Not Alone

Funeral for Adolph Wagner

Romans 14:7 For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. ⁸ If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ⁹ For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

On June 3, a headline on the online news service declared, “Man Dies All By Himself.” Was the story about a forgotten movie star, or some homeless individual, or a hiker who had taken a climb beyond his level of expertise? It was the kind of headline I had to investigate.

Clicking on the link produced a large picture of a hollow-cheeked old man. Above his head, in very large letters were the words, “Man Dies All By Himself.” There was no article, nothing to explain the picture. Then it clicked. The man who had died all by himself was Dr. Jack Kevorkian, the man who had helped terminate the lives of over 130 people. He helped them kill themselves because he felt they had no hope, no value, no purpose, nothing to look forward to.

At least that’s what Kevorkian said. It’s what many others believe.

The last few years, Adolph became homebound. The things he could do were diminished. Did Adolph say there was no hope, that he had no value or purpose, nothing to look forward to?

Adolph did not die by himself. Yes, he had his loving wife of 55 years, Jeanne, at his side. Yes, he had his other family and friends with him during the last days. But when Adolph left this life, he did so in the company of the angels who escorted him to heaven.

For Adolph became a child of God through Holy Baptism. He became a precious lamb in the Good Shepherd’s care. He was later confirmed at Epiphany on Palm Sunday weekend, April 9, 1933. It was then that Adolph made the baptismal promises that his parents and godparents had spoken for him, his own as he promised to be faithful to the Lord. He vowed to keep his confirmation verse where Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32).

After Adolph graduated from Park High School, he served as a staff sergeant in the Army Air Force in England during WWII. Adolph was willing to lay down his life for his country. But it was Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd of the sheep, who laid down His life for all of humanity. For you, for me and for Adoph. Jesus then powerfully took up His life again on Easter Sunday. Because He lives, now we, too, will live! That is why He gives the promise: “I give my sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.”

What security there is for us in Jesus’ statement that “No one will snatch them from my hand!” St. Paul echoed this in Romans 8 when he assured us, “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” There is only one who can remove us from the Good Shepherd’s hand – not Jesus, for He will not; not Satan, for he cannot.  Only faithlessness on our part, refusal to listen to His voice and to follow Him, can separate us from Him, for His promise is: “Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

As Paul reminds us in our sermon text: “For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. ⁸ If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ⁹ For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.”

No, when Adolph left this life He did so in the company of His Good Shepherd who had bled for him, the Redeemer who had died for him, the Savior who had saved him. Because of Jesus, from baptism to confirmation, through marriage and unto death, Adolph had hope, value and purpose to his life. Because of His saving Shepherd, he had the eternally green pastures and quiet waters of paradise to look forward to. No, Adolph most certainly did not die alone.

Because of Jesus, no Christian man or woman ever dies … alone. Amen.

October 22, 2011