Funeral for Vernice Laduron

Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. ² I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." ⁵ He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." ⁶ He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.

A small boy was sent to bed by his father. Five minutes later … “Da-ad …” “What?” “I’m thirsty. Can you bring drink of water?” “No. You had your chance. Lights out.” Five minutes later … “Da-aaaad …” “WHAT?” “I’m THIRSTY. Can I have a drink of water?” “I told you NO! If you ask again, I’ll have to spank you!” Five minutes later … “Daaaa-aaaad …” “WHAT!” “When you come in to spank me, can you bring a drink of water?”

Now there was a little guy who was really thirsty!

We all thirst for something. We long to feel loved. We crave happiness and joy. We are desperately searching for meaning and significance. Depending on our age we want to be done with school or we want our marriage to last or we want the economy to improve or we want our health to be better.

Vernie thirsted for something far more special, gratifying and long-lasting. She wanted to drink deeply from the water of life that only Jesus can provide. Jesus talks about thirst in His beautiful picture of Revelation when He says, “To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.” Jesus doesn’t want us to quench our thirst with the pleasures, knowledge or gods of this world. He offers us the refreshing water of life, that only He can give, and He gives it to us free of charge.

Sadly, there are many in our world, maybe many among us, who are parched, dehydrated, thirsting but never having that thirst quenched. We realize that something is wrong – our marriage is failing, we’re not happy at work, our children lock themselves in their room, we feel an emptiness inside so we try to fill it up with shopping, hunting, carting our kids all over, or just plain busyness.

The problem is our sin. Our sin sucks the life out of our souls so we become dehydrated. Every year there are cases of people dying because of dehydration. They exert themselves, do not re-hydrate, and collapse. Their bodies shut down and they die. If that can happen physically from not drinking enough water, what do you think happens to our souls when we do not re-hydrate regularly, weekly, daily with the water of life of God’s Word and Sacraments? Our souls shrivel up and die. Then, we will end up begging for someone to dip the tip of his finger in water to cool our tongue, because we will be in agony in the fire of hell. (Luke 16:24)

But God invites us to drink deeply, freely, regularly from His water of life. It is the only thing that will quench our thirst by forgiving our sin. This water of life is found in God’s Word, Baptism and Lord’s Supper. It is life in Christ’s living for us, dying in our place and rising from the grave. In the Old Testament God invited, “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!” (Isaiah 55:1) In the Gospels Jesus invited, “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14) And now in heaven Jesus again invites, “To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.”

This is the water of life that Vernie thirsted for her entire life. This is why she was so active here at Epiphany. This is why she was so involved with the Home Guild Ladies for over five decades. This is why, when she became homebound, she wanted me to come over often. She wanted her thirst quenched with God’s Word in our devotions and God’s Sacrament in the Lord’s Supper. And when our devotion and communion was finished, she always said, “Thank you, Pastor. I feel much better now.”

This water of life is the forgiveness of sin that Jesus won for Vernie and for of us on the cross. It is the water of life that washed over Vernie in her Baptism and in ours. It is the feast of life contained in body and blood of the Lord’s Supper that Vernie craved and we desire. It is the milk and meat of life that Vernie digested in every sermon, devotion, worship service and hymn. This water of life – drink it, bathe in it, re-hydrate with it, cherish it, use it.

If you knew Vernie, even a little bit, you knew there was no way you could change her mind. She would consistently remind about the fifth petition in the Lord’s Prayer. She would say, “You know, Pastor, I don’t think people realize what they are saying when they pray, ‘forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.’ If we don’t forgive others, then we won’t be forgiven.” She was exactly right. And yet, she also admitted that it was very difficult for her to forgive her attacker.

She would also scold me for spending money on the paintings or beautifying the church. She said, “Those are fine and beautiful, but we need to do mission work.” God bless her, her heart was always in missions, always in telling more people about her Savior. You weren’t going to change her mind about the Lord’s Prayer or missions or a lot of other things. But you especially were not going to change her mind about her cat, Baby.

The last time I visited with Vernie, after our devotion and communion, she said with a deep sigh, “Pastor, I can’t see. I can’t hear. This is no way to live.” She longed to hear Jesus’ words, “Today you will be with me in paradise.” In His grace and in His own time, Jesus answered her prayer. Now Vernie is living in a place with no oceans or seas – only a single river. John wrote, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.” This earth and sky (heaven) will be burned up, the impurities removed and God will create a new home for us to reside in. But there won’t be any water except for the River of Life flowing out from the throne of God.

John, the fisherman and second son of Zebedee, received this Revelation while in exile on the island of Patmos, a small island 5 miles by 10 miles off the coast of Turkey and surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea. The sea represented a huge, tumultuous, scary place of storms, danger and death. It kept John away from his home and the people he loved. But when the end of the world comes, all that fear, danger and all anti-Christian enemies will be gone.

Instead we will live with our Triune God, Vernie and all of our fellow saints in the Holy City. We don’t have to ever be afraid of a home invasion or midnight attack. For we will live in a new place that is safe and unshakeable. John saw “saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.” We may think Racine is nice – along the lake, lighthouse, beach, cooler by the lake … yep, that’s about it. We still have to deal with high taxes, gangs, violence, a layout of streets that make no sense at all. All of that is removed in Jerusalem, the Golden City of God. Here, like Vernie, we have to deal with loneliness, sadness, failing eyesight, poor hearing, fear and anxiety. But you are invited to be citizens of a city where “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’”

Fellow saints, the waters of life that Jesus offers humanity are effective for everyone, of every age, in every situation. For the convict in prison, the water of life means that though he has done horrific things to himself and others, his sins have been washed away and the river of God’s grace flows from Christ’s cross into his heart. For the grandmother suffering from depression, the prescribed medication and visits to the counselor can be helpful and necessary, but it is the water of life that will quench her thirst to be the kind of wife, mother, grandmother that her family needs her to be. When a friend loses her job in this economy but isn’t worried because she knows Jesus, the Alpha and Omega, is in control, she has been refreshed with Christ’s living water. And when we say goodbye to a dear mother, grandmother, aunt and friend, we can say with confidence, “I will see her again,” for together we will enjoy Jerusalem the Golden, surrounded by the River of Life. Amen.