“To Live is Christ & to Die is Gain,” Philippians 1.21-23, Robert Brazil Funeral Sermon 9.6.17

Pastor John M. Taggatz Christ Lutheran West Bloomfield, WI

1.                   Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Dear family and friends of Bob, on behalf of the congregation here at Christ Lutheran I want to express to you my deepest sympathies as you mourn over his death.  But, I want to tell you today that, even though we grieve over his death, we don’t grieve as those who have no hope, as St. Paul reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 4.  We can take hope and comfort that Bob was baptized into the Christian faith through water and the power of God’s Word and was brought from death to life on December 25^th, 1955 here at Christ Lutheran Church.  Bob knew that his baptism gave to him the promise of eternal life, the forgiveness of his sins, and salvation, because he confirmed that faith that he received at his baptism on the same day that he was baptized on December 25^th, 1955.  What a wonderful thing it is to know that our dear Savior Jesus has offered to us eternal life with him in heaven through His sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper and through the hearing of His Word.

2.                   As all of you know, Bob was deeply loved by his family and friends.  He tirelessly worked to support his wife Marian and his family.  He was a very gentle, loving, and soft-spoken man.  I always looked forward to seeing Bob and his wife Marian these past three years I’ve been their Pastor in worship every Sunday, joyously receiving Christ’s Word and Sacrament for the assurance of the forgiveness of their sins and eternal life.  Bob & Marian were one of the first people to visit my family and I when we came here to Christ Lutheran in 2014 and I still remember the house warming gift they gave to us when we entered the parsonage.  It was great this past year in the month of May to celebrate with Bob & Marian and their whole family their 60^th wedding anniversary.  What a testament to us all on the blessing of marriage, that God our Heavenly Father has given to us in the union of husband and wife for lifelong love, support, and companionship!  Bob also loved his country, serving in the US Army during the Korean Conflict, and he carried that patriotism here locally serving at the Wolf River American Legion for many years.  Marian reminded me at the hospital that it wasn’t like her husband to sit still or lay in one place.  He was a very active man, who even in his retirement enjoyed wood crafting, fishing, and hunting.  He couldn’t sit still for too long.  But, above all I’m sure that his family remembers Bob for the love that he had for them as a husband, brother, son, father, grandfather, and friend. 

3.                   We’re here today because sin has caused our loved one to die.  The Apostle Paul tells us in Romans 6:23 that the wages of sin is death.  Sin came into the world when Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the Garden of Eden.  Sin is what has caused all the suffering, pain, and toil that we go through in this fallen world.  It’s because of our fall into sin that we rebel against God and harm our neighbor in our words and deeds.  All this Bob learned in his adult membership class here at Christ Lutheran back in 1955.  If death is the result of sin, how is it that the Apostle Paul can say in Philippians chapter 1 that to die is gain?  Let’s look at our text a little bit closer.

4.                   The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 1:21-23, “²¹For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ²²If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. ²³ I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better.”  Here Paul says that he can meet death willingly.  So too, before he died, Bob felt that he was ready.  Just last week, while laying in his hospital bed, Bob confessed his sins before God his Heavenly Father and received the forgiveness of those sins.  He then received our Lord Jesus’ body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. The reason for Bob, as it was for Paul, is because of all that his Savior Jesus did for him through his life, death, and resurrection from the dead.  Because of Jesus, our own death isn’t something to be feared.  We know that in Christ death has lost its victory and its sting.  He has paid for our sins with his own death on the cross.  Death need not be feared, for on the other side of death’s door lies the gift of eternal life in heaven for every child of God, including our dear brother in the Christian faith, Bob.

5.                   The Apostle Paul didn’t fall to pieces at the prospect of death.  He wasn’t so attached to this life that he regarded death as an unwelcome intruder.  For the apostle, death was a gain and personal advantage, because he knew it would mean passing from a troublesome life marred by sin to a perfect existence with our Savior Jesus.  Paul was ready to go and be with the Savior at any time.  We along with Paul can have the same confidence, because we have been baptized into Christ and heard the good news of His Gospel, receiving from Him the wonderful promise of eternal life.

6.                   What a glorious place heaven will be!  Scripture tells us that in heaven we will personally be with our Savior.  We will be his people.  God Himself will be with us.  He will wipe every ever tear from our eyes.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.  The old order of things will have passed away.  No wonder St. Paul refers to death as a “gain” for himself.  Forever with the Lord—that is the glorious hope for all those who are baptized into Christ’s holy name.

