In Memoriam: Funeral Sermon for Steve Pelissier: "The Servant"

 + In Memoriam – Steve Pelissier +

Psalm 46; Lamentations 3:22-33; Ephesians 2:4-10; John 3:14-17

Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church

Milton, WA

 

 

Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

 

In 1 Corinthians, Paul writes…Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵ and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; ⁶ and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone.

 

If Paul had written this today he might say it like this: God gives us each a variety of hats to wear, but they are all made and given to us by the same gracious Hatter, our Lord Jesus.

 

And by God’s grace, Steve was a man who wore many hats in his life. A Sailor. Air traffic controller. Husband. Father. Friend. Family man. Coach. Mentor. Traveler. Storyteller. Just to name a few.

 

So what do you call a man who wore many hats of this kind? These are not the hats of a collector, but of a servant. The common word that I’ve heard used to describe Steve these past few weeks is that great biblical word of servant.

 

By God’s grace Steve served his country in the U.S. Navy. He served and helped protect the skies as an air traffic controller. He served in the home as husband, father, and faithful neighbor. Always looking for other ways to be of assistance, he served as a coach and mentor at Concordia. As he wore all these hats, as he served in all these ways, it was the same Lord Jesus who made, shaped, and called him to such varieties of service.

 

Now, some might see this as an opportunity to boast. To pat themselves on the back and take a bow. But I think I know Steve well enough to know that is the exact opposite of what he would say or do. Why? Because Steve knew what Paul declares in Ephesians 2:

 

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 

Steve’s faith in Christ was a gift. Unearned. Undeserved. Unmerited. And yet by God’s grace, full of Christ’s unconditional love. Same is true for the gift of faith he gives you and calls you to believe. For Steve knew what and would want you to know what John declares so famously: that God loved the world in this way, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 

And all those acts of service and love for others that Steve was so well known for. Well, those too are gifts given by God. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

 

Steve knew that all the areas of life where he served others were all prepared for him to walk in, not by his own hands, but by the hands of the greatest servant of all, our Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” As a ransom for Steve. As a ransom for you.

 

That’s why even in the suddenness of death, or in the unexpected twists and turns of life, the Lord of hosts is with us and the God of Jacob and the God of Steve is with us. He serves us with steadfast love. With an everlasting love. With his crucified and risen from the dead love.

 

This is what makes Christ the greatest servant of all. Our acts of love and service – much like our lives – come to an end, and sometimes suddenly and without warning. In those days and moments when our sins, fears, and failures are all we see…when our mortality glares back at us in the mirror – we find comfort not in our love and service, but in the love and mercy of Jesus the Servant of all who gave his life for all. In Jesus whose steadfast love Lord never ceases and whose mercies never come to an end. In Jesus, whose faithfulness is greater than our greatest fears, and greater than even the grave itself.

 

Yes, we grieve, but not as others do, who have no hope. For in Christ, there is hope…for Steve and for you and for us all…not in what our hands have done, but in the hands of Jesus our Servant and Savior. Our hope is in Jesus who served Steve and you by carrying our cross we deserved, dying the death we had coming, bearing our sin to his final breath. Our hope is in Jesus whose glorified, nail-scarred hands revealed to his disciples – and to us all - that he is risen from the dead for Steve and for you. Our hope is in Jesus who died and rose again that all who have fallen asleep – Steve, and the saints who have gone before us, and one day each of us too – will also rise from the dead. 

 

You see, our Lord is never done serving us in his grace and goodness. He has mercy and grace enough to last a lifetime, and more…an eternity. Our Lord is not done serving Steve or you with his promise…a promise that there will come a day where Jesus returns to bring us an endless day of his mercy. There will come a day when Christ the Servant of all returns as a glorious Savior. There will come a day when Jesus the crucified and risen servant will stand next to Steve’s grave and yours…and the angel will blow the trumpet. And Steve and you and all those who have fallen asleep in Christ will rise. In the body. A real. Physical. Glorified body that will continue to serve Christ in praise and thanksgiving in the new creation. 

 

There will come a day when our Lord Jesus takes all the hats we wear in this life, and he will exchange them for the crown of life and glory that he has prepared for you in eternal life. There will come a day when Steve’s faith, and our faith, will becomes sight. When the dead are raised. When Christ returns. And when our Lord Jesus who gave his life as a ransom to save Steve and you and us all, will continue to give and serve us with his gifts of eternal life.

Until that day, in all the ways our Lord has called you to serve, rest in the grace and mercy and hope of Jesus our Servant and Savior ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that …Steve, and each of you… might be saved through him.

The Peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.