Sermon - Gaylord and Janice Naig Funeral - John 14:18-24

Dear children, grandchildren, siblings, relatives, and friends of Gaylord and Janice, God’s peace be unto all of you. Our Lord speaks tenderly to you: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me.” When your hearts are broken and stirred up, bruised and crushed, trust in the Lord who provides for you and comforts you with the hope of salvation.

Gaylord and Janice were fantastic parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends. They were actively involved in the lives of their kids and grandkids because they loved them. They were deeply in love with one another, spending their lives together. It’s almost poetic that they would die within days of each other. They were a blessing to each other and to their family.

Both were hardworking and loyal. Janice making baby blankets, which a couple of my kids currently use, and Gaylord with his mowing business, which he graciously mowed my lawn for a month before I moved here to town. Those who worked with them, or received the fruits of their labors, were blessed to have Gaylord and Janice in their lives.

Because they were such a blessing to us, having them both taken so suddenly and swiftly from us leaves our heads swimming in an ocean of sorrow. For you grandchildren, this is particularly painful since tomorrow is grandparents day. For you children, having both of your parents taken from you within just days of each other, can make you feel like orphans; as if mom and dad, up and left you alone to fend for yourselves. 

But Jesus knows your hearts, He knows the sorrow and pain which you're experiencing, He understands your sadness. Your Savior says to you “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” Though you may feel orphaned and abandoned, the truth is that you’re not alone. God is with you, He’s not forsaken you, and you will see mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, again.

How is that possible? Through Christ! Gaylord and Janice have received the promise of the Lord: “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.” Gaylord and Janice are children of the Heavenly Father, and in their Father’s house are many rooms, room enough for them, and Christ has gone on to prepare a place for them and for you.

But again, how is this possible? How is it that they shall receive a place in heaven just for them? It’s all by the grace of God! Before both Gaylord and Janice fell asleep in the Lord, I was able to visit them through a video chat at the hospital. In that visit they received confession and absolution, both Gaylord and Janice confessed that they were sinners deserving of death, and that their hope of salvation rested upon Jesus Christ who forgave their sins and suffered death in their place. Such was their hope and they have now received their hope as they rest from their labors in Christ.

They made the good confession that they knew they were sinners who would die, so that they could confess their faith and hope in Jesus Christ who was crucified for them so that even though they die they live eternally! Because God graciously forgave them all of their sins through Jesus’ death, they were adopted into God’s family through the waters of baptism and are now God’s own children. Because Jesus lives, so also do they live!

Yes, Gaylord and Janice live, right now. Their souls are with the Lord in heaven, while their bodies rest here on earth. We will plant their bodies in the grave, just like Gaylord planted many seeds in the ground, so that on the last day when Christ returns, when it’s harvest time, God will raise them from the grave and harvest them home to the storehouses of heaven where they will live for all eternity.

Gaylord and Janice are not gone. Your parents, grandparents, siblings, and friends have not left you. They are simply in the nearer presence of God. You’re not left as orphans. In the resurrection of the dead on the last day there shall be a most marvelous reunion of the saints in paradise where faithful Christians will once again be able to embrace in hugs and share smiles and stories. For Christians death is not the end.

So for us who gather here today to mourn and weep, to remember and laugh, to share a hug or a tear, we also gather together in hope. We believe in God, we believe in all that Jesus has done for us. We like Gaylord and Janice confess our sins, we acknowledge our guilt to the Lord, so that we may fully trust in God to redeem us from this veil of tears to bring us with Him to paradise! We confess that we’re like Gaylord and Janice, the thief on the cross, contrite sinners, to whom Jesus promises: “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

In hope we remember Gaylord and Janice, because in paradise we shall make more memories with them for all eternity. “We do not lose heart.” We have hope “knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.” The truth that Jesus has risen is extraordinarily comforting since it means that we too shall rise with Him. We Christians shall live eternally!

All of this hope for a future with our loved ones is for you. The way that you receive this hope is through Jesus. He is your one Redeemer and Savior, He is the one who reunites families and friends forever, who adopts us into His holy family. Let us keep this hope inscribed upon our hearts forever by remembering the words of our Lord: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” May God bless you to abide in Jesus and the hope He gives you for a joyful resurrection.