John 11:17-27 In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Because slander comes so easily, because we speak so much evil of our neighbors on nearly every occasion, we find ourselves sorely tempted to try and make up for it at death. "Speak well of the dead," we say, but find little motivation to do so for the living.
There is a temptation to glorify the deceased, to assuage our guilt by platitudes, to engage in a vain attempt to make up for how we failed the living by loud praise of the dead. It is always easier to praise the dead than the living. And this would be quite easy to do in Mark's case. His virtues were both many and obvious. He was a gentle soul, quick with a smile, eager to be friends with the whole world, and always ready to help. You are here as a testament to his virtues. He loved you. And you loved him. In a world filled with selfish, mean people, Mark was easy to love.
But there was more to him than that. It wasn't all cheesecake and laughs, and if we act as though it were we dishonor his memory. He struggled in this life. Nothing was handed to him. He struggled to make a living and to find his way in this world. He endured deep sorrow, suffered diseases, misfortune, and violence like few others. He also knew loneliness and regret and abuse. One of his virtues was that he was so committed to joy that he would not give in to sadness. But just because he would not give in to it does not mean it did not hurt. He struggled, as all Christians struggle, with sin and consequence, betrayals and lies, guilt and fear.
He found strength and joy for this struggle in the forgiving love of Jesus Christ and in the love of his imperfect family and friends. That is bound to seem antiquated to many. Some might even think the idea of forgiveness to be a moral outrage. Why should Mark need forgiveness? He was no worse than anyone else. What good does it do to believe that God walked the earth as a Man and was tortured and killed outside Jerusalem? Even if He did it for love, it doesn't stop Meningitis. Even if it were an example of love, it is of little help in our complicated world. It only shows that men are evil and pick on the weak. Mark would disagree. As much as he needed the support and encouragement of family and friends, what he needed most was forgiveness. Not because he was worse than anyone else, but simply because he was a sinner. Jesus only loves and only forgives and only makes disciple of sinners. He came for them, to seek and to save and eat with sinners. He gave His life as a ransom to pay for sins.
Jesus came into the world for Mark. By God's grace Mark was baptized into Christ. He received the Holy Spirit. His sins were forgiven. He rejoiced in the forgiving love of God in Christ Jesus. No sin could keep him from that. He did not belong to sin, he belonged to God.
This does not mean he lived a perfect life, that he proved he had God's forgiveness by not sinning. Nor does it mean that he was free to sin in order to receive more forgiveness or that sin was of no consequence or danger. God never wanted Mark to hurt himself or those he loved. He wanted him to live as a free man within His law. But sometimes Mark did sin. Sometimes he failed to fully amend his sinful life. Sometimes he caved into temptation: he gossiped, he lied, he blasphemed, he sinned. And that was Mark's struggle: to believe that what God wanted for him was actually better than what his sinful flesh thought it wanted. It is no small thing to believe that God is good and His law is good and that He keeps on loving us even when we act in hateful ways. Mark didn't want to sin, but he still did. This did not make him worse than others. It made him the same. As wonderful as he was, he was still a sinner, like each of us.
But more than that: he was a Christian. He was not defined by sin but by Christ. Above all else, before all else, he was a Christian. As a Christian, he lived with the dual, warring natures of the old and new man. At times it seemed as though he believed in his heart while doubting in his mind. Other times it seemed as though he believed in his mind but doubted in his heart. Faith is a struggle, a wrestling with God and self. Mark bore that struggle as well as any man, as a Christian redeemed by Grace. He knew that could not earn God's favor or keep God's law. He knew that, like us all, he was a moral failure. But he did not trust in his morality, in his goodness, though the world would surely count him as good. Instead, he trusted in the promise of God in Christ Jesus. He believed and confessed that the death of Jesus Christ had paid for all his sins, that God had declared him righteous for Jesus' sake and that because of this he would enter into heaven as one of God's own dear children, that whatever happened God would remember and keep His baptism. That is what it is to be a Christian. That is how faith lives or it does not live at all.
