Depart in Peace
The Funeral of Lysle Coleman – December 28, 2024
Luke 2:25-32
Rev. Christopher W. Brademeyer
That portion of God’s holy Word for consideration this morning is our Gospel lesson from the holy Gospel of St. Luke’s second chapter with special emphasis on verses twenty-nine through thirty-two which read as follows:
“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”[1]
Thus far the Scriptures.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Dear friends in Christ, we are gathered here today to lay to rest our dear brother Lysle to rest. And, as such, this occasion gives us the ability to ponder on a few things. There is, of course, the desire to remember the life of Lysle. He was, after all, a devoted husband of nearly seventy years and a loving father. There are a great many things that can be said of a man who lived here among us for nearly eighty-eight years. There is the farm, his work ethic, and all the things that come with that.
But there is another dimension to Lysle’s life, one that both was a major part of his time here and which has implications for us today. Lysle is a Christian. He spent much time with his Lord Jesus in and among the Church of God, first at Immanuel in Stirum and here at St. John’s. The reason that this is important is that Christ, the One that Christians like Lysle put their trust and faith in, Christ is the difference in these times.
Our Lord promises to grant us peace.[2] That is to say, He gives us a confidence that comes by knowing Him and His victory over sin, death, and the devil for us. A victory that was hand delivered personally to each of us by holy Baptism. We who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ and, as St. Paul says, we who have put on Christ have been united to Him in His saving death so that we have the promise of being raised from the dead just as Christ Himself was.[3] Therefore, we may, even should, grieve Lysle, but we do not do so without hope in Christ and His work of salvation for Lysle, and, indeed, all of humanity.[4]
Sometimes we Christians forget what the Church is all about. Lysle spent many years in the churches he was a member of doing various things. He heard many sermons, took the Lord’s Supper many times. And sometimes these things can seem rote or uninspiring. But God was not absent even when these things seemed familiar or boring. God promises to visit Himself in salvation on believers who hear His Word. Our Lord Jesus promises to give His life-giving body and blood for the benefit of those who eat and drink it in the Lord’s Supper in faith. This is to say something very simple: the congregations of the Christian Church really do one thing. They make us ready to die, to meet Christ, and to enjoy the full measure of His salvation there.
Our text today from Luke chapter two is contains a canticle, a biblical song called the Nunc Dimittis, which his Latin for “now let you depart,” referring to the first words sung by Simeon when he beheld the infant Jesus. And the departing he sings about here is not an exit from the Temple where he encountered the Lord, but is referring to his departing of this life in death. Like Lysle, Simeon was an old man, who had been given many years. There were certainly good things in those years given to Simeon, just like those that were given to Lysle, but there is also sadness, suffering, and weariness that came in them as well. After a length of years, a man grows tired. And, if he knows the Lord Jesus as His Savior, such a man will also want to depart in peace.
The peace of the Lord comes through His Word, this is true, but it if from His death on the cross, where He gave His life for Lysle and all people. Lysle departed in peace, that is, in Christian faith. True peace, lasting peace, is Christ Jesus and through Him has been given to all people who believe in Him. Lysle is one of these. From the time he was baptized many years ago to his last moment, Lysle was kept in Christ by the power of the Word of God and the work of the Holy Spirit. He may have had some difficulties and hard times, but God never forgot or forsook him. And this was all to prepare him for this day, the day he met his Lord face to face.
Lysle indeed has departed in peace, just as Simeon before him, through the peace and righteousness of Christ Jesus His Lord.
In the holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.
[1] Luke 2:29-32 English Standard Version
[2] John14:27
[3] Romans 6:4
[4] 1 Thessalonians 4:13
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