Depart in Peace: Sermon for the Funeral of Melvin Brockberg
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and
the Lord Jesus Christ!
Now that he now longer is here on this earth,
we have only our memories of him. We close our eyes and can almost picture him,
can’t we? No flashy, fancy clothes, no big, expensive car, no excesses of
luxury, no political aspirations. He was an ordinary man, devout in his faith,
humble in his attitude. You didn’t read about him in the newspapers all the
time, but his name was written in the Book of Life. He knew of his
salvation—that it was not something he could bring about. Like each of us, he
had broken God’s commandments. He had failed to do the good he should do and
had often done what he shouldn’t. But, by God’s grace, he had heard the good
news of the Savior and believed it. He did not look to himself for his own
righteousness or eternal salvation. Rather, the Lord was his hope; the Lord God
was, and is, his future, his eternity.
We know for certain that he was a righteous
man, though we also know that his righteousness was not from himself. Rather,
when he was brought into the Church through the Word of God, then the Lord’s
righteousness was given to him as a gift. Forgiveness of all sins, eternal
life, salvation from death, and deliverance from the Evil One are all part of
the blessings that God had declared to him. He became an heir of heaven and all
the riches of the Lord God Almighty.
As he faced an uncertain death, he might well
have agreed with the Apostle Paul as he thought about continuing to live in
this world of disappointment and suffering, or to simply die. Paul said, “For
to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain... Yet which I shall choose I cannot
tell. I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which
is better by far” (Philippians 1:21-23).
How many times had he thought of the 23rd Psalm?
How often did he recall and rely on the part where the writer speaks, “Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;
for Thou art with me?” How often had he awakened in the night thinking of his
life and thinking of the Promise of God, which had been given to him?
We don’t know, do we? For those thoughts of his
are like yours and mine—very personal, known only by oneself and by the Lord. What
we do know is that the Lord was with him during his travels through all of the
valleys, at his bedside when he had bad dreams, with him when he received news
that was less than comforting, and keeping him close even at the moment of his
death.
Dear family and friends of our departed brother
in Christ, Melvin: the only thing that is able to keep us going in tough times
is the promise of God given to us in His Son. That promise was given to that
man I’ve been speaking of, the man from the Bible named Simeon, the man who is
now with the Lord in heaven. And it sustained him during his entire life. It is
his story in Luke 2:25-32 that provides our text for today under the theme:
“Depart in Peace.”
“Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name
was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation
of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by
the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s
Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought
in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took Him
up in his arms and blessed God and said, ‘Lord, now You are letting your
servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my eyes have seen Your
salvation that You have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for
revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to Your people Israel.’”
In a special revelation given by the Holy
Spirit, Simeon had been given the promise of God that he would not die until he
had seen the Messiah. That special day came for Simeon when Mary and Joseph
entered the temple with the Christ Child. Simeon was given the wonderful
privilege of actually holding Jesus. What the universe could not contain was
held in the arms of one man. Simeon embraced his Savior, his Salvation, his
Redeemer, his Lord. He held eternity in his hands.
Dear people, is a baby able to be that and to
do that? Well, this was not just any baby being held. This was the Baby—the Son
of God, begotten of the Father from eternity and the Son of Man, born of the
Virgin Mary. The Seed of the woman who would crush the serpent’s head. This
little One would grow up to tell you that He is the Way, the Truth, and the
Life ... that no one is able to come to the Father except by Him ... that He
came to lay down His life for you.
This Baby held in Simeon’s arms, would grow up
for the specific purpose of taking his place and ours upon the cross. No, He
did not look forward to His own death. Unlike you and Melvin and me, Jesus knew
exactly how He was going to die. Jesus knew He would experience hell itself. Why,
He even prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet
not as I will, but as You will.”
Jesus lived a perfect, holy and righteous life
in our place. He died our death and atoned for our sins. He suffered hell so
that we might not have to. He rose up from His grave as He defeated death. The
tomb could not hold Him; nor will it hold those who fear, love, and trust in
Him above all things. He promised to be with us, always, even to the end of the
age, as He ascended into heaven to His rightful place as the King of kings and Lord
of lords.
From there, in Paradise, He awaited Simeon. He
awaited Melvin. He awaits you and me. The Lord looked down from above and knew
that Simeon would not see death until his eyes had seen the Lord’s Christ. Having
stood in the Temple and seen Him, Simeon could depart in peace. And, no doubt,
one day Simeon did depart in peace, according to the Word and will of the Lord.
