Funeral Sermon for Juanita Cline, 31 January 2012

The Rev. Paul J Cain

Isaiah 43: 1-7

I Have a Pastor

Funeral Sermon for Juanita Cline

Tuesday of Epiphany 4, 31 January 2012.

Kane Funeral Home

While Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, WY

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Pastors often wonder if they make a difference. Juanita’s family told me that she told them: “I have a pastor. And he’s good-looking.” I consider her words to be a high compliment. Those of you who knew Juanita well know that these words sure sound like her. I cherish the first sentence especially: “I have a pastor.” That means the world to me. She heard the comfort of Christ in her time of need in Word, Song, and Prayer.

I was still getting to know Juanita Cline at the time of her death. Recently, her family asked if I could pay her a visit. I was honored to be asked. She wasn’t very responsive during our first official visit. She was lying on her bed. I read God’s Word. I sang a variety of hymns. I prayed over her and for her. Her eyes paid attention. And she smiled.

Some months before, I had helped escort her back to her room from where she had lunch. Juanita was a lot more talkative that day and on most of our other visits as well. Usually, I would hear her out first and then ask, “May I share a devotion with you today, Juanita?” And she would usually respond, “Well, sure!” 

She heard Advent and Christmas hymns in recent months. Not only did Juanita Cline have a Pastor in me, she had a true Pastor in the Good Shepherd, our Lord Jesus Christ, just as Psalm 23 declares. The word “pastor” is just another word for “shepherd.” “The Lord is my Pastor,” Juanita could say.

Today, based on a devotion I gave to her family as we were finalizing today’s service, I would like to give you comfort from Isaiah 43:1–7.

But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.

This is what the Lord says over every one of His beloved children in Holy Baptism, when they are named in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

²When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.

“The Waters” and “fire” are first to be understood in the way of law, of judgment. Think of the destructive potential of a house fire or a city-wide flood. And what does the Lord do? He shows us the depth of His own Word in the way of Good News, of Gospel in Christ Jesus. He washes us in Baptism, forgiving our sins, and gives us the peace that surpasses all understanding. He gives us holy fire, the Holy Spirit Himself who dwells in each Christian as in a temple.

³For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.

Why? Isaiah continues prophesying the Word of the Lord:

⁴Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life.

The Loves those whom He has created. He sends His own Son as a substitute for the salvation of His creatures. The idea of exchange is nothing new. We know about substitute players in sporting events. Jesus is Juanita’s substitute. He is your substitute. His life was given on the cross of Calvary to give us forgiveness, life, and salvation.

⁵Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. ⁶I will say to the north, Give up, and to the south, Do not withhold; bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

You are called by His Name. Jesus will one day gather His holy people from the North, South, East, and West. The whole Earth will declare His glory. He calls you to Himself, just as He called Juanita by name and called her home to Himself. He formed and made her. He created her for His glory. She still is His offspring. And she is a precious daughter of the Lord who has been forgiven, redeemed, restored, and saved in the precious name of Jesus Christ. He is her Good Shepherd. Jesus is her Pastor. Juanita now dwells with her true pastor in the green pastures and still waters of heaven itself. And Jesus, Son of Man, Son of God, Redeemer of the world, and her pastor, is very good-looking. Amen.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.