The text this morning is from the Gospel according to Matthew, the 11th chapter:
At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
Thus far the text.
Bobbie, Mom, John and Rita, and my dear friends in Christ,
Anyone who knew Carl knew that he embodied a certain joy about life. It’s easy to look at Carl, see all that he suffered through his life, and imagine that he could have been upset, that he could’ve been mean, but he wasn’t that. All my life, I’ve known Carl, he’s always greeted me with joy, with laughs, and the same words, every single time, “Hey, Lew!” He always had that smile and we’ll miss that.
But the smile isn’t gone forever. The joy that Carl had in life is now completed in the work of Christ. Carl’s work in this life is over, and he now awaits the day of Resurrection, the day we are all hoping for, and he is resting in his Savior.
Our Lord tells us that His Father hides the things of God, the knowledge of God, from those who make themselves wise, those who think they’ve got the world figured out and understood. The Father reveals the knowledge of Him to those who are children, those who lack understanding, those who simply trust in the goodness of their heavenly Father.
This was Carl. Baptized into Christ 82 years ago, Carl became a little child, he became a child of God. Despite all else that may have happened in his life, there was never a better identity that Carl had: child of God. The Son was revealed to Carl in that Baptism, and that faith that was delivered to him, the faith that was created in him on that day, sustained him throughout all of his life. It never made things easy, but the faith placed in him through the simple sacrament of water and the Word brought him to the day of his death, where, while his body is here with us, it awaits the day when it shall be remade in the likeness of Christ.
This is the Christian hope. No matter what it is that we suffer, we look forward to the day when all things are made new in Christ. During this, the Advent season, we are afforded the opportunity to remember that we are Easter people, waiting to rise from the dead when our Lord returns. As He rose from the grave, so shall we, too. That day is quickly coming, but we await it even now. That’s what Advent is all about. We await the second coming of the Christ, looking toward that day when He returns to make a new heavens and a new earth and to raise all who believe in Him unto everlasting life.
Then, Carl, and all of us who are in Christ, will be brought out of our graves by the very hands which created us, and we shall live forever with Him. Our Lord Jesus Christ, in His incarnation, took upon Himself human flesh, bound up forever, that all who are human as He is may become as He is. As He is the Son of the Father, we are made sons and daughters of that King. We are His children, and inheritors of all good that comes from His hand.
Though the burdens of this life are plenty, when we are in Christ, there is a rest that we have now. We rest in His peace, we rest in His comfort, we rest in the knowledge that no matter what the world may bring to us, our Lord stands beside us, guarding us, fighting for us, making us ready to await that glorious day.
And Carl, though he sleeps now in Christ, is done with this life and awaits the next. The faith, once for all delivered to the saints, is his, and it preserves him, body and soul, even now. This is the same faith that we have been given through our Baptisms. The same faith that Carl had, that was created in the water, sustained through bread and wine, the true body of blood of Christ, that was strengthened through the forgiveness of sins preached to him, is the same faith we have been given. It is the same faith that will bring us to the day of our Lord’s return.
The burden of the Lord is not great, it’s easy and light. The fight for Carl through this is over, and it always has been. No matter what disease may have done to his body, no matter the pain he suffered, the end was always in sight through Christ. The whips and beatings our Lord endured, the torturous impact of the hammer and nails, the mockings and abuse He suffered at the hands of angry men, all speak to the pain we also endure. And, since Christ endured these, suffered under these, died from these, and still was raised from the dead, so shall we endure, suffer, and die and be raised.
Christ, in His resurrection, still bore the marks of the nails that hung Him from the tree, and He bears them that we might know that the thorns in our flesh will bring us to the day of everlasting life, just as they did for Christ.
We are the children of God, given knowledge of Him which leads to this resurrected life. Though we may grow faint and weary in this life, though our strength gives way to weakness and sickness, our mortal bodies shall put on immortality when our Lord returns. And what a glorious day that shall be! Reunited with our bodies, our souls which have longed for the Lord’s return shall finally have their peace forever. Death shall be no more, neither pain nor tears, and we shall stand, side-by-side with one another, singing the praises of the Lord Jesus Christ, who conquers death and uses it as a footstool.
We have this promise from the Lord. And the one who raised Himself from the dead will accomplish this for us. Carl has this promise, and we shall see our Lord vindicated in this promise, when we stand with Carl and look to Christ. These are not empty promises; the Lord’s resurrection from the dead is the most provable moment of all history. If Christ is not raised from the dead, then we are most to be pitied. But thanks be to God that He has given us the faith to believe, the history to prove, and the witnesses to see that the Lord always makes good on His promises.
We shall be raised. Carl shall be raised. And with the cry of command and the blast of the trumpet, we shall meet our Lord at His return. He has given this knowledge of this to you, that you might believe, as Carl did, and find rest for your souls. Jesus has promised it and so we believe it. He has given us eyes of faith to see, and our hearts do believe it. And this shall be proved to us, the fulfillment of all our hope of the years in Christ, when He comes again to judge the living and the dead. We shall be judged according to His work for us, His salvation for us. And we shall be welcomed into the eternal rest that Carl has already begun to joyfully experience.
We await this day with great hope and with great faith, like little children who trust that their father will return to them, will comfort them, will hold them, will take care of them. This is the child-like faith that Carl was given, and it is our faith. It is our hope. It is the fulfillment of the promise of Christ. It is great joy. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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