Sermon - Carol Jergens Funeral - John 10:11-16

Cindy, family and friends of Carol, God’s peace be with all of you. Hear these words of comfort from St. Peter again: “According to [God’s] great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” 

Carol was born again in the waters of Holy Baptism. In those waters Carol died with Christ and rose with Christ. Therefore, Carol has an eternal inheritance awaiting her in paradise and it will be revealed to her and to all Christians on the last day. For that reason we hope in Christ and trust that Carol is being cared for right now by her Good Shepherd, awaiting the last day.

Speaking of shepherds, Carol was somewhat like a shepherd for many years. She didn’t walk around with a staff, leading fuzzy animals around, while defending them from coyotes and wolves, but she did lead children around. As a bus driver, she led little children, little lambs, from place to place, pasture to pasture. While on the road, she did her best to protect the lambs under her care, even in storms or bad weather, ultimately returning them home each day. She didn’t behave like a hired hand, deserting the lambs when danger approached, rather she cared for the sheep and did what she had to.

I imagine there are many children, who are now adults, who remember Carol and all of the time she spent with them on the bus. They remember her infectious smile, which probably made the big scary bus not seem so frightening to little kids. Such was Carol’s personality. Even in these later years with surgery after surgery, Carol always had a smile on her face and a laugh in her belly.

While Carol herself may have been a faithful shepherd of sorts, her shepherding is but a reflection of the true Good Shepherd: Jesus Christ. Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.” Jesus is the Good Shepherd and Carol is one of His dear little sheep. The Good Shepherd, Jesus, leads His sheep from pasture to pasture, from the church on earth to the church in heaven. Jesus protects His sheep, so when the wolf comes and attacks the sheep, the Good Shepherd defends the sheep with His life.

Jesus knows His flock, He knows His own and His own know Him. When His sheep begin to stray, He goes after them and brings them back into His fold. Carol told me about how before I had known her she had wandered from the fold, wandered from the church, but her Good Shepherd sought her out and brought her back into His fold. “I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.”

This is how gracious and merciful our Good Shepherd is toward us. He brings the lost and straying back to Him so that He may care for them always. He does this not only for Carol, but for all of us. Who among us hasn’t gone astray from Christ’s fold many a time? Yes, even the whole world has gone astray and He still seeks us out.

The account of when Jesus tells Peter, Andrew, James, and John to let down their nets for a catch, and they catch so many fish they can barely bring them in, is a beautiful picture of the many people that God brings into His church. He doesn’t just let us flounder about in the sea of this world without Him forever, but He catches us and brings us back.

The Good Shepherd doesn’t just bring us back because He’s greedy, but because He loves us. We sheep are prone to stray from the fold, and that’s dangerous. Alone we’re easy pickings for the wolf, the devil, to swallow us into the belly of hell. It’s our sins which lead us astray.

Carol was a great mother, sister, bus driver, and friend. But she was also a sinner, one prone to wandering, and therefore she needed her Good Shepherd to rescue her. Jesus laid down His life, traded Carol’s place in the devil’s jaws, so that Carol could go freely back to the fold. Jesus died upon the cross, trading places with Carol and all of us, in order that our sins would be forgiven and that we would go freely back to the fold, indeed to the eternal pastures of heaven.

Because Christ died upon the cross and rose from the dead for Carol, because Carol believed this and trusted in Jesus for her salvation, she has now received the outcome of her faith, the salvation of her soul. Already her soul has been saved and at the moment of death her soul was taken to heaven with the Lord. Her body is still here, waiting for the resurrection, waiting for her soul and body to be reunited forever in paradise. So today we lay her body to rest where she may safely await that blessed final day.

All of this which I have spoken about Carol is for you too. Carol was brought into the fold in this life and was cared for by her Good Shepherd. He fed her with the Word of God from the scriptures and the body and blood of Jesus in the sacrament of the altar. When I’d visit Carol she feasted upon the life-giving body and blood of Jesus, and her faith was sustained through the comforting words of her Good Shepherd.

Likewise, Christ has laid down His life for you. He seeks you out and wants to bring you back into His fold. Here He nourishes you with His own body and blood. He defends you against the wiles of the devil. He comforts your tired and frightened heart with His Word. He does all of this so that you, with Carol, may receive that inheritance kept in heaven for you and obtain the salvation of your souls. He wants you to see not only Carol’s smile again, but His smile. So may God’s face shine upon you this day and for all eternity.