Simeon reminds me of Melvin. Here was a quiet,
unassuming man, so inconspicuous that few but the closest to him really knew
that much about him. If you look in his scrapbook, you can see that he made the
newspaper a few times in his life: when he got married to Dorothy, when he moved
a big dairy barn to his farm, and when he sold a cow that had an image of
Mickey Mouse on its side to Disney World. Melvin was a private man. As far as I
can tell not many folks even knew he was going on the Midwest Honor Flight last
week. But we do know this most important thing about Melvin: As with Simeon,
the Lord looked down on Melvin and knew he would not die until he had seen the Lord.
And Melvin did see Him. Through the Word of God
at his Baptism, Melvin saw the crucified and risen Christ. Having received the
washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, Melvin could’ve departed in
peace as a tiny baby. But that was not the Lord’s will. Through the Word of
God, Melvin peered into the manger and saw the Good News of great joy—the
Savior of the world. He saw the sinless Son of God hanging on the cross for his
sins. Having seen the Lord, Melvin could have departed in peace after his
confirmation day, or when he served in the United States Army during the Korean
War, or the day he married Dorothy, or during one of his bouts of pneumonia, or
any time in between. But that was not the Lord’s will. None of those times were
the right time for Melvin.
When would it be? Not one of us knew until last
Thursday. Of course, God from on high knew when it would be all along. And He
knew that Thursday was the day for Melvin to depart in peace and spend eternity
in Paradise. God, in His great mercy and love, permitted Melvin to die
suddenly, without lingering illness or incapacitation such a short time after some
of us had joined in worship in the chapel service at Falls Landing and he told
us how he so looked forward to the Midwest Honor Flight.
For Melvin, there is now, no pain, no sorrow,
no suffering. No more earthly hurts, conflicts, or grudges, no more struggle
with sin, no more guilt over past mistakes. He has departed in peace according
to the Word of God. The promise had been given and Melvin believed and trusted
in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Last Thursday all things were
ready in heaven and on earth for Melvin to depart in peace.
From there in Paradise, Jesus awaits for the
Last Day, when He will raise the bodies of all the dead. He’ll take all
believers with Him to the new heaven and new earth, where they’ll live forever
in glorious, resurrected bodies, with clean hearts and sinless souls. This
promise is good whether you believe it or not. The heavenly riches are there
whether you believe it or not. Jesus died for you whether you believe it or
not.
For those who do believe in Jesus, trust Him,
and follow Him, well, you may depart in peace because your eyes have seen Him. Oh,
it’s not that Christians look forward to dying. Christians do not especially
want to die any more than anyone else. I know I don’t. But a very wise
Christian woman said something like this: “It is not the dying that bothers me,
it is the struggle to keep on living that is so hard.” So from God’s point of
view, the view that both Simeon and Melvin now have, any day is a good day to
die. The Christian may, indeed, depart in peace.
Sadly, for those who never knew Jesus, or who
no longer believe in Him, or who’ve wandered away from Him, there really is no
good day to die. Because on that day Jesus will say to them, “Depart.... depart
from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and
his angels.” Whoever believes in [Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not
believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the Name of the
God’s one and only Son.
Isaiah the prophet gives good counsel to each
of us: “Seek the Lord while He may be found, call on Him while He is near.” The
Apostle Paul encourages the same: “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the
day of salvation.”
According to God’s Word, Melvin believed and
was baptized. No, like each of us he was not perfect, he was not without sin.
But by the grace of God, Melvin was declared righteous and having salvation for
Jesus’ sake. With the Word, Melvin lived his life of faith in the Church. Through
the Word of God, Melvin received Christ at Holy Communion. He received the very
body of Jesus born of Mary—the very blood of Jesus shed on the cross. And for
perhaps a thousand times after the Lord’s Supper, along with the entire
congregation and all the company of heaven, Melvin sang Simeon’s song: “Lord,
now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy Word. For mine
eyes have seen Thy salvation which Thou hast prepared before the face of all
people; a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of Thy people Israel.”
How about you? Will you depart in peace like
Simeon or Melvin? You can, you know! Those of you who seek the Lord, who have
heard and believe the good news of our Savior Jesus Christ can depart from this
sanctuary in peace, knowing you have been declared righteous, knowing that
those sins and offenses you’ve suffered at the hands of others have been
redeemed in the blood of the Lamb, knowing you have salvation and eternal life
because are forgiven of all your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Now may the peace of God that passes all
understanding guard 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.
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