Sermon for Christians Gathered Together at the Death
of
Nancy Amble
June 27, 2009
1:00 p.m.
by Pastor Laura Gentry
Isaiah 43: 1-7
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you, I give people in return for you, nations in exchange for your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you; 6I will say to the north, “Give them up,” and to the south, “Do not withhold; bring my sons from far away and my daughters from the end of the earth— everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”
1 Corinthians 15:51-57
Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
John 11:17-26
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles away, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die."
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
It seems all too soon that we’ve gathered today, at the end of Nancy’s journey on earth, to celebrate her life and entrust her to God. Yet celebrate, we must, because Nancy lived a life worth celebrating.
In the reading from Isaiah, we heard those comforting words from the Lord: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” In the waters of Baptism, God first claimed Nancy and promised to walk with her through all the days to come—to be her God, to give her faith and love her unconditionally.
As Nancy grew, so did the faith God had given to her. She embraced the grace and love of her Savior and reflected it in her exuberant life.
T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.
Nancy had courage, boldness and joy as well as sensitivity and kindness. Her family and loved ones gathered here can attest to Nancy’s amazing ability to care. She was a shining light that brightened our lives more than we can describe.
Here at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Nancy was a true treasure. She was always ready to serve and was instrumental in many of the innovations in the way we do things around here. For example, we now have a sanctuary filled with lilies on Easter, geraniums on Pentecost and ponsettias on Christmas. Nancy started that. And we have flower stands to put them on—Nancy ordered those. And the beautiful oil candle Advent wreath we put out each year—Nancy ordered that too. You may know that she was a great shopper. When we ran a children’s choir, she propped me up as we managed the mob of kids—or at least mostly managed the mob of kids on rehearsal days. Yes, her faith was always in action.
And Nancy’s faith bouyed her up throughout her life. That passage from Isaiah goes on to say: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”
Like the rest of us, Nancy had to pass through the rivers and walk through the fire at various times in her life. Yet, because of her faith, the rivers did not overwhelm her. Because of her faith the fire did not burn her, the flames could not consume her.
Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.
Nancy’s confidence in grace was never more evident than in her battle with cancer. No matter how much she suffered, Nancy remained confident that she was walking in the love of God. She refused to be consumed by the fire of her illness. She held fast to the rock of her faith and seemed more able to talk about her own death than her
loved ones. When they’d cry too much she’d say something along the lines of: “Cut it out!”
Nancy’s faith informed her that death was not something to fear. Fear not, her Savior had said, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine. Just has she had not feared living, Nancy did not fear dying. She knew that death is but a gateway to eternal life. As we heard in the scripture passage from l Corinthians: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
There is no sting for those who have faith in Jesus Christ, who has won the victory on our behalf and saves us by grace. There is no sting. When we are claimed by our Savior, nothing can take us out of that grasp. Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. “ Nancy knew this. She believed it in her heart. She was certain that grace would lead her home.
Yes, it is true: Nancy has left this world. She is no longer walking among us in the flesh. We can’t see her or touch her. We can’t call her up on the phone as we liked to do. But we are confident that she is not gone. Her soul is imperishable and it is now in the hand of God. We believe that we’ve not seen the last of her. No, we will be reunited with Nancy and all the saints that have gone before. In God, her love is eternal and so is ours. This makes our lives so profoundly meaningful and beautiful. We must embrace this beauty and live in it each and every moment that we are given.
This is why we may have tears today but it is really a day of celebration. We celebrate the wonderful, loving life of Nancy Lou Olsen Sherwood Amble. We celebrate the multitude of things that she meant to us. We celebrate how she enriched and changed our lives. And most of all, we celebrate the God who created her and gave her faith and guided her through all her days—helping her through the ups, the downs, the rivers and the fires—never once leaving Nancy’s side or allowing her to be consumed or burned. We celebrate the God who does not let his children go. And we look forward with great confidence to the day when God will call us to be home in heaven.
We will gather at the river that flows from the throne of God. It is difficult to believe that there is a river more beautiful than the Mississippi but apparently there is. We will one day arrive at that river and stand with Nancy and all the saints in light and praise our Maker with joyful dancing and singing that has no end.