7.                   But, St. Paul could also proclaim, “For to me, to live is Christ.”  Paul is simply stating that all his living activity is centered in Christ and that Christ controls his life on this earth.  Bob showed this to me as his Pastor this past three years, where he was actively involved in worship, even when he didn’t feel so well.  The will of the Lord directed Paul’s thoughts, words and deeds in this life.  St. Paul was totally dedicated to his Savior Jesus.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul was with the Lord, and the Lord was with Paul whether in life or in death.

8.                   St. Paul’s joy filled words in this section of Philippians express the attitude that every Christian ought to take toward both living and dying.  For a Christian, life is Christ.    Real living is impossible apart from Christ.  If Christ is truly our life, our joy in him will be evident in everything we do.  Our thinking and planning will all be centered in him and our words and actions will constantly testify to our belief in Him as our Lord and Savior who has made us new spiritual creatures through faith in him.

9.                   Will we also want to be with the Savior in life and in death?  Absolutely!  Think of his love for us.  We have broken God’s holy law, but Jesus kept it perfectly in our stead.  He credits our account with his perfect holiness.  The punishment we deserved for breaking God’s law—Jesus has suffered that too in our place.  He died on the cross to pay for our sins.  We haven’t deserved it.  Bob also knew that he didn’t deserve it because he was a sinner.  But, Bob knew and we know through the promises of God in His Word, that out of the love of God for us in Jesus he has given to us and our dear brother in the faith, Bob, eternal life in heaven.  What love we will want to give our Savior Jesus in return for all that He’s done for us!  By the power of the Holy Spirit we with St. Paul proclaim, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”  Amen.                                      

“Be Ready to Confess Jesus” 2017 LWML Sunday Sermon, 2 Timothy 4.1-4, Sept. '17

1.       Please pray with me.  May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer.  Amen.  The message from God’s Word today as we observe LWML Sunday is taken from 2 Timothy 4:1-4 and it’s entitled, “Be Ready to Confess Jesus,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.

2.       2017 is really a rather amazing year. First off, of course, it’s the 500th anniversary of Luther’s posting of the 95 Theses. The whole word is paying attention to Luther this year. In fact, it seems like 2017 is all Luther all the time! This is a big deal!  But there is even more to 2017. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, our LWML, which has done so much to encourage and support the sharing of Christ’s gospel within our Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and among partners and friends throughout the world. This is a big deal!

3.       In the 500 years since the Reformation began and the 75 years since the LWML formally organized itself, confessing the faith has not gotten any easier. In fact, it may be even more difficult for us to speak and to live as Christians today. And who knows what the future might hold for us, our children, and our grandchildren? Yet God is faithful and has promised that His church will survive all the challenges that the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh can throw at us.  Building on God’s promises, we know that this is our time to be distinctly Lutheran. As confessing Lutherans in a changing world and in an increasingly hostile culture, we need to Be Ready to Confess the Gospel of Christ to a world that desperately needs to hear it.

4.       Confessing Christ is Central to Our Identity as Christians.  To be proclaimers of the message of salvation is central to our identity as Christ’s people.  St. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:1-2, “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.”

5.       When Saint Paul wrote these words to Timothy, he did so as one writing to a fellow pastor, a man specifically called to carrying out the office of the public ministry. And he did so also knowing full well the challenges that faced preachers of the Gospel in the setting of the early church. But he did so also knowing that Timothy had come to the faith through the Holy Spirit working through faithful teaching of a committed mother and grandmother.  2 Tim. 1:5 says, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.”  The good news of the Gospel is given to each of us to share with those whom God places in our sphere of influence regardless of our station in life. Proclaiming the salvation won by Jesus is not just “the pastor’s job.” Every single one of us is all called to be ready to confess Christ as God opens the doors for us to do so. You are called to be ready to confess!

6.       The need for sharing Christ is as pronounced today as it has ever been. While it is true that somewhere around 90 percent of Americans claim that they believe in “God,” their understanding of the one, true God is often less than biblical. Add to that the fact that upwards of 60 percent of Evangelical Christians (a category that would include LCMS members) think there may be other ways to salvation outside of faith in Jesus, and the need to be ready to confess the message of salvation by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone is as pressing today as ever.  Add to that Paul’s realistic assessment of where people were at his time.  2 Timothy 4:3-4 says,  “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”  That sounds like a commentary on 2017!

