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DON’T BE AFRAID; JUST BELIEVE!
Rev. Mark F. Bartels
Epistle Lesson; 2 Corinthians 8:1-14
Old Testament Lesson; Lamentations 3:22-33
Sermon Text; Mark 5:21-43
Two weeks ago, for our family vacation, we met my mom and dad, out in Nebraska. My family was going there to visit the childhood homes of my parents. On Wednesday, we drove way out in the country, in central eastern Nebraska. We traveled on gravel roads, in the middle of what appeared to be nowhere. As far as the eye could see, there were miles and miles of cornfields.
All of a sudden, as we came up over a hill, we came upon a little, white church, right out there in the middle of these miles and miles of cornfields! The steeple of that little, white church was pointing straight up to Heaven. And, beside it was an old schoolhouse. (My dad had been the teacher, at that Christian Day School for many, many years!) And beside that old schoolhouse was another old house, where the teachers used to live.
When we stopped the van, my mom told us, "This is where I grew up."
We got out, walked around, and looked at all of the sites. Right beside the church was a little cemetery. Since some of my mom’s relatives’ graves were there, she wanted to go and see them.
As we were walking to the cemetery, my mom explained to us how the church got out there, in the middle of "nowhere". Back in the mid to late 1800s the German Lutheran immigrants who settled there, wanted to have a church right in the midst of their farms. They also wanted to have a school for their children, where they could be trained to know Jesus, their Savior. She told us that a lot of the children, who were born there, were baptized in that church, confirmed there, and married there. And, when they died, they were buried there.
When we got into the cemetery, and were looking at some of the very old gravestones there, we noticed that the ones from the 1800’s were written in German. Since my dad could read German, we repeatedly asked him, "What does that grave stone say?"
Looking at one, he said, "That one says;
Come onto me,
all you who are weary and burdened and
I will give you rest."
Then, we would get to the next one and ask, "What does this one say?"
And then, he said, "That one says,
I am the resurrection and the life.
He who believes in me
will live,
even though he dies."
And then, we would get to the next one and again would ask, "What does that one say?"
And, he answered, "That one says,
The LORD
is my shepherd."
After reading a bunch of those old, German Bible passages on those tombstones, my dad stopped. Then he put his arms out, as if he was spreading them out around the cemetery that was filled with all of these grave markers and their Bible passages, and all the grounds there, with the church steeple that pointed up to Heaven, and the little schoolhouse where the children were trained. Finally he said, "This place is an awesome testimony, to our Savior!"
Then off in the distance, we saw this:
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It was a grave marker that was unique from all the rest. It was a rusted, little iron cross. In the middle of that cross was a heart, with German words written on it.
As we all walked over to it, my boys and I got there first. Since I can’t read German, all I could make out were the dates and the name. I told them that I could read that there was a little girl buried there. Right there, underneath our feet. Her name was Louis Ann Marie. She was born on April 12, 1882 and she died September 24th, 1882. She was only 5 months old. You could tell that my boy’s hearts went out to that little girl, as they wondered what had happened.
When my dad got there, I asked him, "What do those words say?"
He then read the following words to us.
"Weinet nicht;
das maegdlein ist nicht gestorben,
sondern es schlaeft."
And, I asked him, "Dad, what does that mean?"
"Weinet nicht. Weep not. Das maegdlein - The little maiden. Ist nicht gestorben. Is not dead. Sondern es schlaeft. But sleeps."
Weep not.
The little maiden is not dead,
but sleeps.
I said to my family, "That is the Mark 5:21-43 scripture reading, for July 20th, back at Holy Cross! I have to get a picture of this. I want the members of Holy Cross to see that little 5-month-old girl’s cross-shaped grave marker, with the passage written on the heart, and those little rose buds signifying life. That is a sermon.
Weep not.
That little girl is not dead,
but asleep.
And, those words are based on the words of Jesus Christ, which were spoken 2000 years ago, and are so applicable to our lives today."
