Homily for Burial of a Stillborn

"The Lord Will Not Cast Off"
Lamentations 3:22-33; 1 John 3:1-3; Mark 10:13-16

Delivered at Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, MO
May 17, 2017

Henry Niels Peter Adelsen. A mere 23 weeks old, as counted in utero—still in mommy’s tummy. How we wish we could have met him, and held him, and seen a smile on his face, and heard a giggle of delight burst forth. How we wish we could have gotten to know him.

But our gracious God knew him…and still knows him. Henry’s frame was not hidden from our Lord when he was being made in secret, intricately woven in the deep darkness of mommy’s tummy. The eyes of our living Lord saw Henry’s unformed substance, the days formed for him, few though they may be this side of eternity.

So we gather here today with hearts aching, minds numbed, eyes filled with tears…and yet still hopeful in the midst of loss, actually daring to rejoice in the midst of sorrow. As we prayed just minutes ago: “How precious to me are Your thoughts, O God! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you” (Psalm 139:17-18).

Even in the midst of things we cannot understand, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.” Even when we ache and cry and feel numb, “His mercies never come to an end.” Great is Jesus’ faithfulness to you, Peter, to you, Melissa, and, yes, also to Henry.

The American Pregnancy Association gives some advice about how to grieve after going through a stillbirth—things such as talking to people about how you feel, joining a support group with others who have experienced this, and writing about your feelings in a journal or in a letter to your baby. Such things can indeed help as we process our thoughts and feelings as we walk through this valley of the shadow of death. But in Christ Jesus and in His Church, we have the ultimate medicine that brings true healing to our broken hearts, genuine salve for our numbness, and the ultimate wiping away of our tears. It’s called Easter—the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

When St. Paul proclaimed the truth and the joys of Jesus’ victory over the grave, he also counted up those who actually saw the risen Lord. First, Cephas—that’s Peter. Then the Twelve. Then 500 other brothers at one time. Then James and all the sent out ones. Jesus loves to make His resurrection known to as many as possible. Then St. Paul says of himself, “Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me” (1 Corinthians 15:8). Even though Paul had not followed Jesus before His crucifixion, even though Paul tried to snuff out the Christians after Jesus’ resurrection, the Lord Jesus still appeared to…and saved…and enlivened…the Apostle Paul.

And that Greek word for “untimely born” is quite fascinating. It literally means “miscarried” or even “still born.” It’s Paul’s way of saying that he did not at all deserve to be reborn by the risen Lord. Well, the same goes for all of us who are conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity (Psalm 51:5). The new birth of our Lord’s resurrection, the new birth of our Baptism, takes all of us who are “untimely born” and graciously makes us children of God, heirs of His eternity of life. “See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.” And, trusting God’s rich and bountiful mercy, so is Henry. “We are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him.” And how is that? Resurrected. Living. No more tears. No more heartache. No more death.

King David also confesses Jesus’ resurrection for a time such as this. Remember how he had been absolved of his sins in “Bathsheba-gate.” And right on the heels of that affair, David’s son by Bathsheba became sick and died. David had fasted and prayed, hoping the Lord would spare the child. But, alas, no. Sometimes God just wants to call an innocent child home to Himself, you know. Then David’s advisors became alarmed. “Oh, no! He fasted and wept while the child was alive. What will he do now that the child is dead? The king may just go off the deep end.” But upon hearing that his son had died, David—liberated by God’s lovingkindness and absolution—got up, cleaned up, and ate a full meal. The advisors were flummoxed. “What in the world is going on, your Majesty?”

So David confesses the resurrection of Jesus: “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ But now he is dead. Why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me” (2 Samuel 12:23-34). Such is the comfort, such is the confidence, and such is the joy that Jesus’ resurrection works in all of God’s people. We cannot bring little Henry back. Peter and Melissa, little Henry may not return to you, but in Christ Jesus you shall go to him on that great Day of the Resurrection.

You see, this Jesus who has conquered the grave in all of its manifestations is the Son of David par excellence. He is the One who has suffered, bled, and died. He is the One who triumphantly stormed the gates of hell to release us who are held captive by the power of death. He is the One who did return to us, the One who rose victorious on the third day. He is the One to whom we go in the sleep of our death. He is the one who has brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel—life and immortality for all of us, including little Henry.

