Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true light

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:55-57

St. Paul’s declaration of our hope for eternal life in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is drawn from the prophecies of Isaiah 25:8 and Hosea 13:14. Far from shaking our faith in the reality of the resurrection, the burial of the dead teaches us that the body in its present state must perish and be changed before it can inherit the glories of heaven.

The burial of the dead reminds us of the existence of a loved one who has departed. Also, it is evidence of the end of earthly life. If a person simply disappears, there are always doubts about his exit from this world. Years may pass, but there is always the possibility, even the hope, that the missing person is still alive. The burial and the presence of a cross acknowledge that a person has completed his pilgrimage here. And his fate after physical death? In this matter, we have a hope that does not fade over the years, but lasts until our own demise. We have the promise of eternal life.

Our funeral practices reflect our belief in the resurrection of the body. We believe that at the moment of physical death, the soul returns to God and for those who die in saving faith, they are in paradise that day, as our Lord promised to the thief on the cross. But on the last day, our souls and bodies will be reunited forever in the resurrection. We do not believe that the body is a temporary shell for an immortal spirit that can reincarnate in another form, but body and soul together as God's design. Our Lord was born in the flesh and ascended to heaven as true man and true God. In this way, God has blessed our bodies. Spirituality does not consist in the denial of the flesh, in fasting and celibacy but in our witness to the love and mercy of God in our work, in marriage and in the family. In anticipation of the resurrection, we deliver the mortal remains to the earth, as a seed is planted in the hope that flowers, fruits or grains will sprout from the ground.

This past month I commended two more people to eternal life with one case being the first physical death from COVID-19 in our midst.

Carmen Benicia Garrido Villamizar (September 19, 1939 - July 10, 2021) was the grandmother and great-grandmother of some members of our mission. Sadly, she was not a communicant member prior to her passing, yet in the last days of her struggle with cancer, she and her family requested the presence of Luz Maria and myself as pastor and deaconess to pray at her bedside and for me to preach at the velorio (wake) and her burial. We also observed a “novena” or nine days of prayer and reflection on the Scriptures with her family.

Xiomara del Carmen Torrealba had a communicant member of "La Epifanía" since November 12, 2017. Because COVID-19 was the cause of death on July 26, no velorio or novena was permitted. But Luz Maria and I were permitted to pray over the body before it was taken away for burial.

Well done, good and faithful servant

On July 20, when we learned of the passing of Domingo González, we mourned with our sister congregation, La Ascensción Lutheran Church of San Félix de Guayana. He was for a long time a deacon (lay elder) at La Ascensión. Luz Maria met him more than 30 years ago, when she lived in San Félix and attended the church. Domingo was ordained into the holy ministry on December 8, 2019, and served as the pastor of La Ascensión after its longtime Pastor Elias Lozano began serving Fuente de Vida (Fountain of Life) Lutheran Church in Puerto Ordaz.

San Félix is located on the Orinoco River in eastern Venezuela. The city was founded in 1724 by Capuchin monks and withstood years of plagues and attacks by river pirates. In 1817 the Battle of San Félix proved a decisive victory over royalist forces in Venezuela’s war of independence. Puerto Ordaz, just across the Orinoco from San Félix, was built in 1952 as a planned city in response to regional growth of mining and hydroelectric power industries. La Ascensión Lutheran Church has met at its current location since 1972 and Fuente de Vida at its current location since 1987.

We also have been notified of the passing of Cruz Celina Moya, mother of Yenny Gamboa Moya de Romero, of Misión Cagua in Maracay, and Juan Toribio Soto Olivares, the grandfather of Luz Maria’s nephew, Roamird Castillo, of Corpus Christi Lutheran Church in Barinas.

 

For all the saints, who from their labors rest,

who thee by faith before the world confessed,

thy name, O Jesus, be forever bless’d.

Alleluia, alleluia!

Tú fuiste amparo, roca y defensor,

En la batalla, recio capitán;

Tu luz venció las sombras del temor.

¡Aleluya, aleluya!

Oh, bless’d communion, fellowship divine!

We feebly struggle, they in glory shine,

yet all are one in thee, for all are thine.

Alleluia, alleluia!

Que como ayer, podamos hoy luchar,

Valientes, firmes, fieles hasta el fin:

Corona de oro tú nos ceñirás.

¡Aleluya, aleluya!