Philippians 4:4-7
My predecessor in office here at Bethany Lutheran Church left this comment, in response to the notification of Alberta’s passing and funeral that was posted on the congregation’s Facebook page:
“Blesséd, yea BLESSÉD be her memory! … I absolutely loved every minute I ever spent with Alberta as her pastor.”
That’s quite a thing to say. And I think I know why he said it. Alberta was one of the most joyful persons I have ever known. My arrivals – when I came to visit her – were always met by a large and welcoming smile.
Some people seem to have an inborn cheerful and optimistic disposition, while others seem to be genetically predisposed toward being sullen, morose, and pessimistic. Alberta was clearly in the first category.
She never complained, at least not in my hearing. When significant changes came to her life, such as moving from her own home to an assisted living facility – changes which are often difficult for older people to adjust to – she accepted those changes in a very good-natured way.
She was almost always able to look on the bright side of any challenging situation, and to see the silver lining in any cloud.
Not only her pastors, but also other people, enjoyed her company. It was not a chore to visit her, but was a pleasure. I think most of us who knew her, would wish that we could be more like her.
I know my wife wishes that I could be a more positive and optimistic person – in general. On my mother’s side my ancestry is Slovak, and my wife often speaks of my Slavic pessimism. I guess that’s a thing.
But pessimism was not a trait to which Alberta was predisposed. Her personality and temperament, according to the way God made her, was very different from that.
But there was also another reason – deeper than genes and DNA – why Alberta’s life was filled with joy. And this reason, is a reason why a deep and enduring joy can be a part of the life of all of us – even those of us who are part Slavic in our ancestry!
St. Paul exhorts us to this joy, explains the reasons why we have this joy, and reminds us of how we can experience this joy personally, in his Epistle to the Philippians:
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything – by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving – let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
Alberta’s life was characterized by joy, not just because she was of a naturally cheerful disposition, but also and chiefly because the Lord was at hand: near her, with her, indwelling her, protecting her, guiding her. God’s peace was with her, and God’s peace was guarding her heart and mind through Christ Jesus, because Christ Jesus – by his death and resurrection – had redeemed her from the power and guilt of sin and from the fear of death.
She was not her own. She had been bought with a price.
Alberta was also thankful for God’s goodness to her. She had had a happy marriage and family life, and a very interesting and adventurous life outside the home.
But as the years passed, and as she advanced in age, she did not dwell on her increasing limitations, on the loss of her husband and of many friends, on her loss of independence, or on any other conceivably negative development in her life which might have tempted others to complain and perhaps to become embittered.
She dwelt instead on that for which she was still thankful: life itself, the love of family and friends, her ability still to have some independence, and especially the peace in heart and mind that her Christian faith brought her. She knew the deep joy of a God-given certainty that Jesus was keeping all his promises to her, especially when he said:
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Whenever I visited her, it was ultimately for the purpose of bringing her a message of comfort, of instruction, and of hope from Holy Scripture; and for the purpose of bringing her the profound and deep comfort of Holy Communion. She welcomed this pastoral ministry with joy.
There was more here than just a good-natured, friendly lady, welcoming a visit from a well-meaning religious person. This was a penitent sinner, yearning for God’s forgiveness.
This was a faithful believer in Jesus, yearning for a closer union with her Savior. And this was a devoted servant of the Lord, yearning for opportunities to honor and praise him.
She was welcoming her triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – to come once again to her, and to bless her by giving her all for which she was yearning in faith.
And, there was joy in all of this: not a superficial, giggly happiness; but a deep contentment and spiritual satisfaction, based on God’s grace in Christ, and offered and sealed to Alberta in the gospel and sacrament of Christ.
As Alberta grew ever older, she knew that it would not be long before she would be called from this world into the nearer presence of Christ. But for her there was joy also in this. “For to live is Christ, and to die is gain,” as St. Paul also writes to the Philippians.
And for all of us here today – as we remember the joyful life of Alberta Wicktor, as we celebrate the joyful life of Alberta Wicktor, and as we seek to learn from the joyful life of Alberta Wicktor – there is joy also for us. Or at least there can be.
Psalm 30 speaks for all of us, and can become a prayer and a confession of faith for all of us:
“O Lord my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me. O Lord, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.”
Yes, there is some weeping – the weeping of remorse and regret – when we reflect on the mistakes and missteps of our life: things we have done or left undone which angered and displeased God and which hurt others.
There is sometimes a dark night of the soul for us, as we humbly take the measure of our sins; and of what we might need to do to repair and restore relationships, and to make amends for the harm that our mistakes and missteps have caused. There isn’t much joy in that, to be honest.
But there is much joy – an enduring joy – in the morning: in the bright morning of divine forgiveness and reconciliation, when the sun of righteousness rises with healing in his wings.
Alberta knew this. Alberta knew the joy in this.
Alberta knows the joy in this even now, as her spirit is with the Lord, awaiting in heavenly anticipation the day of the resurrection of all flesh, when those who know the Lord will be with him, in the new heavens and the new earth, forever and ever. We read in the Book of Revelation:
“I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ All the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.’” Amen.