A Time to Mourn, a Time to Dance: Sermon for the Funeral of Lucille Bauman

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The text for today is our Old Testament Reading, Ecclesiastes 3:1-8: 

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.

Will, Gaile, Carol, Ken, other family and friends of Lucille:

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

The words of this poem, written by Solomon about three thousand years ago, are among the most famous in Ecclesiastes, oft-quoted and even reproduced on various wall hangings and inscribed on plaques. As I was reading this, many of you might have heard this poem in your head with the melody written by folk singer Pete Seeger, who added the words, “Turn, turn, turn,” and “I swear it’s not too late” to turn it into a war protest song. A few years later, it was popularized internationally by the American folk-rock group the Byrds.

It’s a great poem, the work of a man known for his prodigious wisdom and legendary literary skill. The poem leaves us awe-stuck and silent in the face of its majesty. But once the awe starts to fade into analysis, we are bound to find ourselves scratching our heads. What is the point? What exactly does it mean? What is the Teacher trying to teach us when he says there is a season or time for everything?

Commentators have offered several answers, but the number of interpretations almost matches the number of interpreters.

Some contend that Solomon here teaches that “it is wisdom to do the right thing at the right time.” The idea is to know when to do this and when to do that. With the right timing, a person will make the most of his opportunities and lead a successful life. As appealing as such an interpretation might be (especially in our humanistic age), it does not square with the text. Most obviously, the time of our birth is beyond our control. Likewise, the events bringing joy or sorrow into our lives are not always in our hands.

Others conclude from these verses that “all the events of life are part of a fixed scheme; they happen to the human being, whether he wills them or not; therefore, individual effort is futile.” But Solomon does not intend to squelch human effort. The later chapters of Ecclesiastes are filled with advice on how to live a better, more meaningful life.

The best explanation is that the Teacher here points to God’s control. Solomon is showing that everything is in God’s hands. God is, in the words of one commentator, “the Governor of this world and the Former of history, who makes even that which is evil subservient to His plan.” Rather than canceling 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, we leave the outcome in His almighty hands.

Scripture makes it clear: All things, both the good and the bad, work together for the good of those who love God (Romans 8:28). All times are in God’s hands (Psalms 31:15). Be they good times or bad, He causes them to happen (Job 37:13). God has made the one as well as the other (Ecclesiastes 7:14). God sees how everything fits together, and He has it all worked out. So don’t be afraid, even in the hard times of painful discipline. God is watching out for you and your good (Hebrews 12:11). His control and comfort in times of grief and loss provide us with security and peace.

Ultimately, as is true of all Scripture, this poem is intended to move people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. The fundamental message of this poem is the assurance of Jesus: “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). This victory over tribulations is a source of hope and comfort for us all.

Amid all the times and seasons of mourning and rejoicing, war and love that God has appointed for His creatures, God reserved one appointed time for Himself. It was the time, the hour, reserved for His Son, Jesus Christ (Mark 14:35, 41). It was the span of six hours on Good Friday that only God incarnate, who had been conceived and born in the fullness of time (Ecclesiastes 3:3; Galatians 4:4), could endure and fulfill. The eternal, sinless Son of God suffered and died on the cross to redeem His creatures from all their sin and suffering. This act of selfless sacrifice is a testament to His love for us. Paradoxically, this time of death and killing (Ecclesiastes 3:2-3) was the hour when the Father glorified His Son (John 17:1; Philippians 2:6-11).

Easter morning was the time for God to heal and build up (Ecclesiastes 3:3). The resurrection of the crucified Christ is the foundation upon which the Church is built, the basis for rebirth in Holy Baptism (Titus 3:4-7; 1 Peter 3:18-22) with the promise that, as we have died with Christ in Baptism, so also shall we be raised with Him (Romans 6:1-4; Colossians 2:11-13). Life in this fallen world is a mixed bag of good and evil. In the Resurrection, there shall be no more times of death, mourning, or weeping, only joy and peace (Isaiah 65:18; Revelation 21:4).

Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection are mirrored in this poem because He became incarnate and as fully human as each of us (yet without sin) to deliver us from all evil and give us unending joy. This poem became His plight and that of His disciples, too. The hour of anguish and death came to Him, which brought the time for His disciples to weep and mourn, but then came the time to rejoice unceasingly (John 16:20, 22). By His cross and resurrection, every day for us is a good and opportune time. Hearing the Gospel makes today the day of salvation (Hebrews 3:7-15; 4:7).

For now, there is a time to be born and a time to die. Long before Lucille was born, the Lord determined the number of her days, ordaining the days of her birth and death. Lucille Ann Stueven was born on August 28, 1926, to Henri “Will” and Anna Stueven on their family farm in Troy Township, Pipestone County, Minnesota. She passed away peacefully on Thursday, August 22, 2024, at the Pipestone County Hospice House with her family at her side.

In between those nearly ninety-eight years, there was a lot of living—times of birth and times of death, times of planting and times of harvesting, times of weeping and times of laughing, times of mourning and times of dancing, times with family and times alone, times of working and times of leisure—camping, traveling, fishing, playing cards, getting lost in a good book. And those days were not lived apart from the Lord.

In Holy Baptism, Lucille was clothed with the robe of Christ’s righteousness covering all her sin and was adopted as a child of God. In the water and Word, Lucille was buried with Christ by baptism into death and raised to new life in His resurrection. Later, she publicly confessed her Christian faith in the rite of confirmation. Lucille continued to sustain that faith as she gathered with family and fellow saints in worship regularly. When the time came that Lucille was no longer able to make it to church, the church came to her at her home in Ihlen, bringing the Word of God and the Sacrament of the Altar.  

I cherish those times. Lucille was always so thankful for the visit and the opportunity to receive Christ’s body and blood for the forgiveness of her sins and the strengthening of her faith. After getting to know me, she never failed to hug me and say, “I love you” when I got ready to leave. The first time, I was a little surprised. But, realizing that Lucille could easily express her love, I imagined that those words would come easily to her whenever any of you were saying goodbye; I simply replied, “I love you, too.”  

One of Lucille’s greatest wishes was to spend her last days in her own home. Thanks to the dedication and sacrifice of her family, Lucille was able to do so, up to the last few days when she entered the loving care of the Pipestone County Hospice House. And when the time was just right, and her family was gathered at her side, God called her into His presence, where she and all who have died in the Lord await the Day of Resurrection. On the Last Day, Christ will return again with glory to judge the living and the dead and take Lucille, you, me, and all believers to live with Him forever in His Kingdom in the new heaven and earth.

In closing, let us find comfort in the assurance that, even in the midst of life’s ebb and flow—its moments of joy and sorrow, beginnings and endings—God remains steadfastly in control. The times and seasons of our lives, from birth to death and everything in between, are under His sovereign guidance.

As we reflect on Lucille’s journey, from her birth on a family farm to her final moments surrounded by loved ones, we are reminded of the promise that all these times are woven into the tapestry of God’s divine plan. Her life, like ours, was marked by both seasons of laughter and tears, work and rest, yet through it all, she was held in God’s loving embrace.

As we mourn her death, let us also rejoice in the hope of the resurrection, knowing that in Christ, every season of life finds its fulfillment and purpose. On that great Day of Resurrection, we will all be reunited in the joy of eternal life, where God’s perfect timing will bring every tear to an end and every sorrow to a close. Until that day, may we find peace in God’s unchanging promise and strength in His presence, which guides us through every season of our lives.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. 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.