To live is Christ, to die is gain

Sermon preached at the funeral of Jeanette A. Ernst by Adam Hiles, pastor of Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church, Freeburg, Illinois, June 26, 2026. Scripture readings: Job 19:23-27; 1 Peter 1:3-9; Philippians 1:19-26; John 14:1-6, Psalm 23.

Grace, mercy, and peace are yours this day, forever, from God our Father, and from the Lord our Savior, He who is himself the way, the truth, and the life, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 

The Christian life is not a life that is lived in ignorance. It's not a life filled with lies about really anything. Most especially, it is not a life lived in ignorance about this life. It's not a life where we are just happy-go-lucky about everything, and we act like none of the bad things that go on in this world go on. And we're completely ignorant of the fact that life is hard. And it is filled with hardships.

In fact, you can see all of God’s saints who write for us today, Job, and Peter, and Paul. They are all very honest about that fact of this world. Job is in the midst of great suffering, and he really has not done anything to bring it on himself.

And yet, where he should get comfort from his friends, they are the ones in fact scorning him. You must have done something to deserve all of these terrible things. Losing your family. Losing your house. Losing your livestock. The boils. The sickness. All of the things that have come upon your health. You must have done something to deserve that. Throughout the book, Job, is very honest. He hasn't done anything explicitly to deserve those things. Those things have all come upon him.

Peter says it very clearly. That in this life, we are grieved by various trials. And Paul is honest about that fact. He has lived that fact as he writes this letter. Because when he writes this letter, he is in prison. And he has not done any horrible deed to deserve it. He has not killed anybody. He has not worshipped false gods. He has not besmirched or slandered the name of the emperor or anybody else. He has preached Jesus Christ. And that has gotten him wound up in prison. 

And Paul himself is very honest about this fact. Because he is hard pressed between the two options that he has. He has the one option, as he says, that he could continue on in this life. And he knows that it will be fruitful labor. It will be good. And whatever good he does in this life, it will produce some kind of fruit. He is hard pressed between that option and the other option: To depart, to die, and to be with Jesus Christ. And he is very honest about the fact that he would much rather choose to die and be with Christ. Because that is far better.

None of us need to be dishonest and say that this life is sunshine, rainbows, butterflies, and roses all the time. The saints of God are very honest that that is not true. We can be honest about that fact.

Jeanette was honest about that fact. In reality, she actually said, almost verbatim, the very same thing that St. Paul says here in Philippians. And I don't even think it was intentional. She was just being honest. That she would much rather die and be with Christ. But at that time, God had not yet brought her to be with Jesus. Jesus had not come and brought her to heaven. She knew there was a  purpose for why that day had not yet come. And she told me very explicitly, I know that God is keeping me here for a reason.

And that it will be fruitful. That is not to say that she did not love this life. She did. She was very happy to remain because she knew her purpose was to serve her family. She loved you all very, very much. She knew that her purpose was even to show Jesus Christ and his truth to all of the people around her in the nursing home.

And every time I visited her, and I'm sure it was the same for you , Pastor Keseman, she would tell me about the conversations and sometimes would turn to the arguments with the various residents that she would talk with at lunch and at dinner. She was happy to be here in this life. But Jeanette knew that to die and be with Christ was far better.

On the one hand, because she longed to be with Christ and to be with His Son. She longed to see her husband and she longed to see her daughter. But she was also longing to be with Christ because she was honest that this life was not easy.

Jeanette was grieved by the same kinds of trials that Job and Peter and Paul were all grieved by. She was grieved by the same thing that Job was grieved by. He misunderstood, in fact, other residents that she was with. She was grieved even by things that Peter and Paul were grieved with by her own illnesses, of which she had many, especially later on in life. So of course, of course she was honest about that and we should all be honest about that. The Christian life is not one lived in ignorance. We do not act like our sufferings are not, in fact, sufferings. They are.

Life is not easy, especially for the Christian in the midst of a world that does not understand. But that honesty comes not in the sense of complaining. I will be honest, I did not hear Jeanette complain about any of those things.

We can be honest about the fact that this life is hard because we live in the truth. Yes, we can be honest about the truth that this life is hard because we live in the truth, even in Jesus Christ who is Himself the way, the truth, and the life. The Christian life is honest, in fact, we can be honest about our hardships because we know that these trials do not last forever and that what we are going through today pales in comparison, not only to what is promised to us, but to what Jesus Christ has given us now and today.

That truth, the promise that He has died for us, that He has risen to new life for us, that He took on our sins, that He died for them, and that by His resurrection He has defeated their power over us. He has destroyed death forever, turned the whole thing upside down, and that He has banished Satan and his powers. That changes everything for us.