When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.
It seems all too soon that we’ve gathered today, at the end of Nancy’s journey on earth, to celebrate her life and entrust her to God. Yet celebrate, we must, because Nancy lived a life worth celebrating.
In the reading from Isaiah, we heard those comforting words from the Lord: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” In the waters of Baptism, God first claimed Nancy and promised to walk with her through all the days to come—to be her God, to give her faith and love her unconditionally.
As Nancy grew, so did the faith God had given to her. She embraced the grace and love of her Savior and reflected it in her exuberant life.
T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear
The hour I first believed.
Nancy had courage, boldness and joy as well as sensitivity and kindness. Her family and loved ones gathered here can attest to Nancy’s amazing ability to care. She was a shining light that brightened our lives more than we can describe.
Here at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church, Nancy was a true treasure. She was always ready to serve and was instrumental in many of the innovations in the way we do things around here. For example, we now have a sanctuary filled with lilies on Easter, geraniums on Pentecost and ponsettias on Christmas. Nancy started that. And we have flower stands to put them on—Nancy ordered those. And the beautiful oil candle Advent wreath we put out each year—Nancy ordered that too. You may know that she was a great shopper. When we ran a children’s choir, she propped me up as we managed the mob of kids—or at least mostly managed the mob of kids on rehearsal days. Yes, her faith was always in action.
And Nancy’s faith bouyed her up throughout her life. That passage from Isaiah goes on to say: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.”
Like the rest of us, Nancy had to pass through the rivers and walk through the fire at various times in her life. Yet, because of her faith, the rivers did not overwhelm her. Because of her faith the fire did not burn her, the flames could not consume her.
Through many dangers, toils and snares
I have already come;
'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far
and Grace will lead me home.
Nancy’s confidence in grace was never more evident than in her battle with cancer. No matter how much she suffered, Nancy remained confident that she was walking in the love of God. She refused to be consumed by the fire of her illness. She held fast to the rock of her faith and seemed more able to talk about her own death than her
loved ones. When they’d cry too much she’d say something along the lines of: “Cut it out!”
Nancy’s faith informed her that death was not something to fear. Fear not, her Savior had said, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine. Just has she had not feared living, Nancy did not fear dying. She knew that death is but a gateway to eternal life. As we heard in the scripture passage from l Corinthians: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
There is no sting for those who have faith in Jesus Christ, who has won the victory on our behalf and saves us by grace. There is no sting. When we are claimed by our Savior, nothing can take us out of that grasp. Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. “ Nancy knew this. She believed it in her heart. She was certain that grace would lead her home.
Yes, it is true: Nancy has left this world. She is no longer walking among us in the flesh. We can’t see her or touch her. We can’t call her up on the phone as we liked to do. But we are confident that she is not gone. Her soul is imperishable and it is now in the hand of God. We believe that we’ve not seen the last of her. No, we will be reunited with Nancy and all the saints that have gone before. In God, her love is eternal and so is ours. This makes our lives so profoundly meaningful and beautiful. We must embrace this beauty and live in it each and every moment that we are given.
This is why we may have tears today but it is really a day of celebration. We celebrate the wonderful, loving life of Nancy Lou Olsen Sherwood Amble. We celebrate the multitude of things that she meant to us. We celebrate how she enriched and changed our lives. And most of all, we celebrate the God who created her and gave her faith and guided her through all her days—helping her through the ups, the downs, the rivers and the fires—never once leaving Nancy’s side or allowing her to be consumed or burned. We celebrate the God who does not let his children go. And we look forward with great confidence to the day when God will call us to be home in heaven.
We will gather at the river that flows from the throne of God. It is difficult to believe that there is a river more beautiful than the Mississippi but apparently there is. We will one day arrive at that river and stand with Nancy and all the saints in light and praise our Maker with joyful dancing and singing that has no end.
When we've been here ten thousand years
Bright shining as the sun.
We've no less days to sing God's praise
Than when we've first begun.
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