John 1:1-14; Philippians 4:10-13; Isaiah 43:1-3, 25
In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
When you read the Bible, specifically the Old Testament, and even more specifically, the first book of the Bible Genesis, you’ve undoubtedly noticed that folks used to live a long, long, long, long time. Adam lived 930 years, and he died. His son Seth lived 912 years, and he died. Noah lived 950 years, and he died. The oldest man recorded to live was Methuselah; he lived 969 years, and he died. In contrast, as time went on, people began to live shorter and shorter lives. Abraham lived 175 years, and he died. Moses lived 120 years, and he died. David lived 70 years, and he died. Are you beginning to see a pattern here?
Ninety-eight years is a very long life by modern standards. And it’s somewhat rare that someone lives to be 98 and still lives at home, independent, on their own, making their own meals, keeping house, taking care of themselves, etc. But Dorothy did that. Right up until her last day she was sharp as a tack, engaging in conversation, more concerned about what was happening in your lives than her own. It’s almost like she died, simply because, well, we have to. Like Adam and Seth, Noah and Methuselah, Abraham, Moses, and David before her – death comes to us all, nobody lives forever – and so, Dorothy succumbed to death as well.
But what do the Scriptures say of those who died in the Lord? They were “gathered to their fathers,” they “fell asleep in the Lord,” they were “carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom,” they were “with Jesus in Paradise,” etc. And what does Jesus say about those who die in the Lord? They have “passed over from death to life.” They are “with Him.” They “shall not see death.” “Even though they die, they shall live.” Jesus can say this, and it is true, because Jesus died, once for all, and He has crushed the serpent’s head, defeated death, and has taken away its sting forever. We just celebrated Jesus’ resurrection two weeks ago. As we continue to bask in the glow of Jesus’ empty tomb, we are reminded again that the stone remains forever rolled away, the tomb remains forever empty, Jesus is forever risen, and those who die in the Lord are forever with Him, and no one will take away their joy!
Dorothy was the matriarch of this big, beautiful Bloker family. And what a matriarch she was! Well done, good and faithful servant! What I mean by that is that Dorothy successfully passed on her Christian faith, values, morality, ethics, and traditions to her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. And that is no small feat! Dorothy joyfully embraced her vocations as wife, mother, and grandmother. Though she worked many different jobs, she would tell you that her best job was being a wife to Ralph and being a mother to her six children, Cheryle, Steven, Marie, Kenneth, Roger, and Laurie. Though she attended many different churches throughout her life, she attended them faithfully and served as a Sunday school teacher, taught Vacation Bible School and Midweek classes, and sewed sleepers and dresses for stillborn babies through the Diana's Angels Project. Dorothy was an exemplary image of what it means to be a faithful Christian woman, wife, mother, and grandmother. She loved and trusted in the Lord and believed in Romans 8:28: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
One of Dorothy’s favorite Scripture passages was Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Unfortunately, this is a Scripture passage that is much misunderstood and therefore misinterpreted and misapplied. The “him” in this passage is the Lord, of course. There should be no confusion there. But the “I can do all things” part is what suffers abuse. “I can do all things” does not mean that I can do anything and everything, if only I believe strong enough, but it means that I can do what I have been given to do – that is to say, I can do my God-given vocation – through faith in Him who gives me the strength to persevere and endure for this truly good work. I believe that Dorothy believed this. Dorothy believed that she could do anything and everything that the Lord had given her to do because the Lord was her strength to do it.
Perseverance and endurance, that’s what faith, hope, and love provide us. Life isn’t always easy, right? Life certainly wasn’t easy for Dorothy and Ralph, raising six children on a family farm. But they did it, and they did it well! How? How did they do it? Faith, hope, and love, that’s how. And that’s what “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” means. Dorothy and Ralph experienced many failures, trials, and tribulations in their lives, as do we all. But faith, hope, and love give us the strength to endure them and to persevere through them, and to do so with joy, peace, and love. Dorothy wasn’t worried about herself. She was at peace. If she was worried about anything at all, she was worried about you. Christ’s peace, which passes our human understanding, meant that Dorothy had no true concern for herself, but her love made her concerned for you.
Dorothy loved to celebrate with her family. She was Danish in her ethnicity, and she knew how to bake some incredibly delicious Danish foods. She made an incredible apple cake, but her prune strip was the delicacy she was truly known for. At Christmas the family danced around the Christmas tree to the Danish folk song, Nu är det jul igen (new-eh-duh-yool-eyin), “Christmas Lasts Until Easter.” Of course, it’s not true, is it? Christmas doesn’t last until Easter. First there is Ash Wednesday and Lent, a period of fasting, sadness over sin, and repentance. After that, and only after that, comes Easter. That’s sort of like life, isn’t it? Indeed, that’s the point. In life we must bear the cross that has been chosen for us. Only after we die to this life are we resurrected to a new and everlasting life. And that’s what I was getting at earlier: Dorothy died to this life and world many, many, many years ago. But it was then that she truly began to live, to live to the Lord. All the things you remember and celebrate and give thanks for about her today are the fruits of that new life. Dorothy didn’t want you to be concerned about her; it was her job, it was her God-given vocation, to be concerned about you. She didn’t want you to worry about her; she was busy being worried about you, with the love of Jesus.
Interestingly, Dorothy shared a Bible verse with you from memory in the hospital in her last days. It was the Gospel reading we heard earlier from St. John’s Gospel, the first chapter: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” And that’s not all; Dorothy continued, from memory, for five or six verses or more. I was surprised, not that she had Scripture memorized, but why that passage? Well, John 1 is the Christmas Gospel; that’s what we read in church on Christmas Day. What St. Luke takes two chapters to tell, with the Virgin Mary, the Angel Gabriel, the Bethlehem shepherds, and the manger, St. John says in one verse: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling amongst us.” God became man, and that has changed everything.
God became a man in Jesus Christ, and that has changed everything. God has blessed humanity, not only with His presence, but by taking humanity upon Himself. The early Church put it this way, “God became man so that man should become God.” No, I don’t mean that we are gods, or that we are God Himself, but we are in communion with God, because we are in communion with Jesus, who is God as a man, through Holy Baptism and faith. Isn’t that comforting? Maybe that’s why Dorothy committed this passage to memory and recounted it in her last days? One of you said that “she was the hands and feet of Jesus.” Yes! I do believe that you are right! “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me?” How about this, “I can do all things through Him who is my strength.”
God blessed Dorothy, and God blessed you, Dorothy’s beloved family, and God has blessed us and so many others through her. Where did Dorothy get her strength, her faith, her love? It was all gift – God’s gift to Dorothy, and God’s gift of Dorothy to you, to me, and to countless others. “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” – Thus saith the LORD.
Dorothy’s last words to you were the words of one who was in Jesus: “God bless you all forever and ever.” “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” “I can do all things through Him who is my strength.” Heavenly Father, we thank you for our sister in Christ Dorothy, for her love, which was your love through her, and for her faith, which is for us a comfort, a blessing, an encouragement, a hope, and an inspiration that we too might do all things through Jesus who is our strength.
In the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
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