Today, I want to look at two things from our scripture reading, that I hope you go home with. If you look at today’s scripture reading, there was another little girl who lost her life. She was twelve years old. We don’t know what her name was. But, we do know that her dad’s name was Jairus.
First of all, look at what happened with her dad. Jairus was a synagogue ruler. Most of the synagogue rulers in Jesus’ day didn’t want to have anything to do with Jesus. It is very possible that Jarius also, really wanted nothing to do with Jesus, did not want to be associated with Jesus, and would have been ashamed to be seen with Jesus. But all of that changed, when his little daughter became deathly sick and lie dying. All of a sudden Jairus realized how important it was to bring Jesus to his little, dying daughter.
I hope we all go home today, knowing how important it is to bring Jesus to loved one’s deathbed.
If you haven’t already had to face the situation of family members on their deathbeds, you know that all of us one day will. Please don’t hesitate to bring Jesus to them. Please, don’t hesitate to do that.
They need Jesus.
They need Jesus, dearly. And, if your loved one is already a believer in Jesus as their Savior, there is nothing more comforting to them than bringing Jesus to them. Oh how comforting it is for them, as they lay on their deathbeds. I can testify to this, because as a pastor, I have stood beside many, many, many deathbeds. How comforting it is for them to hear Jesus say to them,
"Don’t let your heart be troubled."
"Trust also in me,
for in my Father’s house
there are many mansions and
I am going there to prepare a place for you.
And, if I go and prepare a place for you,
I will come back and
I will take you to be with me,
that you also may be where I am."
How comforting it is for them, when you bring Jesus to them with these words,
"God
so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him
shall not perish but have everlasting life."
Those words of the Gospel are so needed and so very comforting, to our family members.
And, if your family member has fallen away from the faith, if they have slipped away from their church life, and now they lie on their deathbed, please don’t hesitate to bring Jesus to them.
Oh, how dearly Jesus wants to be brought to them. Didn’t Jesus compare Himself to a woman who had ten coins, and had lost one of them? What did she do? She swept and swept, searching the house until she found that one lost coin. And, then she rejoiced, when she found it. That is Jesus’ heart toward lost souls.
Didn’t Jesus compare Himself to a shepherd who had one hundred sheep and one of them got lost? What did he do? He left the other ninety-nine, went and looked and looked, until he found the lost sheep. He picked it up on his shoulders and carried it home, rejoicing. That is Jesus’ heart toward lost souls.
So, don’t hesitate to serve as an instrument for Jesus, and bring Him to your family member. Jesus is dearly seeking lost souls. Bring Jesus to them. There is no one who more desperately wants to hear about Jesus, than
someone on their deathbed,
someone who is looking into eternity,
someone who is looking back over their past life and sees their sins,
someone who is troubled and worried about those sins, as they are about to stand before the Judgment Seat of God.
There is nothing more comforting to them, than to bring Jesus to them, to explain to them what Jesus did for them. There is nothing more comforting than for you to tell them that Jesus came and claimed all their sins, as His own. It is as if Jesus said, "Your gossip is not yours anymore. It is mine. I am the one who did that. Your adultery isn’t yours anymore. It is mine. I am the one who did that. Your lies aren’t yours anymore, they are mine. I am the one who told those lies."
And, then show them how Jesus went to that cross. He took the punishment for our sins. And, He died for them. He has washed our sins away.
Show them how Jesus has given them His perfect life, as a free gift and says to them, "My holy life is yours. My Father sees you, as if you have lived a holy life, for my sake."
There is nothing more comforting to someone who is dying, than the message of the Gospel. It is the Gospel message of free and full salvation, not by anything that we do, but simply by clinging to the promises of God, in the scripture.
There was a pastor who a number of years ago, went to the Appalachian Mountains. He met a little boy there, who couldn’t read. This pastor wanted to teach this little boy the 23rd Psalm; The Lord is my Shepherd. He taught the little boy to use his five fingers, each one standing for a different word.
