Matthew 6:33 A Funeral Sermon for Rosalie

The text that I have chosen for our meditation on God’s Word is Rosalie’s confirmation verse, Matthew 6:33:  “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”. 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, and especially you, Rosalie’s family:  I bring you grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Our dear sister in Christ Rosalie was a small town, south Texas girl.  She was born and raised in Bishop, Texas and spent her life there.  She was a member of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Kingsville, Texas.  Bishop and Kingsville.  Neither one of them are exactly a metropolis! 

She was a wife and mother and homemaker.  She was never named Time’s Person of the Year. She never won the Nobel Prize.  And the vast majority of people in the world are not aware of her passing—though we feel it keenly—because we have lost a beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, and sister in Christ.

South Texas girl.  Homemaker.  Member of a small congregation.  Some folks may think that all of this does not add up to very much—even for a very long life like Rosalie was blessed with.  But that is the way the world thinks about Rosalie—not God. 

You see, from before the world’s foundations were laid- and now forever in eternity- God knew her and loved her and accomplished her salvation so that she would be with him forever.

Rosalie was the daughter of a King—and not just any king.  She was a daughter of the King of kings and Lord of lords and at this moment she has entered into a mansion that is far, far grander than Buckingham Palace-- for she has entered into the glory of heaven—into that place prepared just for her by her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who said:  “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”. 

Jesus spoke these words to people whose lives were consumed with worry about all the wrong kinds of things:  what kinds of clothes to wear and what to have for dinner and how to meet their material needs.  But Jesus wanted them to know that there was something much grander, much greater than this earthly life—even when it is rich and famous.

Jesus wanted them to know that there was an eternal kingdom that God had prepared and he was the way into that kingdom.  He said I am the way and the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except by me.  He wanted them to know that even the greatest earthly life would pale in comparison to having a place in his kingdom—that there is only loss in gaining the entire world but losing our soul in the process.

The kingdom Jesus offered was life with God—a life that even death cannot end.  It was a kingdom where peace reigned eternally because he had made peace by his death on the cross.  It was a kingdom that was open to all people—even to a small town, south Texas girl. 

The life that Jesus offered to Rosalie in his kingdom was not just life of a subject and their ruler—but a life where that small-town, south Texas girl would become a daughter of the King-- and an ordinary life could become something truly beautiful and grand and lasting.

When Rosalie was born on August the 21^st, 1918 in Bishop, Texas she was a healthy little baby girl and I’m sure that her parents, Ludwig and Selma, were grateful to God for that since those were dangerous days for both mother and child! 

But spiritually she was born alienated from God and an outcast from his family.  It was a blessing to have the Christian parents that she did—but God wanted even more for her—he wanted her to be his child—and so did her parents!

And so those good people brought her to the waters of Holy Baptism just a few short days later on September the 8^th 1918.  And there at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Bishop, Texas Pastor Moebus poured water on her little head in the name of the Triune God and the Holy Spirit made her a member of God’s family and a daughter of the King. 

God loved Rosalie so much that he made a promise to her there—a promise that stands to this day:  that having died with Christ in those sacred waters she would be raised in a resurrection like his—that her status as a daughter of the king and her place in his kingdom was eternal. 

From that moment on she learned what her gracious status as a daughter of the King- and what her life in his kingdom- was all about. 

Her parents kept their baptismal promise to God to raise her in the Christian faith.  They saw to it that she was brought to church and to Sunday School.  And they made sure that she learned about the Christian faith in confirmation classes.

She was confirmed on April 9, 1933 by Pr. Niemann at the same church where she had been baptized fourteen years earlier.  As she knelt at the altar, she heard Pr. Niemann pray that God would pour out his Spirit upon her and then he blessed her with the words that are our sermon text this morning:  “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”.

Rosalie’s place in the kingdom and her status as a daughter of the King was God’s gift to her through Jesus Christ.  He laid down his life for her on the cross so that by his shed blood there she could be reconciled to God and have her sins forgiven.  He rose up again three days so that she could have a share in his eternal life and a lasting place in the Kingdom of God.

Faithful Lutheran lady that she was, she knew that she was justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law but she also knew the truth of Jesus’ words that those who have a place in his kingdom are called by God to seek righteousness.  And so she did.

Rosalie was a pious, devout member of this congregation.  I can’t remember a Sunday that she ever missed until she became too frail to attend and then I would call on her and we would have worship together in the nursing home. 

She took an active part in the life of this congregation--attending Sunday School and small group bible studies and working in the LWML.  When you walked into this place you could count on being greeted and welcomed by Rosalie.  She taught Sunday School for years and made crafts and did handwork for our annual craft sale to support the mission of the LWML.

It is because she was a daughter of the King and was certain of her own place in God’s kingdom that she wanted her life to reflect his righteousness and, according to our Lord’s invitation, first given to her at her confirmation, she pursued a righteous, holy life that reflected her gracious status as a daughter of the King.

But her life in his kingdom was not just filled with spiritual blessings and heavenly priorities-- it was also blessed by God with greatest earthly gifts he bestows in spouse and family. 

To all of those who were so worried about earthly matters, the Lord promised:  “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”.  Jesus promised that there was not need to fret and worry about the things of this life because our heavenly Father knows we need them and he loves to give good gifts to his children.

Rosalie understood this and believed and trusted that as she put God first, he would take care of the rest. And he did. 

On August 24, 1941—once more at the church where she was baptized and confirmed, she was united in Holy Matrimony with Ed Graf by Pr. Kasper. 

Theirs was a long and happy marriage and it is still difficult for me to think of one of them without the other but no longer do we have to!  They sat beside one another in this place for years in worship and bible class--they shared a common life and common faith and though parted for fourteen years, now they stand together around the throne of the Lamb in his kingdom, their voices joined together once again to worship the King who made them his children.

Their marriage was blessed with children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren and the simply joys and pleasures of life that God graciously grants to those who are his.  She enjoyed sitting in the deer blind but not so much the fishing boat (which I think is more a reflection on Ed’s boat than her love of fishing!)  She loved good food and especially shrimp.   

Rosalie spent her long life like many of the Lutheran women of her day where kinder, kuche, und kirche (children, kitchen, and church) were the focus of their life and everyone sitting here in this place has been blessed by their service and sacrifice and selflessness.

No “Times Person of the Year” came from their number—no “Nobel Prize” winners--but an entire generation of decent, hard-working, God-fearing people were raised by them --which is the real and lasting legacy of their love and labor.

Two thousand years ago Jesus said:  “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”.  He spoke those words especially to Rosalie at her confirmation and he speaks them again to us here today.  They are not so much a command as they are a gracious invitation to set aside our cares and concerns and believe him when he says that by his death and resurrection we too have a place in his kingdom.  May God grant us faith to believe his promise and accept his invitation!  Amen.