The Words of Eternal Life: Sermon for the Funeral of Marilyn Boomgaarden
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“When many of His
disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”
But Jesus, knowing in Himself that His disciples were grumbling about this,
said to them, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the
Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life;
the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and
life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the
beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray Him.)
And He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless it is
granted him by the Father.” After this many of His disciples turned back and no
longer walked with Him. So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as
well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words
of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the
Holy One of God” (John 6:60–69).
Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Marilyn Margaret Jurgensen was born to William and Alma
Jurgensen on October 13, 1931. One month later, November 15th, she
was born again, born above, born of water and the Spirit through the Sacrament
of Holy Baptism. Here, at Trinity Lutheran Church, the triune God placed His
name upon Marilyn, and He adopted her as one of His beloved children.
Marilyn publicly
confessed her Christian faith in the Rite of Confirmation here at Trinity on
April 14, 1946. She acknowledged the gifts
given in her Baptism. She renounced the devil, all his works, and all his ways.
She confessed her faith in the triune God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. She
confessed the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures to be the inspired Word of God.
She promised, by the grace of God, to hear the Word of God and to receive the
Lord’s Supper faithfully. She promised to live according to the Word of God,
and in faith, word, and deed to remain true to God, Father, Son, and Holy
Spirit, even to death. And she promised to continue steadfast in this
confession and Church and to suffer all, even death, rather than fall away from
it.
Marilyn’s confirmation
verse, John 6:68, reflects those intentions: “Simon Peter answered [Jesus],
“Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” It is that intention
and confession of Christ that Marilyn made her own upon which we will focus
today.
In John 6, Jesus made
the bold claim that He is the Bread of Life that came down from heaven. Many
who heard Him would not believe and had no desire to follow Him. Even some of
Jesus’ disciples grumbled, considered this to be a hard saying, and would not
listen to it. Jesus replied: “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you
were to see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before? It is the Spirit
who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to
you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe” (John 6:61-64).
Then, when some of the disciples went away and walked with Jesus no longer, He
turned to the Twelve, His inner circle, and asked them, “Do you want to go away
as well” (John 6:67).
So, what is the point
of this? Well, dear friends, Jesus is telling us quite clearly that His words are
spirit and life—that they are the saving truth—and yet not everyone is going to
believe. In fact, even some Christians will finally depart from the Lord because
they do not accept His Word.
And why will some not
receive the Lord Jesus? Because the Gospel of Christ and His cross continue to
be foolishness to those who will perish! Quite frankly, you don’t need me to
tell you from the pulpit—you already know full well that not everyone who hears
the Good News of Christ and Him crucified is going to believe. But the
situation becomes a little dicier when your Lord asks you whether you, too, are
going to depart from Him!
Now, I do not speak
these words to you in order to rattle your faith and lead you to doubt your
salvation. As a Christian pastor, I have the responsibility of preaching the
pure Word of God to you, and in turn warning you against false teaching. And
the abundance of false teaching in our culture and popular American
Christianity nurtures the doubts that already come forth from our sinful hearts
by nature.
Let me give you an example.
Jesus has told you that He is the bread of life that came down from heaven.
Whoever eats His flesh and drinks His blood, that is, whoever embraces Him in
true, saving faith, which is God’s gift, will live forever. Conversely, whoever
does not, has no life in Him. And not only this, but also that He alone is the
source of life and being. Thus, the whole purpose of Christ, the eternal Son of
God, becoming man in His incarnation, was for the eternal benefit of your souls—that
by grace through faith in Christ Jesus, you would be justified—declared righteous
before God and seen as holy and blameless in His sight. Not on account of your
own works, but because of Christ’s full atonement for the sins of the whole
world, you have the promise of forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life.
Marilyn believed and
confessed these things. She trusted that these are the words of eternal life,
and that Christ Jesus is our only hope and refuge. She believed that she could
not, by her own reason and strength, believe in Jesus Christ her Lord or come
to Him, but the Holy Spirit had called her by the Gospel, enlightened her with
His gifts, sanctified, and kept her in the one true faith unto life
everlasting. That’s why we are here today. A celebration of Marilyn’s life could
be held anywhere. Christian funeral services are fittingly held in a church
sanctuary because they are, first and
foremost, worship services that proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ—the Gospel
that Marilyn trusted throughout her life.
After Jesus spoke to His
followers and said that not all will believe, some of them drew back and walked
with Him no more. And here Jesus reacted in a way that is often ignored in our
modern day—He let them go. And this shows the second point of Jesus’ words. The
first was that not everyone will even remain in the faith, and now, second, we
see that God accepts this. The Lord knows that some will remain hardened
against the Christ, the Son of the living God, and that many will even depart
from Him.
To our modern
sensibilities, the idea that God would let someone go doesn’t seem quite right.
How could a loving God consign anyone to condemnation? I would remind you here
that God is not only loving, but He is also just. He patiently seeks the lost. But He does not
force His love upon anyone. God does not force anyone to believe in Him, and
when His Word is rejected, He does not change it to suit one’s felt needs. Notice
that when some of His disciples said they had difficulty believing His Word,
Jesus simply asked, “Do you take offense at this?” And He allowed them to
depart. Jesus did not apologize for who He is and what He came to do and then backpedal
on everything He taught just because some people couldn’t accept it. He told
them the truth and allowed those who would not receive it to depart. He didn’t
go chasing after them, seeking their input on how to meet their felt needs.
We would do well in our
day to observe how Jesus dealt with people. He loved them more than we could
ever love another as sinners. He desired that all people would be saved and
come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4), and yet He also remained
faithful to His Word. It is the Word of Christ that gives eternal life. It is
this Word that the Holy Spirit uses to create saving faith in one’s heart. It
is this Word that is to be preached throughout the world, and it is this Word
that is to be in the mouths of the faithful without ceasing.
It is this Word of
eternal life that Marilyn confessed throughout her life. It is this Word of
eternal life of which we confess to one another in hymns, psalm, and liturgy in
our service today. It is this Word of eternal life that we hear in our readings
and message today. It is only this Word of life that brings true comfort in the
face of death and loss. For we know that by that Word of eternal life, the Lord
Jesus will raise Marilyn and all who have died in the faith on the Last Day that
we may be with Him in the new heaven and earth where there is no more death,
nor mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed
away.
I pray that this Word
might bring you comfort now and in all of your days. I encourage you all to
avail yourselves of that Word at every possible opportunity—to confess your
sins and receive absolution, to hear of Christ and Him crucified, and to
receive His body and blood in the Sacrament every Lord’s Day, that you would
continually be renewed and strengthened against the power of sin, death, and
the devil. Be fed by the Bread of Life that brings everlasting life. In times
of joy and sorrow, in sickness and in health, look to Christ Jesus alone, confessing
with Saint Peter and Saint Marilyn, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the
words of eternal life.” Amen
The peace of God which
passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds through faith in Jesus
Christ 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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