The (thumb)
Lord (pointing finger)
is (middle finger)
my (ring finger)
Shepherd (little finger).
That little boy memorized those words, using his little fingers.
The
Lord
is
my
Shepherd.
The next year, that pastor came back and asked the little boy’s mother how he was doing. She told him that the little boy had died. He had frozen to death. To comfort the mother, that pastor explained to her that he had taught her little boy a Bible passage. And then, he used his fingers to demonstrate.
The (thumb)
Lord (pointing finger)
is (middle finger)
my (ring finger)
Shepherd (little finger).
The mother looked at him with a gleam in her eyes, and said, "That explains the position we found him in, when we found him frozen to death. His little right hand was grasped around his fourth finger, his ‘my’ finger. The Lord is my Shepherd." That little boy fell asleep, clinging to Jesus as his Shepherd, as his Savior.
There is nothing more comforting than to bring Jesus to those who are dying. Please do that. Read the Bible to them. Sing hymns or read hymns to them. Read devotions to them. Bring Jesus to them.
Now look at what else happened during today’s scripture reading. That little girl died. She died. And, when Jesus got to the house, the people were crying and wailing, so Jesus said to them, "Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at Him.
Then Jesus went into that house, with the little girl’s mom and dad. Can you picture that in your mind, as they go into the little girl’s bedroom? There she lies, on her bed, dead. Can you picture her dad standing there, with his head down, tears flowing down his cheeks, because of a huge vacant spot in his heart? Can you picture her mom sitting there, with her arms around her little one, and her head on her daughter’s bosom, crying and wishing that somehow her little one could come back?
Our Savior, God, had a heart filled with compassion. You can see it as He sits down on that bed next to that little girl, and takes her by the hand. He looks out at you and me, and wants to give each one of us a picture of what is yet to come, a foretaste of what is to come. And, so with His big, carpenter hands, the Hands of God, He takes the little hand of that little 12-year-old girl and speaks those words, "Talitha koum!" (which means, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!")
There is the voice of God. The voice of God penetrates through dimensions that you and I cannot see and cannot hear. But it penetrates to the very grave! And everything must submit to the command of God. And so, the grave had to let loose of that little girl. She opened her eyes and sat up. She actually stood up! Can you see that mother and father, as they throw their arms around her, laughing with joy?
The Bible says to you and me,
"Those who sow in tears of sorrow,
shall reap with shouts of joy?"
The Bible also tells us to encourage one another with these words, from 1 Thessalonians,
"Brothers,
we do not want you to be
ignorant
about those who
fall asleep."
Did you notice that it doesn’t say die? What happens when you fall asleep? You wake up again.
"Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep with Him. For the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And, so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words." I Thessalonians 4:13
Look at that cross grave marker, one more time.
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What a sermon that is. That grave marker has been over that grave for 121 years. There has been a little girl sleeping there, for 121 years. That cross, with the heart on it, represents the love of Jesus, which was displayed on a wooden cross, when He died for our sins. Those roses, growing on that cross, represent life in the resurrection. And that message from those parents, (who now have long since gone to their own graves, and probably lay very close to her in that cemetery) that message was meant to bring comfort. When I stood there, and I looked at that grave, my heart felt sad. But, the parents of that little five-month-old girl wanted to comfort me. They wanted to comfort everyone who looked at that grave, and so they had those words put on that grave marker. Weep not. The little maiden is not dead, but asleep.
And surely one day our Savior, Jesus, will come back. The trumpet will sound, and the voice of Jesus will speak! And, the grave will have to listen. That little girl will wake up! Her mom and dad will wake up! You can almost see her parents, running across that field and picking up their little girl in their arms, with laughter and tears of thankfulness to Jesus.
Weep not.
The little maiden is not dead,
but asleep.
And so, let us remember that Jesus tells us,
"Don’t be afraid;
just believe."
Amen.
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