John 14:1-6; Philippians
4:10-13; Isaiah 35:3-10
In the Name of the Father and of the
+ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Dearly
beloved, we are gathered here today to remember, to celebrate, and to give
thanks for the life and faith our Lord granted to our dear departed sister in
Christ Viola Hager. And, there is so very much to remember, to celebrate, and
to give thanks for: Viola’s baptism into Jesus; eighty-two years lived in the
Lord’s grace and mercy; a great many years devoted to the service of others in
need through the Salvation Army; service in the Lutheran Church; service in the
United Methodist Church; and, most recently, service in the Lutheran Church
once again. Viola was a woman of strong faith, and faith that was made evident
in action. As St. James has written, “Show me your faith without works, and I
will show you my faith by my works” – that was Viola. She was fruitful in good
works for the Lord – good works that were the fruit of the faith that the good
Lord created and sustained within her.
Thus, not
surprisingly, Viola was not a woman to sit around and do nothing. Even when her
body didn’t move like it used to, her mind was quick and sharp and aware of
what needed to be done. In the Salvation Army, Viola was known as the
Roadrunner. She received this moniker because of the many miles she put on her
cars driving to Salvation Army functions, mission endeavors, and Bible camps,
filming and documenting them, rarely missing an event. Anita tells me that she
put 270,000 miles on her Impala – and it wasn’t done yet! – and that she put
300,000 miles on the Impala before that! I’m not sure if that makes Viola
Chevrolet’s best, or worst, customer!
Even as a
child, Viola was determined, active, and fearless. She used to roller-skate and
leap over garbage cans in the Bronx where she grew up. At the United Methodist
Church in Davenport, Viola, single-handedly, was the Sunshine Committee,
sending birthday and get well cards and little gifts to members and visiting
shut-ins and those in the hospital or in nursing homes. When she spent time in
the nursing home for physical rehabilitation, she took the opportunity to
evangelize her roommates. Even at the King’s Apartments this past year, she
oversaw the card games and the crafts, not officially, of course, and she saved
seats for friends and neighbors attending dinners. It was my experience at
Bible studies that Viola kept a record of precisely the page number and the
chapter and verse where we left off previously. Anita tells me that she was the
record-keeper of the Wednesday night Bible study as well. And, Viola made
certain that family and friends, far and wide, were on the prayer lists of the
church and were prayed for regularly by our Bible study groups. Indeed, we have
prayed regularly for her sister Julia, for a couple from the Salvation Army,
for a relative in Finland, and for countless others. That was Viola: Always
thinking of others, looking out for others, being concerned for others, up to
her last days. That was her faith – faith in action.
Though she
had visited several times with Anita over the years, Viola did not begin to
attend Christ the King regularly until she moved into The King’s Apartments in
December of 2013. Shortly after that, it was a rare thing for Viola to miss a
Divine Service, a Bible study, or any event in the church. It was through her
participation in the King’s Apartments Bible study, however, that I got to know
Viola. Mostly she sat quietly and listened. However, I knew when what we were
discussing connected with her, for she would begin to nod her head up and down
in agreement. I’m happy to say that Viola nodded her head quite a lot. From the
beginning to the end, though she attended other churches for periods of a time,
deep down, Viola was a Lutheran. That’s exactly what she told the folks at the
Methodist Church in Davenport, and she refused to become a member there.
That’s something
I appreciated about Viola: She didn’t always have a lot to say, but she was
direct and straight in whatever she chose to say. Her words were truth –
period. She offered world of comfort, words of rebuke, and words of confession,
that is, words of faith. I think that the words of St. Paul to the Philippians
describe her well: “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”
And, that’s a wonderful thing. Her strength and resoluteness came, not from
herself, but from her Lord. Again, St. Paul’s confession could easily be
Viola’s: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” This is why she
could be a source of strength and comfort for others – she gave of what she had
received. In truth, only those who have received from the Lord have something
to give and to share with others. Likewise, I can imagine Viola sharing Jesus’
words from St. John’s Gospel, or similar words, with her roommate in the
nursing home: “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in
me. […] I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through me.” Perhaps she even shared the words of Isaiah to those with
anxious hearts: “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come.”
For
eighty-two years Viola shared the truth and strength and comfort and consolation
of the Lord and His Word in her own words and deeds, helping many,
strengthening the weak hands and making firm the feeble knees. It was truly
only in her last months, or last weeks even, that Viola needed others to
strengthen, comfort, and console her. The poor soul simply could not hear, and
her inability to hear sometimes caused her confusion and uncertainty.
Pancreatic cancer was taking its toll on her body. Now she was the one with the
weak hands and feeble knees. The Roadrunner was being forced to slow down and
take it easy. Of course, this was not something that Viola was going to take to
easily. Just days before her passing she was talking about driving her Impala
again. “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
“I can do all
things through Him who strengthens me”; I can even face death. Viola, and all
who find their strength in the Lord, can even face death because they know and
believe and trust that Jesus has already faced death for them and has overcome.
Indeed, this is the comfort we find in the 23rd Psalm: “Yea though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” You need
fear no evil because Jesus has already walked through that valley before you,
and He has knocked down the door of death that would keep you in, and he has
entered the Father’s house to prepare a place for you that He might come back
for you and take you there. Yes, even now, as you walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, your victorious Lord walks with you, for He promises, “I
will never leave you or forsake you.” And, thus, we take comfort now that Viola
is with her Lord, even as we take comfort that, in His time, in accordance with
His righteous will and wisdom, He will lead us out of the valley and through
the door into His Father’s house forevermore. There, we will see and hear and
hug and kiss our sister in Christ Viola again, and never again will we be apart
from those we love who die in the Lord.
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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