So, yes, our Lord Jesus, our resurrected Savior, knows little Henry. And He holds Him in His arms until the Day of Resurrection. After all, this is the same loving Lord who said, “Let the little children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.” Now, Peter and Melissa, your mere 23-week old son becomes your role model for all of life. How so? Henry did nothing, but he received everything. He received life from His Creator who knew him even in the womb. Now he receives life from his Savior to carry him into eternity.

It’s how we all live—on the receiving end of God’s life-giving ways—no matter how many weeks, months, or years we are given. We receive everything from our Father’s hands, through His Son and in His Spirit. New life given in our Baptism. Life-giving healing in words of Absolution heard week in and week out. And forgiveness, life, and salvation put in our mouths with the living Body and Blood of Jesus every time we kneel at the Lord’s Table. God gives; we receive. Just like St. Paul. Just like King David. Just like little Henry.

So while the tears will flow for a time, and while the heartache and numbness may dissipate over time—though perhaps never completely this side of the Resurrection—we can actually find comfort and rejoice in the midst of sorrow. God knows you and what you now go through. Precious are His thoughts. And when you and I, and all of God’s baptized people, awake, we will see Him. After all, “The Lord will not cast off forever,” and “He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love.” Amen.

Homily for Lent 5 - Judica - 2017

"Never See Death"
John 8:42-59

Listen here.

They picked up stones to throw at Jesus, but He hid Himself and went out of the temple.

Why did they want to kill Jesus? Because He was telling them things that didn’t fit into what they thought their religion was. Earlier He told them they were from below, but He was from above. He told them they were of this world, but He was not of this world (John 8:23). Earlier He told them, “If you abide in my word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31).

They replied by saying that they were descendants of Abraham, that they had never not been free, that they had never been enslaved to anyone. I guess they conveniently forgot the facts of their past and their present—slavery in Egypt, exile in Babylon, and then occupation by Rome. They misunderstood what Jesus was telling them. He meant that they were slaves to sin and death. He meant that He, the Son, had come to set them free. But they would not recognize or admit their slavery. And thus they would not accept Jesus’ Word. So they remained enslaved in their sin.

Then in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” Another word of Jesus that they have difficulty hearing and accepting. Who does this Jesus think He is? Our Father Abraham died. The prophets died. Everyone dies. So Jesus has to tell them yet another word: “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

Who is this Man? This is the Son of God, the eternal Son of the Father, the One who was with the Father before all things were made. This is the One who became incarnate, who came into our world, who took on our flesh and bone and body. He is the timeless One, the One who existed before Abraham, and yet He also became Abraham’s descendant. He is the One—the only One—who can say, ”If anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”

Scripture gives no record of these exact words being spoken to Abraham, but it is the Word that Abraham believed, kept, and held onto. Remember how he saddled his donkey and took his only son, whom he loved, to the mountain as the Lord directed him. Remember how he took the wood and laid it on the back of his beloved son. Remember how he built the altar, most likely with the help of his son, and then tied up his son and laid him on top of the altar. Abraham held onto the Word of the Lord as “he considered that God was able even to raise [Isaac] from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back” (Heb. 11:19). Yes, Abraham believed and kept the Word of the Lord, and that day his son Isaac did not see death.

Genesis says that God did this to test Abraham. But it was more than a test; it was also a type, a picture, a forecast of another Son of Abraham, our Lord Jesus Himself. Jesus is the promised Son who carries the wood of His cross upon His back, and He goes back up Calvary’s mountain to make the great sacrifice to save us from our sin. He is the beloved Son who is bound—willingly—and laid upon the altar of the cross to rescue us from death. He is the Lamb whom God provides for Himself for a burnt offering. He is the Lamb who is offered for us, who is willingly caught in the thicket of our sin and wears the crown of thorns upon His head. Yes, on that Mount of the Lord, Jesus provided our deliverance from sin and death.

