Funeral Sermon: +Ralph Behrens
Texts: John 10:27-30; 1 John 3:1-2
I deviated somewhat from this manuscript in the actual sermon.
Lola; Jackie, Julie, Jean; brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
It would be difficult to overstate the influence of Ralph Behrens. His service at Immanuel impacted the life and faith of countless people. He took a fledgling school and, in cooperation with Pastor Mensing, worked tirelessly to make it thrive. When I was just starting my pastorate here, I found it strange that grown men and women would refer to Ralph with reverence as “Mr. Behrens,” or occasionally the affectionate “Mr. B.” Long after grammar school had become a distant memory for others, the principal of Immanuel Lutheran School remained and would always be “Mister Behrens.”
And then, after 41 years of service at Immanuel, he continued serving the Church in Cote d’Ivoire and Papua New Guinea. Listen to what one of his students, Belinda Kembol, wrote:
Mr. and Mrs. Behrens were a big part of my life as a child as I attended HLIS in Enga Province PNG from the years of 1988 to 1994. As those were the fundamental years of my development they played an integral part in teaching me to excel not only academically but spiritually. As dedicated missionaries, they shared the love of Jesus Christ with me and many other kids. I am so sorry now that I did not get a chance to say thank you to Mr. Behrens for … who I an now – an independent God-fearing young woman who is excelling in life, because he dedicated his life to the Gospel to come here to PNG and teach kids like me. I am forever indebted to them both and they will forever be in my heart. To Mr. Behrens, you will never be forgotten…. I salute you for your dedication and service to the children and the people of Papua New Guinea. Rest in peace in the bosom of the Father.
Ralph’s confirmation verse was John 10:27-28: My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. And so of all the things we can say about Ralph today, the greatest thing we can say about Ralph is that he was one of Christ’s sheep. Staring into the face of death, that is the one thing that matters, the only thing that counts: Ralph was one of Christ’s sheep.
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on Ralph, that he should be called a child of God! (cf. 1 John 3.1). For while many saw in him a saint, Ralph saw in himself a sinner. I will never forget how, already weakened by disease, he came to the church for individual confession and absolution. Ralph’s confidence and trust was not in himself, but in the Lord JESUS. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on Ralph, that he should be called a child of God! What manner of love? The sort of love that sacrifices all, even the life of His own Son, our Lord JESUS Christ, to redeem sinners. Behold then how that love manifested itself in Ralph’s life, that he in turn devoted his life to the care and education of the children of God.
The second part of Ralph’s confirmation verse tells us plainly why, in the face of death, we have hope and joy. Christ says, “I give them eternal life.” Eternal life is a gift; it cannot be earned. The salvation of Ralph is founded upon this gift, this promise of our Lord.
What kind of salvation do we mean? Not just a salvation of the soul, but also the salvation, the renewal, the resurrection of the body. My fondest memory of Ralph is the day he announced to me that he was going to start making the sign of the cross. He told me he’d never done it before, that he’d even thought it was probably wrong to do, but that he’d been thinking about how it served as a reminder of baptism, and that was a good thing. So he started to make the sign of the cross when he received Holy Communion, and when that hand went deliberately, thoughtfully to his forehead and then his heart, it filled me with gladness, because I knew it wasn’t a mechanistic response, but a deliberate confession of God’s promises made to Ralph in Holy Baptism.
And now, that body which was baptized lies still beneath the funeral pall which serves as a final reminder of Holy Baptism. As we are confronted with the wages of sin, we must remember God’s promise to the baptized: “It has not yet appeared what we shall be.” What we see now is death, the final result of the death that had been coming on Ralph for some years, until it slowly took away his ability to walk, to converse, to eat. But what we saw in these last years is not what shall be. “When [Christ] appears,” God’s Word says, “we shall be like Him,” which means that Ralph’s body will be as Christ’s body – risen, glorified, forever free from disease, forever alive, as God intended man to be in the beginning, when He fashioned our first father from the earth.
Now we are children of God; but it has not yet appeared what we shall be. What we now see and experience is very different from what is to come. What is to come for Ralph is the fulfillment of the faith he confessed throughout his life: “I believe in the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.” Ralph was one of Christ’s sheep, given eternal life, and a child of God. That is the most important thing we can say about any man.
The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord! The Lord is glorious in His saints, and His goodness and love shone through His servant Ralph. Thanks be to God!
Related posts:
- Trinity 16 sermon From Sept. 27, 2009 Gospel: Luke 7:11-17 The American religion...
- Thanksgiving Matins sermon God made man from the earth. Our very first father,...
- Trinity 25 sermon “Man who is born of a woman is few...
- Trinity 3 sermon: Luke 15.1-10 Note: I wasn’t feeling well yesterday, and so wasn’t nearly...
- Trinity 18 Sermon (Matthew 22.34-46) Trinity 18St. Matthew 22.34-46October 7, 2007 Today’s Gospel reading is...
