The Rev. Paul J Cain
Psalm 121
The Lord Will Keep You
Forevermore
Funeral Sermon for Ruth Kerbel
Tuesday of Pentecost XIV, 4 September 2012
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, WY
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“In suff’ring be Thy love my peace, In weakness be Thy love
my pow’r; And when the storms of life shall cease, O Jesus, in that final hour,
Be Thou my rod and staff and guide, And draw me safely to Thy side!” (LSB 683:4) Amen.
And so our Jesus has answered that prayer, a hymn stanza
just sung moments ago, one that Ruth Kerbel read every day. She now waits as we
all wait for the resurrection of the dead on the last day. Ruth is still in
Christ, yet away from the body and at home with the Lord. She no longer has to
walk by faith but by sight, for she sees her dear Lord face to face, all
because of His boundless love to her and us.
The best hymns are those that provide a view of life from a
heavenly perspective. In other words, hymns like the ones Ruth selected for
today’s service excel because they put our focus on Jesus and His work for us
in His death and resurrection. Such hymns lift high the cross of Jesus and
dismiss us with His blessing. Another such hymn is Ruth’s favorite Psalm, Psalm
121.
1I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does
my help come?
It’s easy to lift our eyes to the hills, foothills, and
beautiful Bighorn Mountains here in Wyoming. They are great, vast, high, and
mighty, but they are not our source of help. Instead, we look to He who created
the mountains, all plants and animals—even dairy cows and teddy bears named
Marilyn—He who also created each one of us. Ruth confessed, 2My help comes from the Lord, who
made heaven and earth.
The Lord’s own creativity is reflected in Ruth’s creative gifts
of writing and art. One of her many writings on LWML letterhead is found in
today’s bulletin. It is a prayer she wrote shortly after Bill’s death. The
aisles of Immanuel’s nave are lined with banners she had a hand in or worked on
all by herself. One of our most useful, entitled “All For Love,” shows the life
and ministry of Christ. I have little doubt that is was a labor of Ruth’s love
to her Lord and for her congregation and was heavily influenced by her favorite
hymn, “Jesus, Thy Boundless Love to Me.”
Our God is a Lord that is active in our lives for our
benefit. The Psalmist sings, 3He will not let your foot be moved; he
who keeps you will not slumber. 4Behold, he who keeps Israel will
neither slumber nor sleep.
Jesus’ obedience leading to His Good Friday death and Easter
Sunday resurrection show even the power of the Lord God resting in His
three-day tomb. He is therefore our enlivening Vine and the source of our
faith, our fruit, and our faithful service. Apart from Him we can do nothing.
With Him, we bear much fruit. Jesus is the source of Ruth’s fruit from teaching
countless children in Sunday School, her support of Martin Luther Grammar
School, her lifelong service on Altar Guild, the sacrificial service of her and
Bill transferring to Prince of Peace, Buffalo, and her years in the LWML
including two terms as Wyoming District LWML President. Abide in the boundless
love of Jesus. No matter what you face in this life, He will never leave you or
forsake you.
Like any life in this valley of the shadow, Ruth faced
challenges. Hers included a ruptured appendix, mourning a dear husband, and
several occurrences of cancer.
One evening before a trip to the hospital, Ruth found great
comfort in Psalm 121. Here’s the rest of the story: Pastor Garwood visited her
the next morning and shared a devotion he had prepared just for her—on Psalm
121. That is when this Psalm became her favorite. Shortly after I arrived, I
had the opportunity to provide her pastoral care in connection with a health
concern. I didn’t know this story. She told it to me after I shared a devotion with
her on Psalm 121.
5The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade
on your right hand. 6The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the
moon by night.
The Psalm does not promise that you’ll never see a full
moon, blue moon, or be prevented from getting a sunburn. It means that the Lord
will sustain you through all things, day and night, your whole life long and
even after that. The Lord will keep you forevermore.
7The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will
keep your life.
There are things worse than death. Ruth Kerbel was concerned
about such things. Perhaps the worst thing is falling away from faith in Christ
Jesus. That is why it broke her heart when she didn’t see a dear family friend
in the Lord’s house on the Lord’s day for quite some time. She prayed for this
person and did what she could to remind them of the gifts of God in Christ at
Church.
Because she was here regularly receiving the Lord’s gifts of
word and sacrament, she knew that a habit of despising preaching and God’s Word
could lead one on a path away from Christ, away from faith, even to the sin
against the Holy Spirit and away from salvation itself: eternal separation from
God.
We will miss Ruth at Bible Class. Her fellow saints
appreciated her faithful and meticulous care for our communion linens and how
she organized the new banner room, yet we loved her all the more for living out
her most important vocation: a baptized child of God, clothed in Christ’s
righteousness, regularly and eagerly receiving the Lord’s gifts.
The funeral pall draped over her casket speaks of baptism,
just as Romans 6 confesses our dying and rising in Christ Jesus. The waters of
baptism are a river of regeneration, washing us in the blood of the Lamb of God
who takes away the sin of the world.
8The Lord will keep your going out and your
coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
Our Lord keeps His promises. He also makes this promise to
you. Abide in Him and He in you. Jesus did not only show us the way to the
Father, but He Himself is the Way, the Truth and the Life, the only way to the
Father.
He gives His righteousness as a gift to His Christians. The
white robe of His righteousness and starry crown of heavenly glory are shown in
every white baptismal gown, the white of one’s Confirmation day, the white
robes of the acolytes, elders, and pastors, the white wedding gown of a bride, white
Communion linens, boiled to keep them white, and even the white funeral pall of
the Church. All speak to the pure, holy, righteous gift of forgiveness, life,
and salvation given to all who believe and are baptized into Christ.
8The Lord will keep your going out and your
coming in from this time forth and forevermore.
“The valleys we are destined to cross seem to be greater
than we can climb, but Lord, we know you are with us each step of the way, to
face whatever and wherever you lead us.”
I say such words to give you comfort as you mourn. They were
written by one who was mourning the loss of someone dear to her. Ruth wrote that
sentence. She wants you to be comforted by her Jesus, for He is your Lord Jesus
Christ. The Lord will keep you forevermore, just as he has done for Ruth.
With her let us bless the Lord for all His benefits. “Thank
you, Lord for your daily gift of joy and hope” in Jesus. Amen.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
