It hardly seems real.
This last week has been spent doing all the things
Necessary to close an estate.
Its been arduous to say the least.
But, everything that has needed to happen has happened.
Except for one thing.
There has been little time to actually be able to sit back and grieve
The loss of Bryson Kratz…
As a pastor, I have sat with countless families who have lost a loved one,
But have never been through the process myself.
It has been eye opening to say the least.
Now, we find ourselves here.
A place of calm and a place of rest.
We are finally in a place that is safe,
And a time that is set aside to grieve.
The loss can finally be experienced.
Some of you have traveled a distance to be here.
I invite you now to sit back, relax a bit,
And stay in the moment as we reflect on the life of Bryson Kratz
And the impact of his life and death on each of us,
And also take a moment to embrace the holy and the
Unseen at work in these sacred moments.
The text this afternoon comes from…
II Corinthians 4:7-18
7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13It is written: "I believed; therefore I have spoken."[1] With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Here we are…
A timeless message for people who are very much
Bound to the passing of time.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like it much when things break.
I have the opinion that once you buy something, it should last forever.
I have the patience of Job in dealing with people,
But I am perfectly capable of ranting like I just escaped from
Psychiatric facility when it is the car, computer, cell phone,
Or my personal nemesis, the irrigation
system for our home owners association.
The water pump is enough to make a grown man cry.
I can vouch for that…
It’s a daily occurrence in my life.
Why am I telling you this?
Because these things are just supposed to work…
They worked yesterday when I went to bed,
Nothing has changed overnight.
It should still work in the morning.
Then, one day, your loved one says…
“I can’t get out of bed…
there is something wrong with my back.”
Suddenly the car, computer, cell phone, and water pump don’t seem
Quite so ominous.
What do you do when the machine that broke
Down overnight is you?
What if that machine that broke down overnight
Is your brother, your father, your husband,
Your friend?
Fill in the blank.
It’s a scary thought.
Its also why we are all here today.
The machine that broke down was the body of our friend
And loved one.
Paul has some words for us,
And to be honest, I do not know that his metaphor is all that comforting at
First glance.
He calls our bodies jars of clay.
Jars of clay?
Who wants to be that?
Clay pots are fragile.
They chip, they break, they certainly aren’t worth very much.
Who wants to be that?
I certainly don’t.
I want to be stone and steel.
Something that is timeless and indestructible…
Something that the passage of time ignores
And the forces of nature have no power over.
I don’t want to break.
I do not want to be a jar of clay.
But, Paul is wise and tells us the truth despite what we want to hear.
Like it or not, we will wear out…
The passage of time will take a toll on us…
And this jar will eventually break.
This is indeed bad news.
But, in this, the bad news of our mortality,
Paul does not tell us to hang our heads in despair.
Far from it.
Paul offers us hope…
And, this in itself is miraculous.
Why is Paul offering hope miraculous?
Well, here is a guy that has been bound, flogged, chastised, beaten, spit on,
And thrown out of every civilized society in his time…
And, he is now sitting in a dark dungeon, with the Roman sewers running
Waste deep through his cell…
One would think that this would be a man in complete despair
As he is facing his own mortality.
But, he is far from despair, and so filled with hope that we
Find comfort in his promises 2000 years later on the
Other side of the globe.
Listen again to his words…
7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
Suddenly the bad news doesn’t seem quite so bad.
Yeah, if your hope is in the things you can touch with your hands
And see with your eyes, you are in trouble, and so was Paul…
But that is not where his hope was.
He himself had experienced the resurrected Christ on the road to Damascus and
Had been transformed by his power.
Paul was no longer concerned about how he was going to die,
But how he was going to live.
Around him was nothing but death and carnage,
But all he could see was life and transformation.
Let that sink in for a minute…
I know terminal cancer patients who have uttered these same words and found
Tremendous power, hope, and life in their meaning.
When you have a terminal disease, and the mystery of your death is no longer
A mystery, it ceases to have power over you.
And, your focus becomes how you will spend your days.
How you will treat your loved ones because time is of the essence.
You spend less time thinking about death,
And more time meditating on life.
Paul tells us that each and everyone of us have a terminal disease.
Its called being human.
You and I and Bryson, and everyone else have a date with our maker.
That will not change.
But death is not the focus.
Our focus is on life.
How will you live this day?
The time is precious!
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
What do you do when the machine that breaks is you?
What do you do when the machine that breaks is someone you love?
You face that loss with hope of God’s resurrection power.
You face that loss with courage because you never walk alone.
You face that loss with strength because God has ordained this
Natural order and you are a part of it and solidly in his hands.
But for now,
For those of us who hope to have many more long and healthy years,
Make them count…
Make them count.
