Committal Service: March 06, 2021
Jesus, lead Thou on
till our rest is won;
And although the way
be cheerless,
We will follow calm
and fearless,
Guide us by Thy hand
To our Fatherland.
If the way be drear,
If the foe be near,
Let not faithless fears o’ertake us;
Let not faith and hope forsake us;
For through many a woe
To
our home we go.
When we seek relief
From a long felt
grief,
When temptations
come alluring,
Make us patient and
enduring,
Show us that bright
shore
Where we weep no more.
Jesus, lead Thou on
Till our rest is
won.
Heav’nly leader,
still direct us,
Still support,
console, protect us,
Till we safely stand
In our fatherland.[1]
Death is so limited…
It has not crippled love,
It has not shattered hope,
It has not corroded faith,
It has not eaten away peace
Nor destroyed confidence
It has not killed friendship,
It has not shut out memories,
It has not silenced courage,
It has not invaded the soul,
Nor reduced eternal life.
It has not quenched the Spirit,
It cannot, has not,
Nor will not
lessen the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ![2]
Almighty and most merciful God, in
this earthly life we endure sufferings and death before we enter into eternal
glory. Grant us grace at all times to subject ourselves to Your holy will and
to continue steadfast in the true faith to the end of our lives that we may
know the peace and joy of the blessed hope of the resurrection of the dead and
of the glory of the world to come.[3]
Lord Jesus, bless Thy Word, that we might trust in Thee.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own
doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9
In this world we will
confront the trauma of suffering. We experience grief and loss. This loss
reminds us of just what kind of world to which Jesus came — a hostile world
that not only did not want Him, but tried to kill and destroy Him.
No, no one can take
your pain away. But there is someone who understands that pain. You see, there
is a person who knows and understands you. His name is Jesus Christ. We need to
remember, especially today, that there was a nativity. Jesus entered time and space to be human just
like you.
In that manger, the
Son of God didn’t just insert Himself into human activities. He inserted
Himself in the grittiness of human flesh. He was also a person who knew pain
and anger. He became angry Himself on occasions, and ultimately was the victim
of anger. This life that you live. Your struggles. Your anger. Your weakness. Your
woes. Your sorrows - your Lord knows
all. Even your joys exactly. Because He became a man.
The coming of Jesus
into our world changes everything. For we do not have a God who was too proud
to know His people. Or, a God content to rule from a great distance. Or, a God
whose majesty was too awesome for us to behold. We have just the opposite.
Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph, who experienced the very same humanity, the
very same problems, and the very same challenges that we do.
No, you do not walk
this road alone. Jesus is the God who came down from heaven. He was that man. “He was despised and rejected by men, a man
of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Surely
he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he
was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us
peace, and with his wounds we are healed. –Isaiah 53:3-5
Terry’s passing
reminds us that we are living in a broken world outside of Eden. We live in a
world filled with disappointment, wounds and loss.
Today, show your scars
to Jesus and He will show you His. He will take your scarred heart in his
scarred hands and love you, and love you, and love you still more; until all
that matters is not the scar upon your heart, but the scar embedded in His
hand.
Terry has taken a walk - from one end of
God’s kingdom to the other – from the kingdom of grace into the kingdom of
glory. He closed his eyes to this world and when he opened them again, he saw
Jesus face to face.
Today we celebrate
Terry’s victory of life.
God is
completely responsible for our salvation from front to back! We don’t one-day
wake up and decide to follow Jesus – He plants the seed of faith in our heart.
He then nourishes that faith by giving us His eternal Word, which is able to
make us wise unto salvation.
This is
what St. Paul reminds us when he tells us in Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by
works, so that no one can boast.”
Terry
McAllister knew he was a sinner. He
knew the scriptures well, which simply says, “All have fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:28
Yet, pay attention to the clear words, and the gentle voice of Terry’s Good Shepherd Jesus who says, “All that which the Father gives me shall come unto me; and he that comes to me I will in no wise cast out”. John 6:37
Terry knew of this reality that when God pardons, He does not say He understands your weakness or make allowances for your errors. Rather, He disposes of, finishes with, the whole of your dead life and raises you up with a new one.
He does not so much deal with your failures as does He drop them down the black hole of Jesus' death. He forgets your sins in the darkness of the tomb. He remembers your iniquities no more in the forgetfulness of Jesus' death.
He finds you in the desert of death, not in the garden of improvement. And in the power of Jesus' resurrection, He puts you on His shoulders, rejoicing, and brings you home![4]
Terry understood grace. And Grace is karma's worst nightmare: we get the exact opposite of what we deserve. Grace is found in the God who loves us all; who loved us even unto death, even death on a cross.
In the
gospel of John, Jesus came to visit a grieving family. He came to greet Mary
and Martha who were grieving the loss of their brother Lazarus. In His
conversation with them Jesus said, “I am
the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he
dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” Then He asks, “Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26
We each
must ponder this question…
(1) - Is
Jesus the resurrection and the life? The testimony of Scripture is undeniable!
– The early disciples would simply say, “We
are witnesses of these things!” Acts 5:32; 10:39
(2) - Do
you believe – that whoever believes in Jesus, even though they die will live
and not die?
Terry believed this – he knew that he was a
sinner. But he also knew that Christ is compassionate who has promised to
forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness –
For this
reason we can say that Terry McAllister is
alive, he is well, he is whole, he is at peace, he is in the very presence of
Jesus his Savior. And, if we continue in this same faith, we will see each
other – never to be separated by distance or space. That is why you and I are
and always will be Easter people.
If there
is one thing, I have learned in life it is this - we cannot go it alone. We
need each other. We need a Savior. Our Lord Jesus has given us a wonderful
promise. – May it be yours this day. – “I
am with you always.” Were the last words Jesus spoke to humans while He was
standing on this earth. This is not a wish. – It is a reality we know by faith.
Terry knew the
Savior’s voice. Now he sees His face.
This
service is for the living. –Terry McAllister was given the opportunity to live his life. – We continue on. -
Life will be different. – There shall be a new sense of “normal” in your
routines. - But we walk by faith. – Until that day comes in your life when
Jesus will call you from this world to a world that has no end. – From an earthly
kingdom – to a heavenly kingdom – From a place which is limited to a place that
is beyond time & space. May the Savior so walk with you until we are
re-united with those who have gone before us.
[1] Jesus Lead Thou On, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
[2] Unknown source, copyright © Common Domain
[3] A Prayer in times of affliction and distress, Lutheran Service Book © 2006 Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis
[4] Robert Farrar Capon, Parables of Grace, pg. 3
Illustration of The Crucifixion is from a woodcut by Baron Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1794-1872, a distinguished German artist known especially for his book, The Book of Books in Pictures. Copyright © WLS permission granted for personal and congregational use
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