Text Acts 10:34-43; Isaiah 40:6-8; Psalm 24; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Theme He’s the One
Subject Peter’s testimony at Cornelius’ house
Occasion Funeral
of Cora Bakke Foster – 10/6/07 –
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and
be glad in it (Ps 118:24)
We’re rejoicing today!
But
our teeth are clenched a bit – tension in our hands and spines
The resurrection faith is at its best in the face of
death
Death
is the enemy; Jesus arose from the dead victorious
The resurrection faith is toughest in the face of
death
Is it
true Jesus? Is it really true for Cora,
for me, for you?
We are here because Cora died
And
we are clinging to the resurrection faith
We’re listening for the rustlings of the resurrection
So let this service be an
Respond to my shout
“Christ is risen!”
“He is risen indeed, Alleluia”
I’m gonna be honest
For the last 5 years, we’ve known Cora would die soon
She had “amyloid angiopathy”
Her arteries were getting weaker and thicker
She was prone to bleeds and blood clots
She was in a Catch-22
She needed blood thinners to
prohibit clots
Blood thinners would cause her
to bleed out
That’s why Cora died – arterial disease
That’s reality
Do you need a diagnosed condition to know certainty of your
death?
I didn’t think so
So we’re reminded today
Cora
died
we will die
We are also encouraged today
Cora
died in the resurrection faith
Claim the resurrection faith as your ownh
We need this reminding and
encouraging
Life goes so fast we can forget reality
We’re all going to die
Jesus is
risen from the dead: He’s the One
Bob
arranged for us to hear one of St. Peter’s mighty Easter Sermon this afternoon
I’ll get there
Cora was
a preacher’s kid
The 3rd of 4 – first
daughter
By the time she was 12 she
was her dad’s pianist
She went to a year of schooling at
That’s
where she and Bob met – he’ll tell you the story
It’s
a good story
The day
before Bob’s graduation from seminary
Bob and Cora were married
That’s another story for Bob
to tell
They took a freighter to German where
Bob would study at
Accommodations were awkward
and then Stef was born
Everything changed
I spoke with
Eva
Rogness
and
Carolyn Weiblen Gelpie
Eva
explained that Bob and Cora with children lived in “primitive conditions” in a
village outside of
Provisions were slim and had to be
shared
The men were in school; the
women needed each other
Cora welcomed visits from other women
Cora is remembered for being
a wonderful cook and a steady presence
Eva
Rogness thought it amazing that a head nurse in a city hospital would go off to
German with a man studying theology
Carolyn told me about baby-sitting for
Stef and Lynn
I kept
hearing about Cora’s steady faith, delight in music, willingness to serve,
sense of humor (teaching Bob to laugh), and good cooking
Cora’s
uncle is Elmo Agrimson – father of Ione Agrimson Hanson
So the Presiding Bishop of the ELCA is
married to Cora’s first cousin once removed
Take
this all to Pearly Gates
Hey Peter, Cora’s related to Lutheran
royalty
Hey Peter, Cora’s a great cook
Hey Peter, Cora’s a steady presence
for anxious people
Hey Peter, Cora raised 4 kids
Hey Peter, Cora’s beautiful and won a
theologian’s heart
Not
worth much for eternity
You’d expect as much from a person saved for eternity
but it isn’t what saved Cora for
eternity
So hear
Peter’s proclamation
Peter announces, "I
truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who
fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” (10:34b-35)
Makes you
want to shout Alleluia,
doesn’t it?
Try
it
Alleluia
No partiality – you don’t have to be
Jewish
Alleluia
in every nation
anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him - surrender to God’s authority
and righteousness
ALLELUIA
And then Peter told the story – we “love to tell the story of Jesus and his
love”
how God anointed
Jesus … with the Holy Spirit and with power
ALLELUIA
how he went about
doing good & healing all … oppressed by the devil
ALLELUIA
They put him to
death by hanging him on a tree;
BUT God raised him
on the third day
ALLELUIA
He is the one ordained by God
as judge of the living and the dead
ALLELUIA
This afternoon let our
witness and testimony be as clear as Peter’s
He’s the one
God shows
no partiality (10:34c)
ALLELUIA
Cora Bakke Foster embodied
all the radicality of a Norwegian, Lutheran musician
She
could play the notes
Even when her cerebellum failed her
She could play the notes
She wanted to help us sing
So
the family chose this liturgy we’re using this afternoon
“Now the Feast and Celebration”
It’s good music
It’s
good to sing
It
brings us together
It
helps us believe
We’ll also receive the Holy
Communion
The meal of the Baptized for all who have a living faith in
Jesus
Cora wouldn’t miss it
I trust you’ll delight in this communion
We teach and believe through this modest meal
We receive forgiveness of sins, life and salvation
This is exactly what Peter
announced at Cornelius’ house
everyone who
believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name (10:43)
Everyone gets a fresh start in Jesus’ name
He’s the one
ALLELUIA
I haven’t known Cora very
long
There are landmarks where I look for her
Over there at Sunday worship
At the piano for Saturday night services
At Bob’s side in the narthex
I won’t see her again
You won’t see her again
But we have her witness
We have been given her faith legacy
She would want us to cling to Jesus as our Lord
She would want us to live with Easte4r in our
hearts
He’s the One
ALLELUIA