Thus Mark waited for the day when he would be free of sin and temptation. He knew that Jesus had died for him and had risen from the dead. He knew the day would come when God would complete the good work He had begun in him. He was eager for it. That is why Mark loved Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. He said it was his favorite time of the year. For he knew that the message of Easter wasn't simply that someone had come back from the dead like Lazarus, but that the One who had answered for his sins had ended death's claim on him. Mark knew the point of "He is risen" is that Jesus has met all of Hell's demands, faced every accusation, and finished it. Jesus rose from the dead because there was no more, nothing more to pay, nothing more to do. The sacrifice has been accepted by the Father. And thus Mark believed and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, that His Word is true, that He is risen and forgives sins, and that He will bring us into His own resurrected life, that we will also rise and follow Him out of the grave and into eternal life.
And that is why Mark's death should bring you some relieve. His suffering has ended and he is not dead. He is not dead! He lives. No one who believes in Jesus ever dies. Mark's soul has gone before his body to be with his Father in heaven. His body will wait in the earth for the day of the resurrection. But he is not dead. Jesus lives and so does Mark. Now he has found his peace, his way, his joy in Christ. He is free of sorrow, struggle, pain, and loneliness. Do not be afraid for him. Do not cry for him. Be happy for him. Be relieved.
That is not to say your sadness is out of place. Of course you are sad, but let Mark be an example for you. Do not give in to it. Rejoice in the promises of God. Fight the good fight. Mark has now come to his reward, you must still wait. You must struggle even as he struggled before you. We also follow Mark's example: the Church prays for you. Your sorrow not easily or quickly forgotten. We ask that God comfort you in it. Do not mourn as those without hope. There are still cheesecakes to be eaten -even if it seems they have lost their flavor for a while. But there are even better things than cheesecakes in heave. And where Mark has gone, you can also go. You can follow him. You can see him again. The forgiveness that he so enjoyed and which is now perfected in him is offered to all who rest in the promises of God in Christ Jesus who has died and risen again to make men His.
Blessed are those who died in the Lord, for He is risen. Alleluia.
In +Jesus' Name. Amen.
Pastor David Petersen Redeemer Lutheran Church Ft. Wayne, IN
Karen Cudworth (Fischer)
2007-04-20In memoriam + Mark Hossele 1971-2007+
John 11:17-27
In the Name of the Father and of the +Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Because slander comes so easily, because we speak so much evil of our neighbors on nearly every occasion, we find ourselves sorely tempted to try and make up for it at death. "Speak well of the dead," we say, but find little motivation to do so for the living.
There is a temptation to glorify the deceased, to assuage our guilt by platitudes, to engage in a vain attempt to make up for how we failed the living by loud praise of the dead. It is always easier to praise the dead than the living. And this would be quite easy to do in Mark's case. His virtues were both many and obvious. He was a gentle soul, quick with a smile, eager to be friends with the whole world, and always ready to help. You are here as a testament to his virtues. He loved you. And you loved him. In a world filled with selfish, mean people, Mark was easy to love.
But there was more to him than that. It wasn't all cheesecake and laughs, and if we act as though it were we dishonor his memory. He struggled in this life. Nothing was handed to him. He struggled to make a living and to find his way in this world. He endured deep sorrow, suffered diseases, misfortune, and violence like few others. He also knew loneliness and regret and abuse. One of his virtues was that he was so committed to joy that he would not give in to sadness. But just because he would not give in to it does not mean it did not hurt. He struggled, as all Christians struggle, with sin and consequence, betrayals and lies, guilt and fear.
He found strength and joy for this struggle in the forgiving love of Jesus Christ and in the love of his imperfect family and friends. That is bound to seem antiquated to many. Some might even think the idea of forgiveness to be a moral outrage. Why should Mark need forgiveness? He was no worse than anyone else. What good does it do to believe that God walked the earth as a Man and was tortured and killed outside Jerusalem? Even if He did it for love, it doesn't stop Meningitis. Even if it were an example of love, it is of little help in our complicated world. It only shows that men are evil and pick on the weak. Mark would disagree. As much as he needed the support and encouragement of family and friends, what he needed most was forgiveness. Not because he was worse than anyone else, but simply because he was a sinner. Jesus only loves and only forgives and only makes disciple of sinners. He came for them, to seek and to save and eat with sinners. He gave His life as a ransom to pay for sins.