So, yes, Jesus can say, if anyone keeps His Word, that person will never see death. Because Jesus came to see death for us. He came to drink the cup of suffering in order that we may be released from death’s power. He came to be our High Priest who entered into the Holy Place of Heaven and with His own blood gained everlasting redemption for His people, that we might receive the promised eternal inheritance. He came to offer Himself without blemish to God and spill His innocent blood to purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. As we keep and hold onto His Word, we are rescued from death’s sting and its eternal judgment.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” You also have His Word. If you keep it and hold onto it, you gain a share in that life which is stronger than death. Martin Luther proclaimed it this way: “Whoever, therefore, heeds God’s Word has both its glory and benefit: glory, in that he is of God and is God’s child; benefit, in that the Word which he believes saves him. And though he will still become ill, be assailed somewhat by the devil, and experience physical death, yet at the moment his soul is released he will, as it were, fall asleep and come into Christ’s bosom, with the angels ministering to him and bearing him up, so that his foot is not dashed against a stone, as promised in Psalm 91:12” (House Postils, 1:364).

“Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” You have His Word. Keep it and hold onto it for dear life. Jesus is the One who promises: “I AM the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die” (John 11:25-26). If you believe in Jesus, you already have eternal life. And nothing can take that away from you.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.” You have His Word. Keep it and hold onto it for dear life. He is the One who promises: “Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him” (John 6:54-55). If you are united to Jesus in His Holy Supper, you already have the victory over death, because His risen and glorified Body and Blood give you His life, now and forever. Amen.

Homily for the Christian Burial of Jeffrey W. Schulte

"Amazed by Grace"
Texts: Isaiah 25:6-9; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 5:24-30

Hey, can I interest you in a music CD? It’s by a home-grown talent named “Dutch Schulz.” Perhaps you’ve heard of him? Change those words just a bit, and you can almost hear him trying to sell you one of his CDs, right?

When Jeff first put this CD in my hand, the first thing my eye caught was the name “Dutch Schulz”…and my mind wondered, “Who’s that?” Then I saw the picture of Jeff leaning against the street sign. That guy I knew. But “Dutch Schulz”? Who’s that? So Jeff kindly brought me up to speed on his stage name—the stage name that, for many, is more common than his given name.

Then on Monday evening I received a call from Pr. Bill Wilson. He said, “Randy, one of your members—Dutch Schulz—is in the hospital.” Again my mind did a double take. This time, though, there was a little recollection. As Pr. Wilson was explaining more, my mind was having a separate conversation with itself. “Dutch Schulz. Dutch Schulz. Why do I know that name? But member of Hope?” “Not sure about that one,” I told Pr. Wilson, as I searched the church directory in my contacts. Then up came “Schulte” and it clicked: “Yes, ‘Schulz’ equals Schulte, and ‘Dutch’ equals Jeff.”

Leave it to Jeff—I mean “Dutch”—to have the unique name. But it’s fitting for his unique personality. And— wouldn’t you know it?—leave to “Dutch”—or is it Jeff?—to exit this fallen world in such a unique way—not that he chose that way, of course.

The way that Jeff has exited this fallen world, though, reminds me of many a conversation he and I had through the years. I remember the many years that Cheryl, Kristen, Lauren, and Brandon would come to church faithfully, but Jeff would come only occasionally. They were members at Hope, but Jeff resisted the whole religion thing. He had too many questions. But over time, and through the faithful, patient witness of family and many friends, Jeff dared to learn more.

“Ask questions about God and religion? Of course, Jeff!” That’s what we all do, in one way or another, at one time or another. And, boy, were his questions deep and penetrating. No mere idle curiosity for Jeff. He grappled with weighty questions. Questions such as, “If God is so good, then why is there evil in the world?” Questions such as, “I know the things I have done in my life. How can God love someone like me?” “How do I know God can love and forgive someone like me?”

One of the songs on his CD expresses this internal wrestling match quite well. Even at age 16 he was grappling and wrestling with the deep things of God and this fallen world. As he said in his side note: “I wrote ‘Child of Innocence Again’ at U. City H.S. in History class, Sophomore year. Flip the numbers and it’s ironic that I’ve recorded it at the age of 61 how I felt at 16.” The refrain poetically captures the struggles we all have in and with this fallen world so full of sin and evil: “I want to be a child of innocence again. I want to be a child in a world without sin.” Somehow we know there’s gotta be something better, something without the evil in all of its manifestations.