Because as we can see from Peter, it turns what should be all of our sufferings into reason for despair and defeat. It even turns them into a great reason to rejoice. That's a kind of testing of our faith. Not, oh, Jeanette, oh, Dan, oh, Veronica, oh, all of you listening, oh, all Christians, you have to make sure you pass this test and get an A or else you're out of the game. The testing of your faith is the same way that gold is put into a furnace and it is tested, where the impurities are removed, and when it comes out, it is pristine, it is perfect. That is what the trials that we go through, that is what they are for.

Jeanette knew that. Consciously she said it, but also unconsciously she showed it by her life. There was a time where I visited Jeannette in the hospital. At that time, she was intubated, she had a tube down her throat, and she was suffering. And as I sat there with her in the hospital, she was conscious, she was looking at me, but she could not speak, literally. And so as I sat there, reading the 23rd Psalm, reading to her about how Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and kind of just stumbling my way and explaining that and trying to give comfort, she grabbed my hand, held it tightly, and as I told her that the Shepherd never left her and was with her now, was right now leading her out of this valley of the shadow of death But there, even in the midst of hardship, there is always a reason to rejoice, even as Peter says, with joy inexpressible.

Because our faith is founded on Jesus Christ. He is the one who left his father's throne in love to die for the world. Even when we were enemies of God, God showed His love for us, and while we were still sinners, Christ Jesus came to die for us, risen to new life.

He has defeated sin, death, and the power of the devil, and those are promises that He gives to us, not just in the future when he returns. That is when He will make good on those promises. Not just even when we die and we receive all the inheritance that He stored up, but even now in this life.

That He is the way, and the truth, and the life. Because He has brought us into the way of everlasting life. That is the way that we walk today, day by day.

It is the way that He walked, not a way without suffering, but it is a way of glory. Not our glory, His glory. A glory that rises from the dead, a glory that will never die again.

A promise made to us, a promise given to us, that we can stake our lives on today. He is the truth, the truth that He himself admits, that this world is filled with darkness, and hardships, and all manner of evil. But the truth is that He has overcome all of those things.

For he is the life that the darkness can never overcome. And he is the life, the light of men. He is the life that gives us life. Not just gives meaning to our lives, He gives us life. When Jeanette was washed in those baptismal waters, she received the life of Jesus. He is death, He is resurrection.

And at every single point of her life, He was with her. Of that she knew very well, confessing, every time I saw her, I know He is with me. I talk to Him every day.

She knew Him not to be far, she knew Him to be there with her, in her sufferings, personally. That is a fact, that is the truth, that Job, and Peter, and Paul, they all speak about today. Because Job, could even say, in the depth of sufferings, when my flesh is destroyed, yet in my flesh, I will see my Savior face to face.

Paul says, it is good for me to remain in the flesh, because when I die, I will be with Christ. And Peter talks all about the great gift we have, the inheritance he has stored up for us, that we are all pressing for. The outcome of our faith, salvation of our souls.

That is what Jeanette suffered in. She suffered in the truth, in faith, with the promises of God given to her, that now she is rejoicing in, face to face, her, her husband, her daughter, with all of the saints, your friends, your family, what all of us will receive when we die, when Christ comes for us. But those are promises and gifts that God has given even now.

So to you all, all of you here, all of you watching online, all of you who now remain in the flesh, know that Jesus Christ is the way, and the truth, and the life. Know that He has laid his life down for you, and taken it up with you. Know that He is your Shepherd, who is with you, that His rod and staff, with those things, He will comfort you, He will protect you, He will guide you.

To know that He has, in fact, gone to death, gone to resurrection, gone to be with the Father, to prepare a place for you. Each and every single one of you has a place prepared with Him and the Father. He went to prepare a place for Jeanette, and now Jeanette is there in that place, and she is not alone.

Even now, you are not alone. Your Savior is with you. The saints are with you. The saints in heaven pray for you. But the saints on earth are here for you, here throughout the world to pray, but also here in this church. God is with you, in the midst of your suffering, in the midst of your hardship, so that you can be honest. Honest about the fact that this life is not easy, but far more than that, honest about the fact that the eternal life Jesus Christ has given, that is yours, and will always be yours, in Him. Amen.

