Sermon for the Funeral of Doris Goddard
- Rev. Derrick C. Brown
- 4 hours ago
- 6 min read
Readings:
Old Testament: Psalm 23
Epistle: Romans 14:7-9
Holy Gospel: John 14:1-6
Obituary: link
Sermon:
Sermon based on Psalm 23 *
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Dearly family and friends of Doris:
On behalf of the members of Our Saviour Lutheran Church, let me say that we grieve with you over the loss of your beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, relative, and friend. Doris was a dear member and beloved sister in the faith. We grieve, and we mourn with you. And, as you make your way through this veil of tears without her, know that you are in our prayers now and in the times to come.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. When we look back at all the good times we had with Doris, and, indeed, there were many, many we will treasure until our time on this earth comes to an end, when we look back at those good times, we might not be quick to question that statement: the LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. Yet, when we recall the past few years Doris spent in the BeeHive, or the sad news relayed to us a little over a week ago, or with the wages of sin before us this day, the Word of God, given through His psalmist, might be somewhat hard to swallow. And even though Doris dwelt upon this mortal coil for many a year, we might find ourselves wondering, “Is the Lord is my shepherd? Shall I want?”
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want,” insists the psalmist. And so, as we gather to mourn the loss of Doris, the psalmist would not have us just look upon the casket, bearing the remains of our dearly beloved; he would have us fix our eyes upon the Good Shepherd, namely, Christ Jesus, who knows His own.
“The LORD is my shepherd;” indeed, the Lord was Doris’s shepherd. He formed her in her mothers’s womb, brought her forth alive, and placed her within a family. And for over nine decades, the Lord provided Doris with everything she needed to support her body and soul: food and drink on her table, His Word and Sacrament in her ears and mouth, clothing on her back, His robe of righteousness on her frame, a husband, children, grandchildren, and faithful Christians with whom to gather. Indeed, the Lord gave Doris all that she had, for the Lord was Doris’ shepherd. He assured her of this on August 4, 1946, when, through the blessed waters of Holy Baptism, He brought her into His fold. And throughout her life, through thick and thin, through times of tears and times of laughter, through health and sickness, the Lord was her shepherd.
Yet, more importantly, the Lord was the kind of shepherd for Doris that other shepherds would think a fool. For what shepherd thinks that the life of a sheep is more important than his own? What kind of shepherd, to save his flock, would gladly and willingly throw his body between the lambs and the wolves and say to the predators, “Go ahead! Sink your fangs into my flesh instead of these dear sheep; spill my blood instead of theirs.” What kind of shepherd loves his sheep with a love so true that He would sacrifice everything for them? None, of course; none, save our Lord, Christ Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, who laid down His life for dear lambs: lambs like Doris.
That Doris might lie down in green pastures, the Shepherd’s crucified corpse was laid within the tomb. That He might lead her beside still waters, Jesus thirsted upon the Cross and drank only the bitter cup of His Father’s wrath against sin. That He might restore Doris’ soul—bring her back from the wilderness of sin and death, the Shepherd, Jesus, cried out, “It is finished!” 1 and gave up His soul. That He might lead her in the paths of righteousness—that leads to heaven, Jesus walked the road of suffering that led to the hill of the Skull, where Doris’ unrighteousness was hammered into Him. That Doris might walk through the valley of the shadow of death, Jesus walked it first, and let death and darkness have their way with Him, that she might fear them not. He was bruised and beaten by the rods of Romans, that His rod and staff might comfort her. Upon the Cross, Jesus gave His Body into death and shed His sacred Blood that they might be distributed to Doris in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, despite the presence of her enemies: sin, death, and the devil. He anointed Doris’ head, heart, body, and soul in Holy Baptism, that her cup runneth over. Because of Jesus, goodness and mercy followed Doris all the days of her life.
The Lord was Doris’ Shepherd. Indeed, the Lord is her Shepherd; this, Doris believed. And she trusted that she would dwell with Him forever because she believed Him when He said elsewhere, “I am the resurrection, and the life. He that believeth in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live. And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.” 2 And so it was that, on November 27, after a long and full life here on earth, Jesus, Doris’ Shepherd, shepherded her, His beloved lamb, into His heavenly fold. Doris has come to the reward of the righteous, to the end of faith. She now rests from her labors and is at peace. She, now, wants for nothing.
The LORD is my shepherd. Dear family and friends of Doris, this is the comfort for our grief: if we believe as Doris did, if we believe that Christ Jesus, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is our Lord—our Shepherd, that He died on the Cross for our sins, paying their penalty in full, in our place, that He rose from the dead as evidence that He had made sufficient payment for all of ours sins, and that because Jesus now lives, we, also, will live with Him to all eternity; if we believe as Doris did, then our loss—our separation from her—is only temporary. Believing as Doris did, we will be reunited with her.
Therefore, let not your [hearts] be troubled. 3 Believe in Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, the Resurrection, and the Life. 4 Believe that the Lord Jesus is your Shepherd, the kind of Shepherd who loved you so much that He gave Himself up for you, that you might be His. And there shall come a time when your grief and tears shall come to an end, when you shall want for nothing, when He shall gather you to Himself, and you will be reunited with Doris and with all the saints who from their labors rest, who, by faith, before the world confessed: The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
✠ Soli Deo Gloria ✠
Footnotes:
John 19:30c
John 11:25b-26a KJV, alt. While the pronoun “Me” is not capitalized in the King James Version, this pronoun refers to God, specifically, Christ Jesus; therefore, Reverential capitalization is employed here. Reverential capitalization is the practice of capitalizing words, particularly pronouns that refer to God, in cases where they would not otherwise have been capitalized.
John 14:1a
See John 14:6 and 11:25b
* Psalm 23 is from the King James Version. Unless otherwise indicated, other Scripture contained within this sermon is from the New King James Version.
Comments