In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”
Eloise Gesell was many things in her life. She was a daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother, great- and great-great-grandmother. She was a member of the community and a member of this parish. She was a skilled homemaker and gardener.
None of these things could have been accomplished without loss, in some measure. To be a child means acknowledging that you cannot provide for yourself, that you are reliant upon your parents to nurture you in body and soul. To be a sibling means that you must give up any exclusive claim upon the affections of your parents; you must learn to share. To be a husband or wife means that you must give up a measure of your independence and live not for yourself but for the one to whom our Lord has bound you. To be a parent means that you must look not only to your own needs and wants, but to those of the children God has given to you; you must be responsible for them and their well-being. Even to be a successful gardener requires sacrifice – you must submit the toil of your hands and the sweat of your brow to the ground, and pray for the bounty of the earth to spring forth.
There are many voices in this world which call us to forsake sacrifice, personal loss, and death. The spirit of this age would have you shirk responsibility and assert your own independence. Why should you go to work? The state will send a check each month. Why should you work in the garden? It is far easier just to go to the grocery store, and pay for the fruits of someone else's toil. Why should you fuss and fret over your kids? Just don't have any. Or, if you happen to procreate, shove them off on the state, for someone else to raise. If you want to keep them, the state will pay for their care, and the teachers at school will teach them everything they need to know.
In today's world, sacrifice is passe. Self-reliance, self-realization, and self-indulgence are the ideal.
However, Jesus tells us in our gospel lesson that one must die in order to bring forth fruit. You must give up yourself and your selfish preoccupations in order to bear fruit. Truly, you must die first. But that death Eloise experienced long ago. In the waters of Holy Baptism, she was drowned and died, with all sins and evil desires. In those waters, she passed through the watery grave and was brought back up into life in Christ. Crucified with Christ, therefore, she brought forth the fruits of Christ in her life.
For although we all must die to sin, it is Jesus Christ who paid the true penalty for our sins and guilt. He is the pure, innocent victim who was killed for our transgressions. He is the seed who was thrown into the earth, who died to bring forth much fruit. Under Him, the accursed tree bloomed bright crimson and watered the earth from His pierced side. From the cross, the seed was planted which is the great tree sprouting from the stump of Jesse. Into that tree was Eloise grafted, as were each of us baptized into Christ. From that accursed tree flows our life, and through us, that tree bears much and great fruit. Just as Jesus was buried in the earth and bore much fruit, so we are buried with Him into His death, so that we may rise with Him in eternal life. “If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also.” Because Eloise followed Jesus and served Him throughout her life, we can trust that she is now with Him in paradise.
When the grain of wheat is buried in the ground, it dies, but brings forth a whole head of new grains. From these grains, a loaf of bread is made. When our Lord died, He gave us life, and made us all into the one loaf – the one Body of Christ.
Though today we will commit the earthly remains of Eloise Gesell to the ground, the seeds she has sown will live on in those whose lives she touched and shaped with the love of Christ. Though she has died in her body, the fruits of her faith will live on in the example of love and service to God that will remain in hearts and memories. And we will continue to live on, knowing that today she is with Jesus in paradise, and there she will await the day when each of us enters there, and finally when we are all reunited, body and soul, before the throne of the Lamb in heaven. And before the throne we shall rest in the garden surrounding the Tree of Life, whose fruit we shall evermore enjoy. “Even so, Lord Jesus, quickly come!”
In the Name of Jesus. Amen.
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