Text      Romans 8:31-39; John 10:1-10; Psalm 23

       Theme      Walkin’ through the Valley

      Subject      The resurrection faith thru Jesus Christ

   Occasion      Funeral of Louis F. Ernst – 4/9/08 – Zion – Iowa City

 

To the whole family of Louis Ernst,

 Especially Meg, Ron, Ginny and Cathy

                   Ila

Friends in Christ

          Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our living Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ

 

My privilege was to spend a while with Ila and Louis at the farm a couple of weeks ago

          First time we’d met but I’d heard about him

                   From his childhood classmate, Charlie Rogers

                             Both of them 99 years old

 made me wonder what well they drank from or what mischief they’d been up to that they live so long

          But poignant now that Louis has died

                   He waited like a gentleman for the wedding anniversary to arrive

                             66 years – such a rare and wonderful witness for us

                   He waited to be sure the quarry matters were going smoothly

          And could I dare to suppose that he was waiting to meet his new pastor

                   To meet me so he could tell me some of his stories

                             He remembered his stories

                                      I heard most about his being in the First Cavalry Division

 

Some of you call him Lou, others Louis, and Louie

          Then too are Dad and Grandpa

                   And Ila, we’re sure you had many names for your beloved

                             We are so grateful to you – they way you cared for each other and modeled for us what it can mean when 2 people are committed to keep a life-long promise

 

We are here this morning, not because Louie died

          If that’s our only concern, then we could have just gone to the cemetery

We’re here this morning because Louie wants us to gather to hear again the good news of Jesus Christ that shaped his life

 

Sitting in the living room, there on the couch, I could see the pictures

Graduation pictures of the kids; the framed color photo from a Texas newspaper

          I was aware the house sat on the north side of a ridge

And I listened as Louie told of his military service

          Couldn’t help but think of how Louie had to go through the valley of the shadow of death for us to share that time

                    How most of us met Louie after his time in service to his country

He seemed to summarize his military service when he said something like,

“A lot of young people today like to be free but they don’t realize how much it cost for us to be free”

          The 1st Cavalry Division emblem on the barn

                   Louie never forgot

                             He was proud of his service

                             He served in the Pacific campaign of WWII that we might be free

                                      Within 2-days of landing in Japan but for Truman’s decision to drop the atomic bomb

St. Paul wrote to the Galatians

For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. (Gal. 5:1)

 

Christ Jesus is Louis’ Lord who has set him free

          His cross is the means by which Christ Jesus has saved us all

                   Saved us from the eternal consequence of our sin

                   Saved us from the grip of death

                   Saved us from the grave

          Christ is risen – like the first fruit from the grave

 

Everyone who is baptized into Christ knows this freedom

          We can talk about the resurrection as our sure and certain hope

                   Christ has won it for us – he is our champion

 

So Louis is dressed here in his baptismal garment

          That great white funeral pal draped over him – 10’6” x 6’6”

                   As he lay there by the baptismal bowl

                             The light of Christ shining above him

          Louis is among the saints who have washed their robes in the blood of lamb and now standing before the throne arrayed in white

 

So the life-walk of the Christian, like the way Lou took, is with Jesus

          Doing what we must for our brothers and sisters

                   Always trusting that the Lord is with us

          Knowing that one day each of us will die

                   Always trusting that the Lord is with us

                             Will not let us go

So we tell, like Louie is telling today, how it is that we live like we do

          You tell Louie’s stories today

                   The messages have gotten us off to a good start

          But they all seem to be stories of gentle Jesus in the flesh of a man named Lou

 

There’s that too isn’t it so

          Louie was a Christian

                   Everybody knew it

                             Not because he told us

                                      But because of the way he lived

Where he went

How he spent his time

Who his friends were

How he welcomed strangers

How he conducted business

 

Please do tell the stories of Louis Ernst

          And while you do, you will understand in new ways

                   Louie walked through the valley of the shadow of death

          Going that way made life a blessing Louie could have known by no other way

 

Jesus came that we might have life and have it abundantly

          Even into eternity

 

Life this side if the grave is hard enough

Good that God in Christ inspires people like Louis Ernst to make it easier for the rest of us

          Good that thru Louie we have been inspired to make life easier for others

                   It’s a great walk thru a difficult valley

Best is to do it together

 

Christ is risen!  Alleluia