Why do people turn against each other, or try to control one another with the tactics of a tyrant? Why do people cheat on their taxes or get nasty when the repo man comes to collect the car that they bought from Jeff but couldn’t, or wouldn’t, pay for it?

As Jeff grappled with such questions—as he knew he wanted to “be a child in a world without sin”—he also discovered that it was not God who brought sin and evil into the world. It was our first parents—Adam and Eve. God created the world perfect, without sin, without evil, and we human beings are the ones who messed it up and who keep reveling in our messes. You know, kind of like a baby sitting in a dirty diaper and not wanting it to be changed.

It’s the death in trespasses and sins that St. Paul mentioned in our second reading. We’re all there—Jeff, you, me. We all live in “the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind.” Apart from our Lord Jesus Christ, we are all “by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” This was the message that resonated with Jeff like a blues song in his soul.

But it was the flip side of God’s message to him that amazed Jeff. Yes, God could and did love a sinner like him. Yes, God could and would forgive him—and all of us—inside and out. The more Jeff heard that message of God’s amazing grace, the more Jeff was amazed by that grace. “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.”

“Yes, Jeff,” I would tell him, “that includes you. No matter how bad, no matter how evil, no matter what you’ve done, no matter what you’ve experience from other people, that includes you.” And that is God’s message for you and me here today as well.

This message of God’s forgiveness, love, and eternal life in Christ Jesus so amazed Jeff that he loved to sing it. Yes, you know it—“Amazing Grace.” I will never forget the time he said, “Pastor, next week I want to bring my guitar to Catechism class, and after class can I sing ‘Amazing Grace’ and some other songs?” I said, “Sure.” The next week came. And Jeff brought his guitar. And—fitting for Jeff—it was his unique way of singing “Amazing Grace.”

You see, God’s amazing grace in Jesus Christ started to restore Jeff to being “a child of innocence again.” It’s that amazing news that we heard about from Jesus: “Whoever hears My words and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life.” God the Father sent His Son, Jesus, into this world to conquer our worst enemy: death itself. It’s true for Jeff. It’s just as true for you. Jesus Himself suffered the kinds of evil, the kinds of betrayal, the kinds of liars, cheats, and scoundrels, that Jeff and we endure too. The difference with Jesus is that He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And because of Jesus and His death on a brutal cross, Jeff, and you, and I, and all people get to receive God’s amazing grace. Because of Jesus and His resurrection on the third day, you, and Jeff, and I get to rejoice in the hope of eternal life—in being children of innocence again.

Our first reading captures this so well. God promises to prepare “a feast of rich food” and “aged wine well refined” for the likes of us. And what will God Himself consume? “He will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever.” That’s exactly what Jesus did on the cross—for you, for Jeff, for me, and for all people who hear His voice.

Yes, we have just witnessed a shocking turn of events. A nasty little bacteria—a result of this fallen world—has suddenly snatched a dear husband, father, and grandfather, a loved son and brother, a treasured friend and colleague, a unique personality. But in Jesus, God has swallowed up the effects of that nasty little bacteria. So, when it seems like this thing called death is swallowing us whole—and in a sudden, suffocating way—look to Jesus for your comfort and hope. He has swallowed death forever. Jeff rejoiced in that message, I know. And I’m sure he would want you to rejoice in it too.

Let God’s words through Isaiah give you peace and comfort in the days, weeks, and months ahead: “The Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth.” He has already done that for Jeff; He promises to do that for you too.

Here’s the amazing thing about God’s grace, the grace that amazed Jeff. God Himself has made Jeff “a child of innocence again.” It happened when Jeff was baptized, and our Lord Jesus brought Jeff to realize it and love it throughout his life. And now God has completed that task. We can actually rejoice that, yes, Jeff is “a child of innocence again.”

I, for one, gladly echo Jeff’s poetry written while he sat in history class at the tender age of 16: “I want to be a child in a world without sin.” I’m sure those words resonate in you as well. Well, Jeff is there now! And, by God’s amazing grace in Jesus, you may look forward to that too. Amen.