7.       Luther Was Ready to Confess. The setting in which God called Martin Luther to confess Christ was easily as confused as our own day. Worship of saints had intruded on worship of Christ; works were preached as necessary to salvation in addition to faith in Christ; purgatory, images, relics, and other aberrations had obscured the Gospel of salvation in Christ alone.  This context, of course, led to the unique character of the Lutheran Reformation. For Luther, as he read the New Testament and particularly read Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, was confronted by the question of righteousness: What does it mean to be right in God’s eyes? And the Scriptures were clear to him: keep God’s law perfectly. But, Luther knew that he did not keep God’s law perfectly; he knew that he did not keep God’s law sufficiently.

8.       Oh, Luther tried to make things right. He went to his priest repeatedly and confessed his sins. He dredged up every thought, word, deed from a lifetime of sin, confessed it, was conditionally absolved, and then went and did good works as a satisfaction. But as he worked, he remembered other sins. His mind recalled other things that he had done, and he realized that his confession of sin was insufficient. And that meant his works were not enough. Finally, his priest confronted him: “Luther, it is not that God hates you; it is that you hate God.”

9.       The dam finally broke when Luther understood, through the Scriptures, that the righteousness of God is not about us being good enough. The righteousness of God is about Christ who is perfect. Christ, the God-man, who has completed salvation for Luther, for you, and for me, perfectly, once and for all.  There is a great exchange that occurs. The filthy rags of our sinfulness and rebellion towards God, Jesus took upon Himself, carried it to the cross, and crucified it once and for all. The perfect righteousness that is His, He now clothes us in and through the waters of Holy Baptism. Where before there was sinner, God now sees his perfectly redeemed child through Christ; where before the person was far from God, there is now a child of God. God’s work is for us and is applied to us freely and completely because of Christ.

10.   God Calls Us to Be Ready to Confess This Gospel.  This—the biblical Gospel—is what we must be ready to confess!  Luther didn’t see all of this clearly in 1517. It took a few years for him to work out all of the scriptural implications. But once he did he was ready to confess—and he did so to the end of his life in 1546.  Which poses a question for us. How do we, like Luther, prepare ourselves to be ready to confess? Today in particular, as we’ve already noted, we want to recall the work of the Lutheran Women’s Missionary League, which is celebrating its diamond anniversary this year.

11.   The LWML has had a marvelous impact on the mission efforts of the congregations, districts, seminaries, and other entities of our Synod. And it has done so always by carrying out faithfully its mission “to assist each woman of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod in affirming her relationship with the Triune God so that she is enabled to use her gifts in ministry to the people of the world.”

12.   There is never a perfect time to start an organization like the LWML, but could we have chosen a time more challenging than 1942? The world had been at war for three years and the United States had joined the effort in 1941. Rations were short, many young—and older!—men were preparing to fight overseas. Women were entering the workforce to fill the vacancies left by the new soldiers. The circumstances were challenging, to say the least!  But, on July 7-8, 1942, over 100 women—among them twenty-eight formal delegates—met in Chicago and established the LWML. Its purpose was to encourage a greater consciousness among women for “missionary education, missionary inspiration, and missionary service.” It also decided to gather funds for mission projects above and beyond the Synod’s budget. From this humble beginning— and through the use of the now familiar “Mite Boxes”—the League has blessed the mission efforts of congregations, districts, and synod in amazingly powerful ways!

13.   But there is more, as LWML historian Marlys Taege Moburg has captured it so well:  …the blessing of the LWML, now also known as Lutheran Women in Mission, goes far beyond the millions raised for missions. Its benefits can be seen in faith deepened through Bible studies, in confidence built through leadership training, in the befriending of career missionaries, in blankets and clothing gathered for the impoverished, in food shared with the hungry and, above all, in the friendships nurtured and the lives changed by sharing the love of Jesus Christ.

14.   “Time marches on,” as we all know so well, and it seems that as we age it marches at the double quick.  The Lutheran confession has always struggled against the intrusion of false teaching. But the Lord has been faithful and has raised up faithful pastors like Timothy who have preached the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ crucified for our sins and raised for our justification. And the Lord has gathered faithful men, women, and children who have carried out the work of the Lord with zeal and devotion, meeting the challenges and opportunities to reach out to those who need to hear the Gospel. Simply put, our faithful God keeps His promises and we pray this Sunday and always that He will always enable us to be ready to confess.  Amen