Death is swallowed up in victory

Carmen Henriquez de Rivero, celebrating her 92nd birthday with children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

"So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Corinthians 15:54

Carmen Henriquez de Rivero, Luz Maria’s mother, passed to eternal life on June 2, 2024, the second Sunday after Trinity, in Barrio El Cambio, Barinas, Venezuela. She was born on September 21, 1930, in Las Bonitas, Ciudad Bolívar, a city located in southeastern Venezuela on the banks of the Orinoco River. She would later live in the Venezuelan states of Apure and Guarico (Luz Maria was born in Valle de Pascua, Guarico), but lived nearly the latter half of her life in the city of Barinas. She had eight children, of whom seven survive, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In the 1980s, she became part of the nucleus of the original Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) mission in Barinas. She joined the Lutheran Church along with four of her children: Luz Maria, Rosaura, Moisés and Robert. Eventually she and Rosaura joined a Baptist congregation, although Roamird Castillo, Rosaura’s son, remains a member of Corpus Christi (Body of Christ) Lutheran Church in Barrio El Cambio, and now serves as secretary and legal adviser to the national Lutheran Church of Venezuela. Señora Carmen continued to welcome LCMS missionaries in her home and always supported our mission in La Caramuca. When, in her last years, we would look after her at the mission for a few days at a time, she would insist on attending our Sunday morning service, even though she had to be carried up the stairway to our sanctuary. (Our sanctuary is on the second floor, because the civil law requires the preschool to be on ground level.) She would teach the young people and their parents some of her sewing skills, which included making dolls from whatever scraps of fabric, buttons and other household materials might be available. 

As her health began to deteriorate more rapidly, the family often would call me to pray with her and anoint her with oil, according to James 5:14-16. “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” We would pray with her and sing her favorite hymns, then I would hear her confession and apply olive oil to her forehead in the sign of the cross to recall the promise of eternal life in baptism. This was always done as if it might be the last time, but she nevertheless feel much better afterward. The most dramatic occasion was on June 1, when she refused to eat or drink, or move from her bed, seeming barely conscious. After our period of prayer, she immediatel sat up and, with assistance, walked to the table to eat and drink. However, this would be the last time, as she died peacefully the following morning. 

Following Venezuelan custom, the body was prepared for a wake (velorio) that lasted through the night until burial the next morning. I conducted a funeral service in the home for the Lutheran members of the family, including members of our mission in La Caramuca. 

How to give shelter from the storm 

With the deaconesses of the Lutheran Church of Venezuela. 

On June 25, Luz Maria and I traveled to another city on the Orinoco River, Puerto Ordaz, 67 miles (108 kilometers) east of Ciudad Bolívar. In 1961, Puerto Ordaz united with San Félix de Guayana, an older port on the Caroni River, to form the metropolitan complex of Ciudad Guayana, or Guayana City. The name is derived from the Guiana Highlands, a region of forested plateau and low mountains that covers the southern half of Venezuela, nearly all of the Guianas (three nations to the east of Venezuela), the northern part of Brazil, and a portion of southeastern Colombia. Ciudad Guayana is located at the confluence of the Orinoco and Caroni, the most economically important rivers in Venezuela. Ciudad Guayana also is home to the Guri Reservoir and Power Station, a hydroelectric facility that provides electricity for the major part of Venezuela’s public power grid. 

We were met at the airport in Valencia (four hours drive northeast of Barinas) by women from the cities of Barquisimeto and Maracay, and Eliezer Mendoza, pastor of Cristo es Amor (Christ is Love) Lutheran Church, Barquisimeto, and director of the Juan de Frias Theological Institute, and his wife and deaconess, Ginnatriz. Our group flew from Valencia to Puerto Ordaz, where we were hosted for the night by members of Fuente de Vida (Fountain of Life) Lutheran Church. On the morning of June 26, we boarded a bus to a secluded campground for three days of intensive coursework for both graduates and currently enrolled students of the three-year deaconess program sponsored by the Juan de Frias Institute and Concordia El Reformador Seminary in the Dominican Republic. In addition to Barinas, Barquisimeto and Maracay, there were women who represented our congregations in Caracas, Barcelona, Maturín, and other congregations in Ciudad Guayana. 

The 15 women currently enrolled in the deaconess program received instruction in the theological fundamentals of the diaconal ministry. This course was taught by Sergio Maita, who serves as the pastor “Pan de Vida” Lutheran Church in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic, and who also is a faculty member at Concordia El Reformador Seminary. In Acts 6 we find the first example of the apostles delegating mercy work to responsible laymen. While the primary ministry of the church is preaching of the Word and administration of the sacraments, the fruit of this ministry is good works that demonstrate God’s grace and mercy to the world (Matthew 5:16; Ephesians 2:10; James 1:27). While the pastoral office was instituted by the Lord Himself and neither its requirements nor its responsibilities may change, the auxiliary offices instituted by the church and their responsibilities may change to fit the circumstances of a particular place and time. 

