1.
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from
God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Dear
family and friends of Louis, my
prayer for you is that God would give you hope, comfort, and joy in the message
of His Son’s death and resurrection that has not only saved you from your sins,
but also Louis as well.
Nothing
strengthens our hope for heaven more than the fact of God’s faithfulness. That’s something that we need to hear on this
day we mourn Louis’ death, but we also rejoice in the resurrection promise that
Louis put his hope and trust in. How can
our Heavenly Father lie? He’s promised
to us, and our dear brother Louis, an eternal crown of glory and he will place
it on our heads on account of the blood of Jesus shed for us on the cross of
Calvary. To such a hope we are to hold to,
not letting it droop like some banner in the dust, but holding it up high for
all to see. The message is taken from
Matthew 25:21, “21His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and
faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over
much. Enter into the joy of your master.’”
2.
For
those who knew Louis Hartzke, they would tell you that he was a faithful
man. Faithful to his wife Eris, to his
children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, and his friends as well. As his Pastor these past few years I grew
pretty close to Louis. Every time I
called Louis up for a pastoral visit to give him God’s precious promises of
eternal life and salvation found in God’s Holy Word, Louis was happy to receive
it. He always had a smile on his face
just about every time I visited him, even when his health was beginning to fail
him. That had a deep impression on me as
his pastor. That even while Louis’
health was failing, he could remain upbeat and happy. He
remained happy and joyful because he believed in the faithfulness of Jesus
Christ his Lord and Savior.
3.
I loved to hear the stories of Louis’ farming days
when every morning he would be up at 5am to milk the cows. How he would wait for the fields to dry up to
get into the fields and plant them. I
was in awe of how he could work each day on only about six hours of sleep going
to bed near 11pm and then getting up at 5am.
I will miss being able to share God’s Word with Louis each month and
especially around Christmas, where our parishioners from Christ and Calvary
would come to visit him and sing Christmas carols. Louis was a loving
grandfather, a good example as a Christian husband and father. He was looking forward to the joyful reunion
for him and his wife Eris and son, Bob.
4.
If
I were to think of some Scripture passages to describe Louis’s faith and trust
in Jesus as his Lord and Savior I would think of the Apostle Paul’s words in
Philippians 4:9, “9What you have learned and received and heard
and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Because of Louis’fervent trust in Jesus and
the promises of God’s Word I can also think of Paul’s words in 2 Timothy 4:7–8,
“7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have
kept the faith. 8Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that
Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”
5.
Our text for Louis’ funeral today
comes from Matthew 25:21, where our Lord Jesus says in the Parable of the
Talents, “21His
master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been
faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your
master.’” The
talents that our ascended Lord Jesus distributes to all believers are never
exactly the same for any two individuals (see 1 Corinthians 12:4–11). But one
gift is basic, and that is faith. Each of us must confess with Martin Luther, “I
cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come
to him.” The apostle Paul in Ephesians 2 insists that faith isn’t something
we earn; it’s a free gift of God (Ephesians 2:8, 9). Louis believed this, that’s why he was eager
to hear God’s Word and receive our Lord’s body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. He believed that through God’s Word and
Sacraments his faith was being strengthened and he continued to receive the
assurance of the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, and salvation that Christ
our Lord promises through these means of grace.
He believed the words of Romans 10:17, “That faith comes by hearing
and hearing through the word of Christ.” Considering the word faithfulness
in our text, faith isn’t a gift we can get along without, for “without faith
it is impossible to please God” (Hebrews 11:6). But, the gifts or talents
that are added to faith are infinite in number and in variety.
6.
And, oh how Louis did use his talents for the
glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Louis
was a member of Christ Lutheran Church in West Bloomfield, where he served on
many boards and committees. He was faithful
as a husband, friend, fellow church member, father, and grandfather.
7.
And
yet, we consider that this gift of faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior
doesn’t come about by our own doing. How
often are we faithless, following our own ways, rather than the ways of our
Lord Jesus? Instead of praying, “Thy
will be done” in the Lord’s Prayer, how often we would rather say to God, “no
God, my will be done, not yours.” When
we view our life in the light of God’s holy commandments, we have reason to
stand in fear of “the Great Day of the Lord.” We have sinned and come
short of the glory of God (Romans 3: 27).
We begin to
realize that even in our sinfulness, even in our lack of faith, even when
everything around us is falling apart, God remains faithful to us just like He
was to Louis. It’s like the words that
Job penned in the Old Testament, “I know that
my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after
my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see
him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!” (Job
19: 25-27)
8.
Job was sure he was dying, just like
Louis was these last few months. Before
I left for vacation, Louis told me he knew his days on earth were short. Like Louis in his bouts with pneumonia this
past year, Job was in agony. His strength had completely left him. All hope of
recovery was gone. What was left? Job’s only comfort was the living hope of the
resurrection. We would despair if God’s
Word did not tell us, “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered” (Psalm 32: 1). This is our comfort and joy. Our
Savior Jesus, has completely covered our sins. Clothed in the garment of his
righteousness we have nothing to fear. His promise goes far beyond our hopes
and dreams. Not only are we assured that God no longer sees our guilt, but our
Savior also promises us a place in heaven with him! More than that. He tells us
that he himself has prepared this place for us. And when our last hour shall
come, when we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, we know that he
will be at our side. Jesus’ promise is to us as it was to Louis from John 14: “I
go and prepare a place for you; I will come back and take you to be with me
that you also may be where I am.” There’s no greater promise than that!
Whatever troubles the Christian may have to endure as a faithful witness of
Christ here on earth, the promise of God removes all weeping and sighing, for “the
Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to
springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes”
(Revelation 7: 17).
9.
There’s nothing that helps a
Christian through difficult days more than meditating on the resurrection. Christ
is risen, and so we too shall rise. It’s a glorious future that awaits us in
heaven. That sunbeam of eternity can pierce through any gloom which weigh us
down now. The thing that’s so remarkable about Job was that he could express so
clearly the same hope we have. Even though he lived hundreds of years before
Christ rose from the dead, he could see with eyes of faith his living Redeemer
standing on the earth at the last day.
10.
With those same spiritual eyes he
could see himself in front of the Savior, looking at him with his own eyes, his
bones once more clothed with flesh, ready to hear the blessed invitation of
Christ: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the
kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world” (Matthew 25: 34).
That faith which Job had is the same faith we need when everything seems to
fall apart. When death itself appears to be at the door, it is our hope of the
life to come with Christ that sustains us.
11.
A faith which looks to the future
can say with Paul, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth
comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8: 18). Can
we see that glory? Can we look beyond the grave with Job to the day when our
bodies will be raised and made like Christ’s own glorious body? Can we fix our
vision on the day when we will see the Lord with those same eyes that so often
see only misery and suffering on this earth? Job conquered all with his
triumphant faith in the resurrection. We can too. Amen.
Now the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.
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