"Unto Death"
Revelation 2:10
Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen indeed!
Alleluia! Our text is Anita’s
Confirmation verse, Revelation 2:10, which says, “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.”
The
crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ told the Apostle John to write these
words to the troubled Christians in the Church at Smyrna. They experienced trials and
persecutions in such measure that they wondered if they should still continue
to confess the Lord as their God. Smyrna’s Christians experienced worldly
poverty, but Jesus reminded them just how rich they were in the holy things of
the Lord—things like forgiveness, eternal life, salvation, hope, the Word of
God, and the eternal inheritance awaiting them. “I know your tribulations and your poverty.” Jesus said to them. “Do not fear what you are about to suffer.”
Jesus
could say this to them—and to us—because He is not a God who is far off. He
does not watch from a distance, as Bette Midler would say He does. He became
one of us—Emmanuel, God with us, God dwelling among us—for our salvation. He
knows our trials and struggles—not just from observation, but because He
experienced them Himself. His first bed was a food trough for livestock. His
family fled with Him to Egypt
to preserve His life from the murderous intentions of King Herod. He mourned
the death of His friend, Lazarus. And He felt the excruciating pain of the
scourge, the humiliation and mockery brought upon Him by both the Jews and the
Roman soldiers. He was forsaken by His father, suffering and dying on the
cross.
Anita
certainly experienced a great deal of tribulation throughout her life. It’s
heartbreaking enough to bury one child; Anita buried three young sons. She also
buried her husband and eight siblings. She experienced health issues of her own.
She spent most of the last years of her life in a wheelchair, and her memory
was failing her near the end of her life. In our many visits together over the
past seven years, first at the Manor and then at Three Springs, she often despaired
that she was still here on earth. She frequently expressed to me her longing
for the Lord to take her home.
And
yet, through all of this, Anita did not lose her faith. Through all these
struggles, she rejoiced at how the hand of the Lord upheld and sustained her.
She rejoiced in the many blessings she had received from the Lord: a loving
husband; a faithful daughter who visited her nearly every day; grandchildren
and great-grandchildren; food, shelter, clothing, and, indeed, “all [she needed] to support this body and
life;” and she especially rejoiced that the Lord made her His child in the
waters of Holy Baptism, that He forgave her sins, and that He fed her with His
own body and blood. This is not to say that Anita was worthy of all these
blessings from God, or that she had strength or reason to trust in the Lord on
her own, or that she earned her place in heaven. But she took the Word and
promises of God very seriously. She wore out two copies of the Bible, diligently
surrounding herself with that Word and clinging to those promises. Her pleas
for the Lord to take her home were pleas of faith, for she knew the eternal joy
the Lord would give her, the removal of tears and sorrow that were promised to
her, and the reunion she is experiencing even now with those she loved who had
gone before her in the faith. By the grace of God and the work of the Holy
Spirit within her, Anita was faithful until death, and now the crown of
eternal life belongs to her.
This
promise is for you, too. Of course, just as this was true of Anita, there is no
way that we can remain faithful in our own power—nor could the Christians in Smyrna or any of the
other Christians who have died for their faith down through the
centuries. Faithfulness only comes by the power of the Holy Spirit, even
in good times. That same power of the Holy Spirit—the Spirit you have
received in the waters of Holy Baptism—will give you the faith to cling to the
words and promises of God.
So “do not be afraid of what you are about to
suffer.” Do not be afraid of the
grief that you’re experiencing right now. Do not be afraid to mourn. Anita was
a blessing to you, and it’s okay to miss her. Do not be afraid, for the Lord is
with you. He knows your pain, your suffering, and your grief, for He is with
you, and He will not leave you nor forsake you. He will send His Spirit to keep
you steadfast in the faith. By His grace, you, like Anita and all those we love
who have departed in the faith, will receive the crown of life. Alleluia! Christ is risen! He is risen
indeed! Alleluia! In the name of the Father and of the Son (+) and of the
Holy Spirit. Amen.
The
peace of God which passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus always. Amen.
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