We shouldn't be here today. It's too soon. We were just here to bury Dewey and now we lay Dottie to rest? It doesn't seem right. Dewey's family was going to mourn for him and then there was no time because suddenly Dottie was sick and there was so much to do to help her fight it. And yet here we are. And we shouldn't be. It's too soon. We're not ready. Dad and now Mom. Grandpa and now Grandma. What grief and anguish you are filled with today! We can declare that we should not be here today! But we can never say that Dottie doesn't belong where she is now, with Jesus. For Jesus has come into this world and paid the price for Dottie's and for all of our sins. And because her sins were taken away by Jesus, because she was baptized into Christ, because she was full of His body and blood, we can say that even though WE don't want to be here, SHE is exactly where she should be: with Jesus in paradise. That is what He has won for her by His death on the cross. That is what He has fulfilled in her. That his what she and all those who are in Christ will have when Jesus comes again to raise us up from the dead. Jesus has gone to prepare a place for Dottie. And now He has taken her to be there where the saints uncountable are gathered around the Lamb's throne and every tear is wiped away from their eyes!
Three things came to mind as I thought about Dottie and her life and suffering and death. And with each of these different parts of her life, we see how the Lord has worked in her life as well as a picture of something greater that the Lord has done for her. Consider first of all: breath. When the Lord God made man in the garden, the Bible says that He BREATHED into Man the breath of life and he became a living being. Dottie's family was there as Dottie became sick and struggled for breath and even had to have a machine to breathe for her. And Jamie and I witnessed Dottie's last and final breath as her life in this world ended. And if it were all just a matter of air, then that would be the end of it. But there was more breath in Dottie than the breaths she worked so hard to take. Beginning the day she was baptized, the Holy Spirit was breathed into Dottie. When Dottie was at Christ's font, when she was washed with water and the Word, the Spirit came to her. He forgave her sins. He marked her as a child of the heavenly Father. All through her life as Dottie heard God's Word and was reminded of her baptism and heard the forgiveness of sins spoken, she was filled with the Breath, that is, the Holy Spirit, who worked in her and prepared her for the day she would take her last breath, by breathing into her the eternal life of Jesus. That way, when Dottie took her last breath on this earth, we rejoice, because filled with the Spirit, she now lives and breathes with Jesus in eternal life. Some day, Jesus will come back and He will put breath back into our bodies and raise us from the dead. But today, as we mourn that Dottie has taken her last breath, we rejoice that the Spirit has been in her through Christ's gifts, giving her life.
The second part of Dottie's life that comes to mind is one that Linda shared with me. It's about Tea. Tea that Corwin planned to share with Dottie. Just that simple. Hot Japanese tea. It was something to which Dottie was looking forward when she finally got through all of this. It was something Corwin was anxious to do for his grandmother. To share some tea together. That's not going to happen now. No more tea to be shared. Not in this world anyway. And yet there is something else that you can share, even now. Soon Corwin will be confirmed and begin receiving the Sacrament of Christ's body and blood. Remember that in the Communion Liturgy we sing “with the angels, and archangels and ALL THE COMPANY OF HEAVEN.” When the Lord gathers us at His altar we are not just there ourselves but are surrounded by what the Bible calls the “great cloud of witnesses.” That means that when we commune, Christ is with us just as He is with Dewey and Dottie and all those saints who have gone before us into eternal life! Dottie enjoyed having tea with Corwin. But even better than tea, Dottie had the body and blood of Jesus to give her forgiveness, life and salvation. That was something I had the privilege to share not only with Dottie but her family: Jesus' body and blood. Now Dottie has Jesus, no longer under the bread and wine, but face to face in glory! It's what the Lord's Supper promised her in this life and it is what was given to her in eternal life. Corey, you won't have tea with your Grandma now. But soon you will share Jesus as she did: by eating and drinking His body and blood. And when you come to that altar, give thanks to God that she is with Jesus too, with those saints and angels in heaven.
The third thing that struck me about Dottie in these last few months is how much she surely missed Dewey. We all know how true it is that so many spouses don't live much longer when one dies. You can't be married for 57 years and not grieve terribly when your husband or wife dies before you. Perhaps Dottie's sickness was related to that, a desire to be with Dewey. And so a longing to be with Jesus. A great hole in her heart now that he was gone. Maybe we would even think it's selfish on her part. After all, she still had family here to live for. But we won't think badly of her for dying so soon after Dewey! But whatever the case, we all know how much she loved Dewey and how much he loved her. And therein lies this beautiful picture. The Bride, it seems, can't live without her Bridegroom. But now we're not talking about Dewey and Dottie. Now we are talking about Jesus and His Bride, the Church. The Church—and that includes Dewey and Dottie—is the Bride of Christ. Born from His side in the water of the font and the blood of the cup. Rescued by Jesus from the enemies of sin and death. He has promised that He will return again to claim His Bride, to carry her into eternal life. If there is any connection and love that Dewey and Dottie had for each other, it is a picture of the way in which Jesus loves us. We, His Bride, long to be with Him. To rejoice to see our Bridegroom's face. To celebrate the marriage feast of the Lamb in His kingdom. The Bible says that Jesus has given Himself for the Bride. He has washed her and made her holy and spotless and without sin. And we, His Brid,e His Church, can't live without Him! So that is what happened to Dottie. Washed. Forgiven. Fed. Claimed by Christ. She is His own as the Church is His own. And now Dottie sleeps, as we will sleep until we are awakened by that trumpet blast of the Last Day and the cry that the Bridegroom is coming. Then all those who are in Christ Jesus, along with Dewey and Dottie and all the saints, will enjoy their Bridegroom, their Savior, their Jesus forever and ever.
So maybe we think we shouldn't be here today. Maybe it hurts to much and is too soon. But here we are. And maybe we don't think we should be here, but we CAN say that Dottie is right where the Lord would have her: with Him. As she has always been. From the font and at the altar. Now face to face. By Jesus' words and gifts, filled with the Spirit, gathered at the feast of salvation, awaiting the return of the Bridegroom. Yep. Dottie's exactly where she should be: with her Lord. Let these words and works of Jesus be your comfort in the days ahead. Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!