Lenten funeral homily

This is the time in the Christian year when we prepare our hearts for Easter. It is a time of reflection and penitence, or repentance and lament. Just this last Wednesday we celebrated Ash Wednesday. It is a more somber service focused on death. From dust you have come and to dust you will return. We are marked with the ash and reminded that our human life is finite. While the mood is somber, it is not distraught, for even as we are reminded of our own mortality, we cannot help but look ahead to Easter. We know that because of Christ our story does not end with death, but instead with resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.

It is because of Christ we have hope. It is because of the resurrection on Easter morning that we can celebrate a life and not just mourn a death. For we know that we will be reunited one day, we trust that ________ is already celebrating with the angels as he is restored to wholeness in mind, body, and spirit.

This hope does mean we do not mourn. It does not mean we will not cry or lament or ask God why. Our grief is real. Our loss is tremendous. ________’s absence is palpable. Our sorrow is great. And yet, in the midst of that sorrow, we still have Christ’s promise to us.

In my father’s house there are many dwelling places. I go and prepare a place for you,[and] I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.

God sent God’s only Son out of love for us….in order to save us. And he has conquered sin and death and offered us new life through him. And he has gone into heaven and prepared a place for us. There is a room for each of us in God’s house. We are welcomed in with gracious hospitality. Today, as we say goodbye to Harley, we can imagine him in God’s mansion, celebrating in the fullness of God’s glory. In offering salvation and creating a place for us, Christ wraps us in assurance. He tells us, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.

There is peace in God’s promises. There is peace in knowing that when our life on earth returns to ashes and dust, our life in heaven has only just begun. Let us give thanks for _________ and the promises of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Ash Wednesday Funeral Homily

This is the time in the Christian year when we prepare our hearts for Easter. It is a time of reflection and penitence, or repentance and lament. Just this last Wednesday we celebrated Ash Wednesday. It is a more somber service focused on death. From dust you have come and to dust you will return. We are marked with the ash and reminded that our human life is finite. While the mood is somber, it is not distraught, for even as we are reminded of our own mortality, we cannot help but look ahead to Easter. We know that because of Christ our story does not end with death, but instead with resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.

It is because of Christ we have hope. It is because of the resurrection on Easter morning that we can celebrate a life and not just mourn a death. For we know that we will be reunited one day, we trust that __________ is already celebrating with the angels as he is restored to wholeness in mind, body, and spirit.

This hope does mean we do not mourn. It does not mean we will not cry or lament or ask God why. Our grief is real. Our loss is tremendous. _______’s absence is palpable. Our sorrow is great. And yet, in the midst of that sorrow, we still have Christ’s promise to us.

In my father’s house there are many dwelling places. I go and prepare a place for you,[and] I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.

God sent God’s only Son out of love for us….in order to save us. And he has conquered sin and death and offered us new life through him. And he has gone into heaven and prepared a place for us. There is a room for each of us in God’s house. We are welcomed in with gracious hospitality. Today, as we say goodbye to __________, we can imagine him in God’s mansion, celebrating in the fullness of God’s glory. In offering salvation and creating a place for us, Christ wraps us in assurance. He tells us, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.

There is peace in God’s promises. There is peace in knowing that when our life on earth returns to ashes and dust, our life in heaven has only just begun. Let us give thanks for ____________ and the promises of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.