Funeral for Lois Kilby

Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 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. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

A prepared table

One of the things that Lois really treasured in her life was spending time with her cousins every Sunday at Grandma’ farm in Caledonia. From Memorial Day to Labor Day, the twenty or so cousins would get together on the farm. The meals were feasts as each aunt brought her favorite dish to share with the clan.

Food seems to be an integral part of our lives. But food isn’t just important to us. It is also important to God. Twice in the 23^rd Psalm, the author, King David, mentions food.

The first time is when David writes, “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.” Green grass and quiet waters don’t seem like very tasty food – unless you are a sheep. … But if you are a Christian, that’s exactly what the Bible calls you! A sheep.

Lois became a lamb in her Good Shepherd’s flock at her baptism on January 20, 1935. This eternity-altering event happened just a few blocks from here at First Evangelical Lutheran Church. That is when the pastor – who is the under-shepherd to the Good Shepherd – poured water and God’s Word over Lois’ head. In those baptismal waters, Lois’ sins were washed away, she was reclaimed from the devil and brought under the protective care of the rod and staff of the Good Shepherd.

In our church sanctuary at Epiphany, we have a large stained glass window above the altar. The window portrays Jesus as the Good Shepherd. He is carrying a lamb in each arm with a flock of a dozen sheep around His feet.

In 1948, Lois stood before the altar at Epiphany to make her confirmation vows. God had promised to be faithful to Lois in her baptism. Now it was Lois’ opportunity to promise to be faithful to God following her confirmation. Though she, like the rest of us, was a sheep who liked to wander and stray, Jesus is the Good Shepherd who always goes out to seek and find His lost and straying sheep.

By the way, Joyce was confirmed at Epiphany’s altar in 1967 and Jean was confirmed in 1969.  

Throughout her life, the Good Shepherd provided for Lois’ every need – just like we learned it from Martin Luther’s Small Catechism: clothing and shoes, food and drink, property and home, spouse and children – everything she needed to keep her body and life. More importantly, throughout her life, the Good Shepherd provided for Lois’ every spiritual need. He had redeemed her, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won her from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil. He did this, not with gold or silver but with His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death.

The Good Shepherd fed Lois weekly with His holy Word which Jesus describes as the Bread of Life. From her confirmation until her death, the Good Shepherd nourished Lois faith regularly with the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Jesus fed her with His own body and blood.

When Lois became unable to drive herself to church, then Armin, one of the men from church, picked her up and brought her to early service every Sunday. When Lois became too frail to come to church anymore, then I would visit her to feed her the Bread of Life with a devotion and the Lord’s Supper. She would insist on feeding me, too, with cookies for my visit and more cookies to bring home to my girls. If I would ride my bike to see her, she made sure to wave at me from the window.

I’m not much of a hugger, but I always received a hug from Lois. And, on special occasions, if my sermon was especially good, I even got a kiss on the cheek.

Jesus, Lois’ Good Shepherd, has always been with her. There is a beautiful promise in Isaiah: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isaiah 43:2). When I think of that verse, all sorts of biblical images come to mind. When I think of the deep waters, I am reminded of Noah and his family, floating safely above the waters in the ark. I am reminded of Jonah, thrown overboard and swallowed by a huge fish, and yet kept safe within the will of the Lord. When I think of the fire that does not burn, I think of Moses, coming upon the bush that was burning and yet was not burned. I think of the three Hebrew men walking through the fiery furnace and coming out unharmed – why? Because there was a fourth man walking with them through the fire. There was One who walked with Moses; there was One who walked with Jonah; and there was One who walked with Noah.

And there was One who walked with Lois. And there is One who will walk with each of us. Verse 4 of Psalm 23 is such a beautiful promise when we face death: “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.” We don’t need to be afraid as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, for we have One who has already walked through the dark valley of death Himself. He knows the way because He walked through it with His own death on the cross. He is the One who knows every inch of this dark valley.

When danger comes close, other shepherds and leaders may leave us and say, “I’ll see you on the other side.” Not Jesus. He walks with us every step of the way. Jesus took Lois’ hand early Sunday morning and walked her through this dark, terrifying valley of death until she entered the glorious city of God, the new Jerusalem in heaven, where her room was already waiting for her. If Jesus did this for Lois, He will certainly do the same for you, His other precious lambs and sheep.

When I would visit Lois, she liked to point out the painting in her living room that her aunt had painted. It was a painting of a winter scene up north at Foxtail Point near Wautoma. Lois and her family loved the lake up north. But, as much as we might love up north, we still have to deal with humidity, mosquitoes, and Wisconsin winters. All of that is gone in the perfection of paradise. Because of what Jesus accomplished at the bloody cross and the open grave, now God’s saints – His believers – enjoy a place without sin, sorrow or death. As we heard earlier in John’s vision of heaven: “They will never be hungry or thirsty ever again. The sun will never beat upon them, nor will any scorching heat,   for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd. He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Foxtail Point may be great. The green pastures and quiet waters of paradise are greater!

In Psalm 23, the Lord promises to not only take care of the needs for this life - He promises to bring those who are His lambs and sheep through faith in Him to everlasting life. The picture changes from God’s earthly care to the eternal blessedness awaiting all believers in heaven. The picture changes from being sheep being fed in grassy meadows to guests being fed in a banquet hall. The picture changes from Jesus being a shepherd to being a king. Ancient kings were often called the shepherds of their people; they were to use their power and resources to protect the people of their kingdom from enemies and provide for their people’s needs.

“Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” The Lord is our Shepherd-King. He defeated the devil and all his demons. He destroyed the power that sin had over you when He took all sin upon Himself on the cross on Good Friday. He overcame death when He rose from the grave on Easter morning.

By faith in our Shepherd-King, we are the privileged people of His kingdom. God’s undeserved love is lavished on us like an abundant banquet. This feast is set right in front of our enemies … and they can do nothing about it. That’s because they are crushed, defeated, and overcome. Neither temptations, sorrow, suffering, the devil, not even death can touch us anymore when we are at the banquet feast of our Shepherd-King. These enemies are outside the gates of heaven looking in. They cannot touch us anymore.

In ancient times, guests were anointed with oil as a symbol of honor and joy of being in the royal court. Oil is poured upon the heads of Christ’s saints to heal and refresh. That oil poured over our heads at the end of our lives of faith are like the baptismal waters poured over our heads at the beginning of our lives as Christians. This oil marks God’s saints as His chosen ones.

While God’s saints are seated at the table, their cups have so many of God’s blessings poured into them that the cups overflow. God’s saints are now in the house of the Lord. They will dwell there for an eternity. “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.”

God promises that heaven for those who believe in His Son as their Shepherd, Savior, and King will be a very special place. It is a place that our Good Shepherd won for us by laying down His life for us.

There are a lot of descriptions of heaven. We will be in the New Jerusalem, the city of God. It will be filled with green pastures and quiet waters. We will be in the house of the Lord forever. God’s saints will be gathered around the throne singing their Savior’s praises.

It will also be a place where there is a prepared table. As much as Lois enjoyed the feasts at Grandma’s house with her family, she is enjoying an even greater feast in heaven. This is the Lamb’s High Feast. It is the meal prepared by the sacrificed Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Lois prepared her entire life to be able to sit at the table that Jesus had prepared for her. She is sitting around that table with the family of Christian saints. Amen.