Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
The text for this morning’s sermon comes to us from our first reading, from the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 7:
A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the day of birth. It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth.
Thus far the text.
MaryLou, Loren, Lorraine, Bethany, Scott, Stacy, Charlotte, Emily, Matthew, Lori, Gail, and my dear friends in Christ,
Helen made me laugh. Mostly because of her bluntness, perhaps because of the extreme German side to her. Of course this is no surprise. On my last visit to her, she told me, “Pastor, I listen to your radio service and I like it. But you speak too fast for me to keep up. But that doesn’t matter. Now, give me communion.” She was blunt, she was quick, she was lovely, and she is redeemed by Christ. You see, she knew the important thing. She knew what I was there to do. She knew that I was going to give her Jesus.
This is the whole reason we are gathered here today. We are not gathered to cover over Helen’s sins. She was a sinner. We are not gathered to make up stories about how good or gracious she was. She was a sinner. We are here because we celebrate what God did to the life of this redeemed child of God. She was and is also a saint in Christ and no longer a sinner.
Helen was a sinner, just as you and I are. But Helen was and is also redeemed. She was bought with the very blood of Jesus. She was forgiven in His name. She received His baptism. She was washed clean forever. And she is now with her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
And so, she sits before us here to remind us of this. The color white that I wear reminds us that Helen also wears the robes of Christ, the very robes washed in the blood of the lamb, whose washing took place all the way back on August 15, 1918.
This is what our text is speaking about. Helen’s baptism. This was a miraculous event in which she was claimed as a child of God, and given faith that has been stewarded and tended all of her life. This faith preserved her all of her life, and this is what brought her to the arms of Jesus last Saturday. Helen was not afraid of dying. In fact, she thought people ran away from death too quickly. Helen knew, however, that she died in her baptism all those years ago, that she was raised to new life in Christ in her baptism, and that should she die in this life, she will be raised up into everlasting life with her Lord.
You see, in her baptism, Helen received more than her Christian name, Helen Martha Eckardt. She received the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. In her baptism, she was covered in the name of God Himself so that when God beheld her, when He judged her, He judged her by His name, not by her works. The reign of God came closer to her that ever, that reign of God that tells that Christ is in control over all things, that reign of God that declares her forgiven and loved. That reign of God is where the Lord places His name upon her forever. Helen was judged into eternal life because she bore the name of God, the name of Christ.
Helen needed nothing else. She had this name, and she has it yet today. This name, this washing upon her forehead, this was enough to secure for her everlasting life. And while her soul is not presently in our midst, Helen’s body is in her ashes. Soon her ashes will be laid to rest until Christ returns. And in that return, Christ will bring her body up from the ground, will remake it, will form to be completely incorruptible. She will no longer decay, she will no longer sin, she will no longer be infirm. She will not longer need her medicines, nor her oxygen, nor to be propped up in her bed just so that she can breathe a little easier. She will be made as Christ is, resurrected from the grave, never to die again.
You see, to reach this day, this day of resurrection, this is why the text of Ecclesiastes tells us that the day of death is better. Helen reached that day of death long ago in her baptism, where she died to sin, where Christ Himself held her old sinful flesh and drowned it in the waters, and where she was raised to new life, with the New Adam, Jesus Christ in her. And this preserved her even to this day, where she would have to die now her physical death. But this death was not bad. Helen had a good death. She died trusting in the promises of the Lord, that He who had given her her name, His name, would preserve her body until the day of Christ’s return. Yes, her body, even though cremated will be under the care of God until He returns. He knows where each and every atom of Helen is located and will bring them together to make her body perfect and incorruptible. Have no fear for her. She is taken care of.
As for us, we continue in this life. We continue in this sinful life, full of the effects that our sin has wrought on this world. Because of her sinful flesh, Helen died. Because of our sinful flesh, unless Jesus returns first, so, too, shall we die. Our hope, however, is in the same hope that our Lord had given to Helen, that in our baptisms, in our repentance from sins, and in the Lord’s forgiveness of sins, we know that we shall be raised from the dead just as Christ was raised from dead. We shall live with Him, for we confess His name as Lord and Savior of all.
I chose Ecclesiastes 7 for Helen’s service, because it’s true. She received the name of Christ, her day of righteous death is better than the day of her birth into sin. This house of mourning is better than a house of feasting, for anyone can feast for a short time, but we see through our sadness that the feast for Helen, the eternity prepared for Helen and for us, is just beginning. Sorrow is better than laughter, for we realize that death does not have the final victory, but instead it is defeated in the very death of Christ. We sorrow, we grieve at our loss of Helen, but Helen is longing for us, too. She is longing that we should confess Christ and persevere in the one true faith unto everlasting life. And it is good, it is wise that we should be in, today, this house of mourning. For in this place, we hear the good words of Christ, just as Helen had. We hear Christ say, “I forgive you all of your sins.”
Helen, when she opened up her eyes from her sleep in which she passed from this life to the next, she heard these words, too. “Welcome, Helen, to the place I have prepared for you. Your sins are forgiven. You are my child. Welcome home.”
And it is for you, too. Welcome, my friends. In your repentant hearts, know that you are forgiven on Christ’s account. Welcome to this place, even this church, which Christ has prepared for you. Your sins are forgiven. Welcome home. And you, too, in Christ, will hear these words from your Savior Himself, Jesus Christ. In His name, the name that has saved Helen, and all who believe in Him, in the name of Jesus, amen.
Now may the peace of Christ, which passes all human understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
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