Funeral for Shirley Berntzen

Psalm 23 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. ² He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, ³ he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. ⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. ⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ⁶ Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

The dark valley of death

Death is an uninvited visitor in our homes. Death is unwelcome intruder in our lives.

Yet death has barged in once again!

A few years ago, Shirley was fairly healthy and living on her own. A few months ago, she was a little weaker, but enjoying life with Nancy and David. Then, all of a sudden, she’s gone.

Death is our enemy. One by one it takes away the people we love. The longer we live, the worse it gets. If God didn’t give us the wonderful human capacity to love, death wouldn’t be so hard. But because God is love and we are His children who are called to love, we are going to mourn those whom death has stolen away from us. And when it comes to the death of someone extremely close to us – a spouse, a parent, a child, a sibling, a friend – a sweetheart, like everyone described Shirley – we never completely get over it. Such deaths are going to leave marks. Our heart is scarred.

That’s what it means for sinful people to live in a sinful world. Because we are all sinners, we will all face death. Shirley died because she was a sinner. We will all die because we have all sinned. We were born in sin. We sin daily in our thoughts, our words, and our deeds. The Bible says very clearly: “The soul who sins is the one who will die” (Ezekiel 18:4). Everything dies. And everyone dies.

When I last visited Shirley on October 26, she mentioned that she was bothered by her sins. After she shooed the dogs out of the room, her eyes started filling with tears. She said, “Pastor, I am really troubled by my sins.”

After she talked for a bit, I told her, “Shirley, I’m glad that you are troubled by your sins. Most people aren’t. They just overlook their sins or blow them off or don’t care that their sins have offended their holy and just God. So, I’m glad that you are troubled by your sins.”

Then I asked her, “Do you know who else is troubled by your sins?” She answered, “No.” I said, “God is troubled by your sins. He knows that your sins against Him are deserving of eternal punishment in hell. Because God is holy and just, He cannot overlook your sins or blow them off. Instead, He was so troubled by them that He went to the trouble of sending His Son out of heaven to come to earth. The Son of God went through the trouble of taking on human flesh and crawling inside the womb of a woman. He went to the trouble of living perfectly under His heavenly Father’s Law, just like you and I have to. Then, most amazingly of all, the Son of God went through the trouble of suffering and dying to pay for your sins on the Roman cross.”

I asked Shirley, “Do you believe that Jesus is your Savior from your sins?” She said, “Of course, I do, Pastor.” I assured her, “Then, Jesus has paid for your sins. He has put them on Himself. He has removed them as far from you as the east is from the west.”

Then she wiped her tears away and smiled.

In our conversation two weeks ago, we talked about death. We both knew that death was coming, but not so quickly. I asked her what her favorite Bible verse was. She told me that it was the 23^rd Psalm. So, I put aside the devotion I had prepared, and we walked together through the 23^rd Psalm.

I read: “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”

I asked Shirley when and where she had been baptized. She said that she was born two months prematurely, so she was baptized at home. I told her that God claimed her as His own with that splash of baptismal water and the pronouncement of God’s Word. The Lord was her Good Shepherd and she was reborn as one of the lambs in Jesus’ care.

She told me how she had been confirmed at St. Peters Lutheran Church in Waterford. She was married here at Epiphany in 1950. I told her that her Good Shepherd had been feeding her with God’s Word in the pews of St. Peters and in her home. Upon her confirmation, the Good Shepherd began feeding her also with the Sacrament of His holy Supper. Every time she heard God’s Word, remembered her baptism, and received the Lord’s Supper, the Lord restored her soul and guided her in the paths of righteousness.

Then I read to her: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

After I read that verse about death, Shirley said to me, “We are born into this world alone and we die alone.” I told her, “We may be born into this world alone, but upon baptism, we are never alone. Through the faith that was given to you in your baptism and strengthened through Word and Sacrament, you won’t be alone at your death. You have a Savior in Jesus who is both God and man. As man, Jesus walked through His own dark valley of death. But, because Jesus is also God, Jesus will walk with you when it is time for you to walk through your dark valley of death.”

We must all walk through the dark valley of the shadow of death.

But here is the difference for us as Christians. Because of Jesus Christ, death is now different. The apostle Paul taunts death saying, “‘Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55-57).

Jesus has turned death upside down. Where death had once been our enemy, now death for the Christian is the gate through which we must all pass through to enter paradise. Because of Jesus, now death is merely a sleep from which we will awaken in God’s heavenly mansion.

Death had once been terrible and terrifying. But then along comes Jesus. Along comes His payment of the sins that kill and damn us. Along comes His defeat of death with His corpse being placed into a tomb on a dark Friday afternoon … and then the risen Lord bursting forth from the tomb on a bright Easter dawn. Along comes Christ’s resurrection from the dead to declare that death no longer has the final word. In fact, because our Savior has paid the ransom for our sin, even the deaths we endure in this world will soon cease to be. When Jesus returns, death itself will die. Death will be destroyed. A time is coming when the heavy hurt of death will not even be a memory. Instead, there will only be joy, laughter, victory, and celebration. And these will last forever. Jesus says so.

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 Shirley’s hand on that Wednesday 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 Shirley, He will certainly do the same for those who have faith in Him. Then, you are His other precious lambs and sheep.

Then I read the final two verses of the Psalm: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

I asked Shirley if she liked to eat. She said, “Oh, boy, Pastor, can I eat.” I guess for a little person, she liked to pack it away.

I told her, “Jesus is both your Shepherd and your King. Through faith in Him, Jesus has prepared an abundant banquet for you in heaven. 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 will be able to touch you when you are feasting with your Shepherd-King. Your enemies of sin, death, and the devil, are outside the gates of heaven looking in. They won’t be able to touch you anymore.”

One of the things that Shirley really enjoyed here at Epiphany was being a member of our Ladies Home Guild. When I came here as the pastor over a decade ago, the ladies all seemed older – in their 70s and 80s. They explained to me that they had started the Home Guild 50-60 years earlier because the Ladies Guild was all the old ladies. (Their words, not mine.) The Home Guild was designed for the stay-at-home moms. The ladies of the Home Guild used to serve lots of meals to all the businesses that were around Epiphany decades ago.

We don’t have a Home Guild anymore. Only a few ladies are left. The rest have all been called home to heaven. Shirley is one of those ladies. She, and the rest of the Home Guild ladies, don’t have to worry about serving meals anymore. Jesus has prepared a banquet feast for them, and the rest of His saints. They are His guests of honor.

Jesus is Shirley’s Good Shepherd. He brought her into His flock through baptism as an infant. He fed her with the green pastures and quiet waters of His Word at St. Peters and Epiphany Lutheran Churches. He was with Einer and Shirley as they raised Susan and Nancy in their Lutheran faith. It was that same faith made Shirley strong in her convictions, humble, yet fearless. It is that faith in her Savior that took away the fear of death. She was able to fall asleep in the Lord on Wednesday morning and wake up in her new home in God’s heavenly mansion.

No more oxygen. No more living with David and Nancy. No more feeling like a burden because Susan lived farther away and Nancy had to put up with her – even though we all told her that she was a delight and not a burden. No more sins.

Jesus has removed her sins. He has made Shirley perfect. He has given her the gracious reward of 90 years of faith. Shirley has walked through the dark valley of death. Her Good Shepherd walked with her every step of the way.  Death is an unwelcome intruder. But, the Good Shepherd has once again used death to bring another blood-bought sheep home to heaven. Amen.