It was a difficult day, but it was not without its blessings. Our families were able to be here, to share our mutual grief. Two of our best friends were able to come from distant places to add the comfort of their presence. It was a day of singing, with at least a dozen pastors joining their voices to the congregation’s song, And it was a day where the Word of God clamored forth to kick Satan and death in the teeth, as the Reverend Timothy Scharr, President of the Southern Illinois District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, brought it with authority. After the committal—“O death, where is your sting?!”—the saints of my parish provided an excellent meal. So it was a difficult day, but life does go on as we await the resurrection on the Last Day.
I would like to speak a public word of thanksgiving to and for Pastor Scharr for faithfully serving my family through this experience. He was a soothing presence when it felt like the world was a screaming tornado of despair. His calm application of the Word was a gift of life in the midst of death.
Here is the sermon Pastor Scharr preached for Michael’s funeral. I only wish I had remembered to hit the record button.
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All Things New
Dear Alan and Faith, Alexis, Molly; Deborah, Kathleen, family, friends, and fellow pastors; “Peace be to you and grace from Him who freed us from our sins. Who loved us all and shed His blood that we might saved be,” our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen. Today we gather for one of the more difficult tasks that parents and grandparents go through. It is painful, tragic, and unnatural to bury a child or a grandchild ahead of our own death. No doubt you would have volunteered to die in Michael’s place than to see him pass from earth at the age of 16. We know from Holy Scripture that the wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is everlasting life in Jesus Christ. Moses reminds us “You return man to dust and say, ‘Return, O children of man!” You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning; in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. For all our days pass away under Your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh” (Psalm 90:3,5,9).
We cry out with the psalmist. “So, teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O Lord, how long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you afflicted us, and for as man years as we have seen evil” (Psalm 90:12-15).
The Lord hears your sighs. He responds to your prayers. You loved Michael. Jesus loved Michael even more. It was impossible for any of you to give your life in place of Michael. Jesus did. Not for Michael only but for everyone gathered this morning. The Lord saw humanity’s rebellion against Him. Rather than destroy His creation, He acted to save it. God the Father sent His beloved Son into human flesh to take the sins of the world onto Himself. This burden includes all of Michael’s sins, all, your sins, my sins, and the sins of all time, past, present, and future. Jesus exchanges our iniquities for His forgiveness. His forgiveness blots out all our transgression. He atones for all our trespasses.
In the water of Holy Baptism, Michael and you are joined into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. His death becomes your death, and His resurrection becomes your new life. You are born from above by the work of the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through the washing of the water and the Word. This is all a gift from God. The Lord declares in our reading from Revelation. “Behold, I am making all things new.” He also said, “Write this down for these words are trustworthy and true.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning, and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The One who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be His God and he will be My son” (Revelation 21:5-7). This has been the promise of God and the hope of His people from the beginning.
Michael had autism. This presented a challenge for him and the family. It can be very frustrating to work with a son or brother who has autism. Their learning and development are different. It’s not an issue of intelligence. People with autism can be extremely bright and talented. Michael was. Other things we take for granted can be difficult. Communication is one. Speech is another. Physical development yet another. Coping with emotions and reacting to disappointments may be particularly challenging. None of this means they are less loved or less capable of loving. Quite the contrary. God uses their uniqueness to open our eyes and appreciate life and love from a different perspective. We are the richer for it.
The patriarch Job had his challenges. A prosperous man of the ancient near east. He enjoyed many good things and especially devotion to the Lord. Satan seeks permission to test Job. The Lord allows it. In quick order Job loses all his livestock. His ten children are killed when a roof collapses on them. Shaken, but not broken, Job declared that the Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. His body is afflicted next with painful boils from head to toe and everywhere in between. Friends try to console Job and chastise him for some great evil he will not acknowledge. Pushed to the edge Job confesses his faith. “I know that my Redeemer lives. In the end He will take His stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God. I, myself, will see Him with my own eyes. I and not another. How my heart yearns within me” (Job 19:25-27). Job confesses the same resurrection of the body to life everlasting when Jesus returns on the Last Day.
Meanwhile, there is mourning and grieving like there was in Bethany when Jesus’ friend Lazarus died. Sisters Mary and Martha hoped that Jesus would come quickly and heal their sick brother. He did not. Jesus was moved by the deep grief of these sisters. He wept as they went to the cemetery. There Jesus show His power over death and the grave. He calls Lazarus out of the tomb. He is alive by the Word and promise of God.
Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Who believes in Him, though he dies, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in him shall never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:26-27) Jesus is coming back. He will bring with Him the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. This is the church, a bride adorned for her husband. There is more. “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, no crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And He who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new. Write this down for these Words are trustworthy and true” (Revelation 21:2-5).
Family and friends of Michael Kornacki, you loved Michael and miss him. Jesus, who gave His own life into death, came to bring Michael into His nearer presence. He is with the Lord. No more autism, mourning, crying or pain. These former things have passed away. Together, with Michael, we await the resurrection of the body when Jesus returns. Then we shall behold all things new as the Father intended from eternity. This, too, is your inheritance in Jesus Christ, Amen.
And now may the peace of God that passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, now and forever, Amen.
Rev. Timothy J. Scharr, President
Southern Illinois District - LCMS
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