I think I broke the law today, but I am not sure. A son recently lost his mother, and he asked me to come and speak at her grave today. The cemetery was in Ohio and thus I am not sure if the stay-at-home order given by Ohio’s governor included me, a pastor, in a cemetery. Regardless, it is an odd time to stand at a grave and speak words of hope. Copied here in this post are some of the words I shared in communicating the hope we have in Christ.
“We come here today to commit [name] to the grave. And we do so on a day when there is a shadow of death over us as a nation due to this virus. And because of this shadow, many people are suffering today for a variety of reasons. And you who are here now standing with me feel the acuteness of suffering right now. It is profound. You have lost a person you love. Yet, it is here, in this moment of profound suffering and loss that the Christian faith is best understood. I hear a lot of people say things like – “why did God do this, he must have a purpose to cause me to suffer and hurt like I am? Why did [name] have to die?” These words reflect a theological fatalism that is contrary to the Gospel. Yes, God is sovereign over all things, even death. That is why we stand here at this grave seeking the Lord – He is sovereign. As we stand here at this grave though, we need to do so knowing that the hurts and pains and sufferings of this world are not caused by God inflicting himself upon us. Rather the work of God in our midst that our faith clings to is that God is at work transforming our hurt and our pain and our suffering in accordance to His glory and our good.
That is why we are here today, standing at this grave – at this place of hurt, and pain and suffering – we stand here knowing that God is at work transforming death into resurrection. This is what He does, this is who He is. He is the God whose Spirit hovers over chaos and brings out life. He is the God that turns ashes into beauty, He is the God that makes all things new.
We hear a hint of God making all things new – of leading us from a place of sorrow to a place of joy – in the words of the 23rd Psalm which reads – “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
The Prayer – Heavenly father, we stand here now gripped by a faith that is stronger than death, we are sustained by the hope that you give of life eternal. As we stand here at this grave we do so remembering another grave in another place. The tomb of our Lord Jesus. He rose again and promised that all who believe in him shall too likewise rise. And so we give thanks to you that [name] has finished the course, and has kept the faith, and now stands fully in gripped by you. Held in your hands, receiver of your grace, seeing visible the author, source and focus of her faith, which is you.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Trent (3/23/2020)
Concerning the Word of Life 