Text: Colossians
3:12-17
To all who knew and loved
Esther:
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from
God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Martin
Luther once quipped, “I am not ashamed to confess publicly
that next to theology there is no art which is the equal of music, for she
alone, after theology, can do what otherwise only theology can accomplish, namely,
quiet and cheer up the soul of man, which is clear evidence that the devil, the
originator of depressing worries and troubled thoughts, flees from the voice of
music just as he flees from the words of theology. For this very reason
the prophets cultivated no art so much as music in that they attached their
theology not to geometry, but to music, speaking the truth through psalms and
hymns”
I don’t know if this little quote was
going through Esther’s mind at the time that she raised her children to love
and to cherish this precious gift from the Lord, but if it was, both Esther and
Luther were right – music is truly a gift of God. Which is why St. Paul urges the Colossian
Church to, “Let the Word of Christ dwell
in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to
God.”
Today
we, too, sing. We sing hymns that
proclaim all that God has done for Esther and for you. We sing to the Lord hymns that proclaim His
salvation that has been given to Esther through Him who was crucified but
raised again. To be sure, we sing with mourning
hearts but, since Jesus has destroyed death by His death and resurrection, we
also sing with joy. For the Lord Jesus
Christ, whose birth caused the heavenly choir to burst into a frenzy of singing,
came so that the dirge that’s on our lips because of sin and death would be
turned into jubilant song.
Our
songs, our hymns, our praise are given in because of what our Lord Jesus has
accomplished for Esther and for you. Our
Lord is no stranger to death. He,
Himself, was placed into its icy clutches.
He was crucified, died, and was buried and in so doing, paid the ransom
price, paying for our sins, redeeming Esther, who was sprinkled with His grace
in her baptism the day after she was born.
But the clutches of death
couldn’t hold Him – Death was unable to choke our Lord down and so spit Him
back out of the belly of the earth alive.
The stone cold dead body that hung on the cross was, three days later,
raised again. Death has been undone, the
grave transformed into a bedchamber, where those who die in the faith shall be
awakened to eternal life.
Today, Esther’s
soul is with the Lord, but the symphony of God’s salvation hasn’t yet come to
its final crescendo. The finale comes on
the last day when Christ will come on the clouds and shall call out to her,
“Esther, it’s time to wake up. Today is your Easter Day.” Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection,
death has lost its hold on Esther as well.
Our Lord shall raise her and all His people from their earthen bedrooms
to live with him – body and soul – in the New Jerusalem. The mouth that is now shut shall sing
again. The eyes that are now closed
shall behold the glory of her Lord. The
ears that are now stopped shall hear the trumpet sound of God and the beauty of
her Lord’s voice. The hands that are now
still shall feel His warm embrace.
And
this Jesus who has gone into and out of the grave for Esther is also for
you. The Savior who has redeemed her
body and soul is also the Savior who has redeemed you. Jesus has also taken upon Himself Your sins,
and in Christ you, too, are forgiven.
Jesus comes for sinners- that’s Esther, you, and me. He died for you. He rose from the grave for you. Death couldn’t hold Him! The resurrection of Jesus on the third day is
the turning point in world history that we, who deserve nothing from God, would
receive everything from Him. Forgiveness,
eternal life, is given to all who trust in His salvation freely given – flowing
from His cross. For her Jesus is also
for you. That’s why we sing. Sin and death have been undone!
Esther and Luther
are right; apart from theology there is no better gift of God than music. Today we sing our hymns that point us to
Jesus, who is our life and our salvation.
Yet here in the Church on earth, our joyful hymns are mixed with tears
of sadness. But in the Church
Triumphant, which Esther is now numbered, the joyful singing never ceases. Amen.
The
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in
Christ Jesus unto life everlasting.
Amen.
