Funeral homily for Deniis Netzel 9/4/21

 I wish I could stand here this afternoon and explain why it is that Denis died so young, leaving behind his children, wife, mother and others who loved him. I wish I could make sense of this sudden and seemingly senseless death. I can’t. I dare say no one can. This is why those of us with faith in God hold hard and fast to that faith in these times. But even faith can seem hollow when wracked with so much grief and so many questions. But as it says on the front of this service leaflet, the liturgy we offer today is an Easter liturgy which finds all its meaning in the resurrection. Jesus suffered and died. We suffer and die. Jesus was raised from the dead. As all of us here will be. As Denis has been. Nothing—nothing-separates Denis from the glories of heaven, the unending light and love of God as given to us through Jesus Christ. This day and forevermore, Denis resides in paradise—any pain from this life has been wiped away, any regrets from this life have been redeemed for Denis, any mistakes he made, hurt he caused, hurts he felt, losses he suffered, questions he had---all has been answered.     This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t grieve. To love another leads us to grieve their dying. Tears are not wrong, they are human. The comfort of our faith is knowing that for all the pain we feel this day and the days to come, is the pain that comes from love and that love, in its purest form, is God. Today Denis resides in that full and perfect love and though we grieve, question and perhaps even rage in anger that doesn’t mean we haven’t loved. And it doesn’t mean we aren’t still loved. For now and forever you will miss Denis and yet he remains with you. It is a mystery how this all works.
    For those who mourn so much this day I hope you remember that as it is written “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The very love we have for each other brings great sorrow when parted by death. Jesus himself wept at the grave of his friend Lazarus. So, while we rejoice that Denis has entered into the nearer presence of our Lord, we sorrow that his physical presence is gone. So as best you can, be grateful for his ascension into heaven and be kind to yourselves as you mourn; for mourning is sacred, mourning is normal. For we do not mourn if we have not loved. May God comfort each of you. Amen.