Jesus came into the world for Mark. By God's grace Mark was baptized into Christ. He received the Holy Spirit. His sins were forgiven. He rejoiced in the forgiving love of God in Christ Jesus. No sin could keep him from that. He did not belong to sin, he belonged to God.
This does not mean he lived a perfect life, that he proved he had God's forgiveness by not sinning. Nor does it mean that he was free to sin in order to receive more forgiveness or that sin was of no consequence or danger. God never wanted Mark to hurt himself or those he loved. He wanted him to live as a free man within His law. But sometimes Mark did sin. Sometimes he failed to fully amend his sinful life. Sometimes he caved into temptation: he gossiped, he lied, he blasphemed, he sinned. And that was Mark's struggle: to believe that what God wanted for him was actually better than what his sinful flesh thought it wanted. It is no small thing to believe that God is good and His law is good and that He keeps on loving us even when we act in hateful ways. Mark didn't want to sin, but he still did. This did not make him worse than others. It made him the same. As wonderful as he was, he was still a sinner, like each of us.
But more than that: he was a Christian. He was not defined by sin but by Christ. Above all else, before all else, he was a Christian. As a Christian, he lived with the dual, warring natures of the old and new man. At times it seemed as though he believed in his heart while doubting in his mind. Other times it seemed as though he believed in his mind but doubted in his heart. Faith is a struggle, a wrestling with God and self. Mark bore that struggle as well as any man, as a Christian redeemed by Grace. He knew that could not earn God's favor or keep God's law. He knew that, like us all, he was a moral failure. But he did not trust in his morality, in his goodness, though the world would surely count him as good. Instead, he trusted in the promise of God in Christ Jesus. He believed and confessed that the death of Jesus Christ had paid for all his sins, that God had declared him righteous for Jesus' sake and that because of this he would enter into heaven as one of God's own dear children, that whatever happened God would remember and keep His baptism. That is what it is to be a Christian. That is how faith lives or it does not live at all.
Thus Mark waited for the day when he would be free of sin and temptation. He knew that Jesus had died for him and had risen from the dead. He knew the day would come when God would complete the good work He had begun in him. He was eager for it. That is why Mark loved Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter. He said it was his favorite time of the year. For he knew that the message of Easter wasn't simply that someone had come back from the dead like Lazarus, but that the One who had answered for his sins had ended death's claim on him. Mark knew the point of "He is risen" is that Jesus has met all of Hell's demands, faced every accusation, and finished it. Jesus rose from the dead because there was no more, nothing more to pay, nothing more to do. The sacrifice has been accepted by the Father. And thus Mark believed and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, that His Word is true, that He is risen and forgives sins, and that He will bring us into His own resurrected life, that we will also rise and follow Him out of the grave and into eternal life.
And that is why Mark's death should bring you some relieve. His suffering has ended and he is not dead. He is not dead! He lives. No one who believes in Jesus ever dies. Mark's soul has gone before his body to be with his Father in heaven. His body will wait in the earth for the day of the resurrection. But he is not dead. Jesus lives and so does Mark. Now he has found his peace, his way, his joy in Christ. He is free of sorrow, struggle, pain, and loneliness. Do not be afraid for him. Do not cry for him. Be happy for him. Be relieved.
That is not to say your sadness is out of place. Of course you are sad, but let Mark be an example for you. Do not give in to it. Rejoice in the promises of God. Fight the good fight. Mark has now come to his reward, you must still wait. You must struggle even as he struggled before you. We also follow Mark's example: the Church prays for you. Your sorrow not easily or quickly forgotten. We ask that God comfort you in it. Do not mourn as those without hope. There are still cheesecakes to be eaten -even if it seems they have lost their flavor for a while. But there are even better things than cheesecakes in heave. And where Mark has gone, you can also go. You can follow him. You can see him again. The forgiveness that he so enjoyed and which is now perfected in him is offered to all who rest in the promises of God in Christ Jesus who has died and risen again to make men His.
Blessed are those who died in the Lord, for He is risen. Alleluia.
In +Jesus' Name. Amen.
Pastor David Petersen
Redeemer Lutheran Church
Ft. Wayne, IN