+ Walter H.W. Thies +

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!

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

For the mountains may depart

and the hills be removed,

but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,

and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”

says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

Many years ago, this verse - Isaiah 54:10 - was given to Walter Henry William Thies as his confirmation verse. It has stood him in good stead throughout his life, and it now provides a message of great comfort and peace for us who mourn his death.

Mountains may depart and hills may be removed. Think of how the landscape around you has changed throughout the years. Think of how your families, your communities, your congregations have changed throughout the years. Time, like an ever-rolling stream, so quickly and silently carries the world through the ages. Nothing stands still in this life. As King Solomon said, there is a season for everything, and a time for everything under the sun. There is a time to live and a time to die, a time to laugh and a time to mourn, for all of us.

We are born into a transitory world. Even in the womb, in the very midst of life, we are in death. The dying begins as soon as life begins. Throughout every person’s lifetime, death torments the mortal body. Whether you live a hundred years or whether you live one hour, you are surrounded by death, from start to finish.

Just look around, and see the effects of death on this world. Even as the world is just waking from winter, we see what the icy fingers of death have wrought. Floods, damage from ice and snow, car crashes. Falls on slick pavement. Colds and flu. And with the coming of spring comes allergy season, the risky business of planting and farming, and the strains and stresses of summertime.

Consider how quickly the features of this life can be taken away. Mountains and hills can be moved in a night by a strong wind or a flash flood. Life begins in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, and with a breath life on this earth ends.

And so you strive to enjoy life the best you can. Enjoy the seasons as they turn, the colors and sights and smells of the years as they go by. Relish the experiences that life brings. Treasure the love of family and friends. Use and appreciate the wondrous creation that God has placed you into. But remember that these things, like all mortal flesh, are temporary.

However, what is not temporary is the steadfast love of the Lord. In this blessed Easter week, we celebrate the joyous hope that comes from our Lord’s resurrection from the dead. Our Lord Jesus Christ, though He is God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, took on the substance of our mortal flesh, that He might suffer on the cross, die for the sins of the world, and be raised again through the glory of the Father. The joy of Easter is that death is dead, and life is everlasting!

It was necessary for these things to happen, just as Jesus said they would. It was necessary because of the world’s sin. It was necessary because of Walter’s sin, because of my sin, because of your sin. None of you are perfect; none of you have kept the Law. All of you deserve death. But because of this, it was necessary that Jesus Christ come into your flesh, take up the weight of your sin and guilt, and bear it to the cross. There it was nailed along with His mortal flesh. And there it remains.

That is the steadfast love of the Lord in action. This Jesus, whom you crucified by your sins and evil desires, has risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. The steadfast love of the Lord stands fast in this, that while you were yet sinners, Christ died for you. He died for Walter. He died for all mankind. He died, that you might have life, and have it abundantly.

This is the covenant of peace which shall never be removed. Death is swallowed up in death. The death of a Christian - the death of Walter - is but a slumber, declares the Lord God. Jesus Christ has died, that you might rest in the grave, safe in His keeping until His reappearing. Death no longer has dominion over Jesus, and neither does it have control over those who are in Him. Death has no sting, and the grave has no victory.

The Lord has compassion on His servants. He called Walter to faith through the waters of Holy Baptism. He led Walter in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake, that Walter might confess the faith once given to him in the font and receive the Holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. He has hidden Walter’s life in His own, that His compassion toward Walter might have no bounds. For our heavenly Father gave even His only-begotten Son, that Walter might be His own dear child.

And He gives that same forgiveness, life, and salvation to all, to as many as call on the Name of the Lord. He gives the power of salvation to all who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the glorious compassion of our God. He has not left us in the midst of death, but He has given His life that you might have life. He has paid the price to make you His own, that you might walk the same path along which He led Walter, that you may one day stand with Him - yes, stand - before the throne of God and join your voices with the whole host of heaven in worshiping the Lamb who stands in the midst of the throne.

Your hearts are heavy within you this day. You have lost a dear loved one. The Body of Christ aches with you, for we have all suffered the loss of our own member, of our brother.

It is alright to grieve for your loss. You are separated from those who have gone before you in faith. But they have gone before you in faith! They are not dead, but alive in Christ! Death no longer has dominion over them, because they are secure in Jesus. Those who are asleep in Christ are no longer suffering, no longer mourning, no longer hoping, for they have the consummation of what we eagerly await. Those who are asleep in Christ are not angels in the sky, nor are they looking down and watching you. They are gazing upon the face of Jesus Christ, our blessed Savior. They are feasting at the heavenly banquet. They are beyond the tears and cares of this world.

But they have not left you alone and forsaken. For they, being united with Christ, are partakers with you of the heavenly banquet. Each time you approach the Lord’s Table, heaven and earth are joined in a great and glorious mystery, wherein the Lord Himself, surrounded by the whole heavenly host, is present to give you His Body and Blood. You worship the Risen Christ in communion - in unity - with the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. You join your hearts and hands and voices to their ceaseless worship and partake with them of the heavenly banquet. If you want to be in the presence of Walter and all those blessed saints who have gone before, do not visit the cemetery, but the Altar.

Do not seek the living among the dead. Christ is not in the cemetery; He has risen! Though the bodies of our loved ones rest in their tombs, they are living in and with and through Christ. You are with them when you partake with them of the Blessed Feast. This is the compassion of the Lord, this is the covenant of peace which shall never be removed from you.

I know that my Redeemer lives;

What comfort this sweet sentence gives!

He lives, He lives, who once was dead;

He lives, my ever-living Head (LSB 461.1).

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

Christ is Risen! Alleluia!