A Time to Mourn, a Time to Dance: Sermon for the Funeral of Doris Mae Klindt

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For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

a time to love, and a time to hate;

a time for war, and a time for peace.

What gain has the worker from his toil? I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, He has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end” (Ecclesiastes 3:1–11).

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

In his poem, Solomon contrasts the changing human affairs with God’s unchanging will. Throughout Ecclesiastes, he frequently changes his tone, describing both the frustration and fickleness of life, as well as the firmness of God’s Word and blessing. In so doing, Solomon is showing that everything is in God’s hands. Everything comes and goes at the time that God has appointed.

Rather than stifling human effort, this truth encourages us to follow God’s will as revealed in the Scriptures. As God’s children, we do what we can; then leave the outcome in His almighty hands. In His infinite wisdom and power, God fits everything into His eternal plan, and so “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” The apostle Paul writes: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28). To see life’s hardships and joys alike as part of this grand scheme is like viewing life as a beautiful mosaic from the hands of the master Artist.

But on days like this, it doesn’t all seem so beautiful, does it? Oh, there are some hints of beauty in the flowers and memories and songs, but it is a day of mourning and great personal loss. Weeping seems more appropriate than the appreciation of beauty. Mourning more fitting than dancing. And that is as it should be, for the sense of loss you are experiencing is real.

Death never seems appropriate, let alone beautiful. Rather, when we see death or experience it close hand, we associate it with something bad and ugly. In many ways that is precisely what death is like. That is how it should be viewed. For death was not part of God’s plan, but is a consequence of the fall into sin.

In the beginning, there was only a time to be born and not a time to die; a time to laugh and never to cry; a time to dance and never to mourn. The world knew nothing of weeping and mourning and death. Man was created with eternity, not just put in his heart, but as a central feature of God’s plan for body and soul. Then “sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). Planting and harvesting were cursed with pain and sweaty toil, thorn and thistle. The blessing of birth came with pain. The joy of marriage became mixed with strife. And every human being returns to the dust from which the first man came. We are all subject to times and changes over which we have so little control.

But the Lord God is still in control.

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance” (Ecclesiastes 3:1-4).

I never had a chance to know Doris when she was able to enjoy dancing, cooking, sewing, embroidering, caring for flowers, and feeding the birds. I first met Doris after that season had passed. But I still consider myself fortunate. As her pastor, I’ve had the chance to get to know Doris on a level that most people never get. We talked about her life, growing up near Woodstock, getting married, living in Pipestone, having children, the joy of grandchildren, the painful loss of loved ones. But more importantly, we talked about things eternal—the gift of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior given to Doris in the water and Word of Holy Baptism. What a blessing it is to receive Christ’s very body and blood for the forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of our faith. What hope and comfort such faith gives in times of sickness and in the face of death and on days of mourning.

Today is a day of mourning. Weeping is certainly an appropriate response in the face of death. Jesus, too, wept at the funeral of a dear friend, Lazarus. Our Lord knows precisely the sorrow you feel this day and He shares it with you.

But mourning is not the end of it all. There is more to life and death than futility, pain, and suffering. In God’s Son, Jesus Christ, even a day like this becomes a thing of beauty.

Today we see the beautiful fulfillment of your loved one’s Christian faith. God’s promise of eternal life through Christ has been fulfilled for Doris. While we yet struggle with the pain of the moment, for Doris, God’s promise that “all things work together for good” is now a reality.

Doris would be quick to sing the praises of God who took a sinner and transformed her into a child of the living God. Like all of us, Doris had been estranged from God, divorced from our Creator because that is the way we are conceived and born. We all must confess with David, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:5).

But God would not let us perish. Consider the beauty of what the Father accomplished through His Son. Through Christ’s atoning sacrifice the stain of our sin, which disqualified us from life with God, was removed. As St. Paul puts it, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The cross on which our Lord gave His life for us was not, at first glance, a thing of beauty; but it is to us now. This ugly instrument of Roman execution has become the very symbol of the Christian faith. Now it is prominently seen on Christian churches throughout the world. It is the sign of our hope, our life, and the beauty of our salvation.

Also, a hole in the ground is rarely considered a thing of beauty, much less a rock-hewn tomb. But on this day of mourning, let us remember the glorious beauty of an empty tomb. Its occupant could not be held by the constraints of death. On this day of all days let us remember the beauty of the empty tomb and know that we have not seen the last of Doris!

For as Christ has risen from the dead so, too, will all who have been buried with Christ in Baptism be raised to life in Christ’s resurrection. Yes, today, with our tears, we can see the beauty of the grave in knowing that the day will come when that grave will be as empty as Christ’s. Through the beauty of Christ’s empty grave, we know that death cannot, will not, shall not have the last word today or any other day!

Yes, there is a time for death and mourning and weeping, but for you who mourn and weep, Jesus has words of comfort and assurance. For Doris, and for all who rest with Christ, John gives us this picture in the book of Revelation:

Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away (21:1-4).

Yes, there is a time to mourn; but there is also a time to dance. For death has no dominion over Jesus, over Doris, or you.

Yes, there is a time to weep; but there is also a time to laugh and rejoice. We see and hear that now, in part, in the Scriptures, hymns, and promises of Christ in Baptism and in the Supper. We will see and hear it in full before the throne where the Lamb of God makes all things new.

Yes, there is a time to die; but there is also a time to rise; a time to be planted in the earth for rest from our labors; and a time to be plucked up from our graves by our Lord Jesus Christ to live with Him for eternity.

And then there will be no more time for sin or sorrow or tears. There will be no more seasons. No more death. For the former things will pass away. These words are trustworthy and true. It is finished! And whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor can anything be taken from it. Amen.

The peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.