LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 1973, Page 92

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MEMORIAL SERVICE SERMON

“IT heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write,
Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth;
Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors;
and their works do follow them.” (Revelation 14:13)

O happy day and yet far happier hour,
When wilt thou come at last,

When fearless to my Father’s love and power,
Whose promise standeth fast,

My soul I gladly render?

For surely will His hand

Lead her with guidance tender

To heav’n, her fatherland.

BELOVED IN CHRIST, MEMBERS OF THE Hoty FamiI y!

Whenever the angel of death enters one of our homes
and removes from us one of our loved ones whose hand
we have held, whose voice we have cherished, whose
life was so intimately intertwined with our own, there
js struck in the human breast the deepest chord of
sympathy and sorrow. The vacant chair at our fireside
is but a daily reminder of the sword that pierced our
soul at the moment we first became aware of their
passing. Sorrow is part of the heritage bestowed on us
by the folly of our first parents, Adam and Eve, when
their sin turned Eden the beautiful into the shambles
of Eden.

Who can measure the sorrow, who can count the
tears that were shed at the more than 60,000 burials
that took place in the churches of our Synod in the
two years since the Milwaukee convention? We are not
ashamed of those tears, because our Brother, Jesus, was
not ashamed to have the tears He shed at Bethany
recorded for all posterity to read. Our tears are ac-
companied by the laughter of the triumphant as they
shout:

“O Happy Day!”

John was on the Isle of Patmos not by choice but
by compulsion. God chose him to write what God
would show him. The heavenly voice said, “What thou
seest, write in a book and send it to the churches.
I am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last. Write
the things which are and the things which shall be!”
John did write and he told it like it is. Later the voice
from heaven said, “Write also this: Blessed are the
dead which die in the Lord.” He meant to say, “O happy
day — for them!”

Our memorial service is a service of thanksgiving
for the faithfulness of God who by grace permitted
these many thousands of our brothers and sisters to
reach their destiny, the faithful laymen and lay women,
the teachers, the professors, the missionaries, the pas-
tors of our churches — we include them all as we sing,
“O happy day!”

Some of these thousands fell quietly asleep in their
Lord. Others struggled with death in their pain. They
knew that death was the last enemy they shall ever
meet. When they met Jesus after the struggle was
over they could sing, “O happy day!” Others among
them died in accidents. God could have prevented these
accidents, but He did not. His angels were standing

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ready as a rescue squad to pull them out of trouble.
But the Lord of life and death commanded His angels,
“Don’t touch them! I want them NOW!” The next
moment these children of God were shouting, “O happy
day!” They are the living ones. We are the dying ones.

Some of those whom we remember in our memorial
service were very young. I wish to address a word to
the youth representatives at our convention. It was
my privilege to be the pastor of a promising young
football player. He wished to dedicate his life to his
country. He had finished his studies at West Point to
become an Army officer. It was a few days before his
graduation. His parents had given him a sports car as
a graduation gift. He and his roommate wanted to take
a short spin around the countryside at West Point.
Within minutes the car hit the concrete side of a small
bridge and was catapulted into the river. Both men
were killed — two days before their graduation. At the
funeral of our young member his parents sang amid
their tears with the rest of us, “O happy day!” You
young people, I advise you to walk through a cemetery
and notice, some graves are very short.

Why is it such a happy day for all of these whom we
remember today? The word says, “Blessed, yes, happy
are they who die in the Lord.” O happy day, they now
see the victory of the Cross! No longer must they live
by faith. Now they live by sight. O happy day, they
now see that there is no other name under heaven given
among men by which we must be saved but the name
of Jesus! O happy day, they now see the effectiveness
of the blood of Christ in blotting out every stain of sin
in their lives! O happy day, they now see every promise
of God in the Scriptures fulfilled! O happy day, they

Dr. Paul W. Streufert