Funeral Sermon for Jim Dietz Sr,

Preached on January 12, 2015 at Etzwieler Funeral Home, York, PA


Death is part of life, we are often told. And while this is certainly true, it is also an unpredictable part. Capricious, chaotic. There is nothing convenient about death. It often comes when it is least expected and when it is least welcome. It throws our lives into disarray. It leaves us scrambling to figure out what will we do next. How will we adapt? What are we going to do now?

I know these questions are on many minds today as we say farewell to Jim Dietz Sr. I did not know him, but I know his one son and he and his brother came into my office this past Friday to share a small portion of the man they knew as their father. Told me a bit about his life. It is never an easy thing to sum up any one of us in just a few short words, but there were impressions that I got from the picture they painted.

And one of those words that comes into my mind is “dependable.” There is particular constancy in James’ life. You could rely on him. His work relied on him to fix the machines and printing presses at Motter, not merely here but just about everywhere. He was there for his country when he served in the USMC. He was there for his family, for his children and grandchildren. And in particular in these recent years, he was there for his wife, taking care of her, learning to do the things around the house that men of his generation weren’t accustomed to doing.

Another image that came to my mind, another word for Jim is “passionate.” He was passionate about his sports and his bluegrass music. He loved to fix things: TVs, cars, and (of course) that was his job. He loved his family, his wife (59 years of marriage!), his children, and grandchildren.

In many ways, his dependability was fueled by that passion. The two are interconnected and related. Passionate is about love. Dependability is about trust. Love drives us to be trustworthy. Passion leads to dependability. And in many ways, you cannot have one without the other.

There is another man in whom those virtues were paramount. And he is as important to our proceedings today, if not more so, than Jim Dietz Sr. The man I am speaking of is Jesus Christ. He too was passionate. He too was dependable, although we would more likely use a different word. We would call him faithful.

And again, in Jesus, these two characteristics are intertwined and interconnected. Jesus loves his people. He loves Jim. He loves all of us. He loves us so much that once, many many years past, he came to this Earth, born of a human mother and lived as we do. He taught his ways, healed the sick, embraced the outcast, and loved his people face-to-face as one of our own. He loved his own so much that he endured the most horrific death imaginable on a cross for our sakes and then rose again from the grave on the third day.

Now by his death and resurrection, Jesus did something for Jim and for all of us. He made a promise. He made a promise that we can count on. A promise we can rely on. A promise Jesus will one day fulfill for everyone of us. And we’ve heard that promise multiple times in our worship today already. “If we have been united with him...” from Romans. “Where I am, there you will be also.” from John. “I will wipe away every tear...” from Isaiah. Over and over again, the Scriptures proclaim this promise. The promise that death, for all its fearful disarray and unexpected coming, does not have the last word. God Almighty does and his word is life.

That promise is dependable. That promise is given in love, a love so great it endured the grave for us. Jim may not have been a church going man, but his life is an example of this very truth: love drives us to faithfulness. That’s a good life. Jesus takes it one step further for all of us. Love leads to faithfulness and that leads to salvation.

The promise is sure, my friends. This is not the end. Not really. Amen.