The Rev. Paul J Cain
Philippians 2:5-11
Servant
Funeral Sermon for Harold Brantz
Friday after Epiphany, 11 January 2013, 2:30 p.m.
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, WY
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jesus said: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and
they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no
one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is
greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand (John
10:27-29).
These verses of John 10 inspired Julie von Hausmann to write
the original German version of “Lord, Take My Hand and Lead Me,” a hymn dear to
Harold Brantz, a hymn of “infinite trust in divine guidance,” and one that has
long been a favorite as a confirmation hymn in the Lutheran Church. Harold was
born and baptized in 1938 and was confirmed in the old church building in 1953
on March 29th. That day, the confirmands heard Philippians 2: 5-11
read as the Epistle, for their Confirmation Day was also Palm Sunday.
5Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours
in Christ Jesus, 6who, though he was in the form of God, did not
count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7but made himself
nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8And
being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point
of death, even death on a cross. 9Therefore God has highly exalted
him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10so that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under
the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to
the glory of God the Father.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man is our
Savior and our Servant. In His birth, life, ministry, death, and Resurrection,
Jesus did for us what none of us could do for ourselves, winning forgiveness,
life, and salvation for us, and defeating sin, death, and the devil.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, son of God and son of Man is our
Savior and our Servant. Jesus said that he came not to be served, but to serve.
In this way, Jesus is also our Example to imitate as well as our Savior. As I
told the family as we reviewed Harold’s requests for his funeral service, his
final witness of Christ to you, his beloved family and friends, Harold Brantz
imitated His Lord Christ as a servant to his wife, family, and the congregation
and school so near and dear to him.
I am told that Harold may have loved vacuuming the carpets
here in the nave of the church in part because they were red, his favorite
color. The shed red blood of Jesus covers all of Harold’s sin. Harold
considered it a great privilege to mow the lawns of the church, school, and
parsonage. I was personally grateful because of the extra time that gave me
with my family or to work as Pastor and Headmaster. On Monday morning, Pat and
I prayed Psalm 23 together, remembering the “green pastures” of the lawns on
the church block that Harold cared for with that orange riding mower.
As Head Usher, he would call the church office each week and
leave a message of who the ushers would be the following Sunday. His messages
usually included some personal encouragement for the church office. He already
had ushers lined up for next Sunday! We at Immanuel knew Harold as a kid at
heart, a trusted friend, a dedicated Trustee, and a friendly Head Usher. We
will miss his million dollar smile.
Members of his family knew him as “papa,” “Hurly,” a fierce
opponent in an epic series of Hand and Foot card games until late in the night,
a hunter of elk and buffalo and many other delicious creatures, the fisherman
without a net, trolling at the wrong speed with a frog in the boat, and the
loving father and grandfather that drove by and honked his love and concern for
his family. His was the place for ice cream, fireworks, BBQs family pranks, and
football on Sunday, but only after Church on Sunday morning.
Harold bowed his knees in worship of Christ. To the glory of
God the Father, Harold confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord. In response to the
gifts of Christ, Harold served. His service was humble, usually behind the
scenes, and part of his thanks to the Lord who took his hand in Holy Baptism,
Confirmed Him in Christ, fed him with His own Body and Blood for the forgiveness
of sins in the Lord’s Supper, and who united him in holy matrimony to Pat in
January of 1958 in the Lutheran parsonage because this church building had yet
to be completed.
Harold Earl Brantz was a servant because Jesus Christ served
him first. This service this afternoon is part of Harold’s enduring witness to
Christ as his Lord and Savior. He chose the hymns and we chose the Bible
readings based on those hymns and the Epistle reading from his Confirmation
day, the day he confirmed with his own heart, mind, and mouth the confession of
Jesus made at his baptism. Harold continued “steadfast in the confession of
this Church.” The God of all grace, who called us unto His eternal glory by
Christ Jesus, has made Harold perfect, established, strengthened, and settled
him, and kept him through faith unto eternal life. Now he is at peace, at rest,
and still in Christ, as we wait with angels, archangels, and all the saints in
heaven for the Last Day, Judgment Day, the great Day of Resurrection and the
reunion of body and soul in the new heaven and new earth of the Lord.
May our prayer this day be that of the final stanza of
Harold’s confirmation hymn: Lord, when the shadows lengthen And night has come,
I know that you will strengthen My steps toward home. Then nothing can impede
me, O blessed friend; So take my hand and lead me Unto the end. Amen.
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
