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S. Funeral Sharlene Slothower, Holy Saturday.26 John 12:20-26

“Truly, truly I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

They say that we all die alone. But I don’t think that’s true. It’s not true for Christians, I know that. And it wasn’t true for Sharlene. And it wasn’t just that her family all arrived in the knick of time to be with her as she drew her last breath with Bonnie holding her hand, assuring her all will be well—although that was lovely to witness, and Sharlene passed on peacefully…

But she wasn’t alone because Jesus was there with her—as he promises in our Gospel, “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also…”

Sharlene was baptized into His Majesty the LORD’s secret service as his agent and heir very shortly after she was born. She happily frequented his house with the throng on Sundays and holy days. She loved her Portals of Prayer and could be short with me if I didn’t make sure she got the latest issue.

Wherever God’s people gathered in his name, she was happy to be also. When poor health did not allow her to come to church here, she would gather at the Cypress with whatever (to my mind, sometimes slightly questionable?, theologically) pastor or prayer leader would show and get up a group to sing some hymns and pray.

She could be a tiny bit bossy, sometimes—but only in service of helping you be nice—which admittedly I need a lot of help with, actually 😉 And when it came to the LORD and his house, she truly had a servant heart. To be a servant of Jesus was something Sharlene was baptized and catechized into as a child and something she lived into joyfully her whole 93 years of earthly life. Where Jesus was, she wanted to be…

And now, she is with him in glory and with her beloved husband Howard who long preceded her in death. (Bonnie doesn’t agree with me, I know, sweetie, and yes, I admit you have more bible passages on your side on this one, but hopeless romantic that I am, I think we’ll be married in heaven, somehow, someway. I think your dad would be on my side on this one? 😉

There is something quite lovely about a funeral on Holy Saturday. Because the best place to find Jesus (he himself says, in this Gospel!) is in the grave where he rested on this Holy Saturday to hallow the graves of all his saints and make them places of rest and peace and light and joy, forever! Talk about taking the stinger out of death! This our crucified LORD has indeed done!

So this is why I say Sharlene did not die alone. Jesus was there with her, was waiting for her in Sheol. David says this in Psalm 139, my very favorite:

“Where shall I go from your Spirit?/ Or where shall I flee from your presence?/ If I ascend to heaven, you are there!/ If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!/ If I take the wings of the morning/ and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,/ even there your hand shall lead me,/ and your right hand shall hold me./ If I say, ‘surely the darkness shall cover me,/ and the light about me be night’,/ even the darkness is not dark to you;/ the night is bright as the day,/ for darkness is as light to you… How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!/ How vast is the sum of them!/ If I could count them, they are more than the sand./ I awake, and I am still with you…”

And so is Sharlene. “Where I am, there my servant will be also”. Even in the grave, Jesus is there to make darkness light as the day, always and forever, for his servants…

His rest in the tomb as we said has hallowed the tombs of all his saints (all who delight, as Sharlene, to simply be his servant).

Where Jesus is, it’s all GOOD!—he is the Life of the Party! And contemplating his rest in the tomb this Holy Saturday, we can picture David, Peter, Paul, and Sharlene and Howard and all the company of heaven in that Light that has overcome all the darkness…

There are many ways of being a servant of Jesus. Mary sat at his feet, hearing his word. Martha was busy with making a nice meal for him, keeping the house clean and comfortable so the Lord could rest a bit. Sharlene was happy to do both! Peter and Paul’s lives of faith and martyr deaths serve to show the power of Jesus’ death and resurrection—witness that even, especially in our weakness, sorrow and hardships, we are are strong. Because; when our strength is gone, there’s nothing to do but fall back into Jesus’ nail-pierced hands…

There we’ll find light, strength and joy beyond describing. And as Sharlene fell asleep last Monday evening, the light of Christ and the Peace, surpassing all understanding—that guards our hearts and minds, too—wrapped her up; that where Jesus is, she’ll be also, forever. Amen.