parts; you knitted me
together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully
made.
We learn here from these passages that
God is our creator and maker. God has made each person on this earth in his own
image, but also makes each person unique. And it’s not as if God simply wound
the world up like a clock, and then went on holiday ever since. He still
provides for people and for the world. And so, when Elaine was a child, God
provided her with a mother and father and a home. When she was older, God
provided her with a husband, and children, and a home of her own. God provided
her to you, however you came about to know her. And so all of this is part of
God’s way of ordering the world, and providing for us and looking after us.
We also learn from the Scripture, that the
world fell into sin. Adam and Eve, the first people, disobeyed God’s
commandment to them, and they came under God’s judgment. They once could enjoy
God’s presence in a perfect and wonderful way, but then after they had brought
sin into their lives by their own doing, they could no longer live in the same
way together with God anymore. With sin, came also suffering and death into the
world. What this means for us today is that on one hand, all of us have been
created in a wonderful way by God. And from our parents, we have inherited all
kinds of good things. But also, because of sin, we also inherit the family
debt. With all the good things that are passed down from generation to
generation, sin is also passed down. We know that you don’t have to teach a child
to do wrong—they do it all by themselves, because it’s already there, and it
doesn’t need to be taught! St Paul says: There is no distinction: for all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And later he says: The
wages of sin is death.
But this brings us back to words that
were spoken to Elaine on the day of her baptism: in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. We have spoken about God the Father,
our wonderful Creator, but also about the terrible way in which sin has come
into the world. God the Father also sent his Son into the world, Jesus Christ.
Jesus is both a true man, a real human being in every way, but also was true
God at the same time. This is because Jesus had a human mother—the Virgin
Mary—but had God the Father as his Father. And so, Jesus also lead a life that
was completely and totally sinless.
Now, at Christmas time, we remember the
event where Jesus was born. We remember the wonderful event where the Son of
God who had existed from all eternity, who had been there with his Father at
the creation of the world, now took on human flesh, and was born as a baby,
just like you and I were. Christmas is the event where we remember who Jesus
is—both true God and true man in one person. And then at Easter time, we
remember the event what Jesus did, how he died on the cross, and rose again
from the dead.
And this passage that I read before
about the two criminals shows to us why Jesus died. And these two criminals in
some sense give a picture of the whole human race. Everyone is a sinner without
exception. And so the first criminal, we read, railed at Jesus—we might say, he
mocked him, heckled him. And said: Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and
us! What he meant to say was: If you really are the Son of God, why don’t
you just get down off the cross? You don’t have to go through this!
And in some sense, he’s right. Jesus
didn’t have to go through it, but he chose to. Jesus had once said: No-one
takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority
to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. So why doesn’t
Jesus just get off the cross, if he has the power and the authority being the
Son of God to do so? He doesn’t get off the cross, because he is doing
something very important, in fact, he is doing the most important thing that
has ever been done in the whole history of the world. He is making an atonement
for sin, he is paying the price for our wrongs with his own life and with his
own blood. And without him doing this, not one single one of us would have any
hope at all.
And so this is where the other criminal
comes in. We read: The other [criminal] rebuked him, meaning, he told
him off, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same
condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward for our
deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.”
He says: What’s wrong with you? We’re
being crucified because we committed a crime. The Romans used to crucify people
who were rebels. And so these rebels knew that they were rebels, and they knew
what the punishment was if they were caught. And now they had been caught. And
the criminal says: we deserve what we are getting. But Jesus hasn’t done
anything wrong. He doesn’t deserve crucifixion, but he is doing it for you. He
has done nothing wrong, and he makes a payment for you, who have done plenty
wrong. And so, Jesus takes all of your sin and dies for it, and he gives you
all of his innocence and perfection and he gives it to you, completely freely.
St Paul says: The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord. For Jesus eternal life costs him his life,
but because of this, he offers and gives it to you for free.
And so the criminal then says to Jesus:
Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom. And [Jesus] said to
him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Jesus
does not require anything from this criminal. The criminal commends himself to
Jesus and his mercy. And Jesus promises him the gift of eternal life.
There’s a wonderful text in the book of
Romans, where St Paul says: God has consigned all to disobedience, that he
may have mercy on all. What this means is that the only person God has
mercy on is a sinner. The only people that Jesus died for are sinners. This is
what the thief on the cross came to recognise. He knew he was guilty, and that
Jesus was innocent, and Jesus takes him with him, just as if the thief were
innocent. The reason Jesus did this is because Jesus had taken the thief’s
guilt on himself, and died for it himself.
And so, in the same way, we thank God
for giving Elaine to us, and for blessing us with her. Let’s thank God for
creating her, and thank Jesus for the wonderful way in which he died on the
cross, and made an atonement for the sin of the whole world. And so, as we
remember all the many blessings we have received from God through Elaine, let’s
commend her to God’s mercy and grace.
Jesus says: Blessed are those who
mourn for they will be comforted. Amen.
And the peace of God which passes all
understanding, keep your hearts and your minds safe in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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