Sergio was born in Maturín, Venezuela, and was raised as a member of Cristo Rey (Christ the King) Lutheran Church there. Sergio and I were ordained together with Eduardo Flores, pastor of La Santa Trinidad (Holy Trinity) Lutheran Church in Caracas, and president of the Lutheran Church of Venezuela, December 13, 2008, at El Salvador (Savior) Lutheran Church in Caracas. Yoxandris, Sergio’s wife, designed and made the liturgical stoles that I wear.

Gustavo Arturo Maita, Sergio’s brother, taught the 26 deaconess program graduates in a more advanced study of responding to natural disasters. Arturo currently the pastor of Príncipe de Paz (Prince of Peace) Lutheran Church in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, and is director of disaster response for the Puerto Rican Lutheran mission. Since he took the call to Puerto Rico, the island has been hammered by hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017; earthquakes in late 2019 and early 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-21; Hurricane Fiona in 2022; and in May 2024 Puerto Rico’s governor declared a state of emergency following heavy rains, widespread flooding and landslides. 

Arturo had a little trouble getting his PowerPoint presentation projector up and running, but received some unexpected help in illustrating the desperation of people caught in natural disasters. On the afternoon of June 29, a thunderstorm brought strong winds and torrential rain, resulting in a loss of electricity to the campground. There was no backup generator and the campground’s electric water pumps were no longer able to replenish the water supply. Thanks be to God, power was restored later that evening. 

Arturo brought a wealth of printed material about organized disaster response. It was translated into Spanish from material developed by LCMS Disaster Response. After the seminar, many of the women who returned to their homes near Venezuela's northeastern coast expressed their gratitude for all of the information, as Hurricane Beryl, the first storm of the 2024 hurricane season, brushed Venezuela, causing heavy rain and wind, flooding and power outages. Two deaths were reported in northern Venezuela’s Sucre state, where authorities said another five people are unaccounted for and a total of 25,000 have been affected by heavy rains, winds and river flooding from the outer bands of the storm. Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was injured after being hit by a falling tree while visiting one of the affected towns. 

Good fences make good neighbors

 In our case, we built a stout fence as a gesture of good will toward the civil authorities. There is the possibility that we may be allowed to expand our preschool program to allow more children to attend (there is a waiting list). But we were told fencing the steeper section of our property was a prerequisite. The property is in the shape of the letter L. The short leg of the L, parallel to the street, is where we now have our house, church/school, playground and outbuildings. The long leg slopes down toward the river, and is where we have our well and plantings of fruits and vegetables. If it was cleared off and if there was ever snow, it would be a terrific sledding hill. But not in 20 years has anyone fallen down and hurt themselves on it. But we built it, and now we have the advantage of keeping our growing chicken flock out of everyone’s way. They have a back door to their chicken house by which they come and go.

God is our refuge and strength

To prepare for our celebration of Reformation Sunday on October 29, our youth made copies of Luther’s Rose out of construction paper and tissue while learning the significance of the symbol. We also practiced singing “Castillo Fuerte” (“A Mighty Fortress”) and “Dios es nuestro amparo” (“God is our refuge”). Both of these hymns are based on Psalm 46. “Castillo Fuerte”, number 546 in our new hymnal, is a Spanish translation of Martin Luther’s “Ein Feste Burg” by Juan Bautista Cabrera (1837-1916), with the musical arrangement by Johann Sebastian Bach. The author of “Dios es nuestro amparo”, number 545 in Himnario Luterano, is unknown, but it is a favorite among Venezuelan Lutherans. Other Reformation Day hymns included “Justificados, pues, por fe”, 802 in our hymnal. It’s another anonymous tune, but the lyrics are straight from Romans 5:1 in the Reina-Valera Bible (equivalent to the King James Bible in the Spanish-speaking world).

Angi Santana.

Angi Santana, Luz Maria’s daughter, mounted the Luther roses on more solid cardboard for wall mounting. Then, on Sunday, each of the youth were presented with their plaque and encouraged to explain its significance to family members who were not in attendance.

During the week following Reformation Sunday, I shared with the preschool children the story of King Josiah's reformation in 2 Kings 22:1-23:30. The people of Judah had fallen into idolatry and error. The Temple of Jerusalem was in disrepair. The king and high priest were surprised when they found an original copy of the writings of Moses. He publicly read the book of the covenant to the people, beginning the restoration of true worship.

Next Sunday we will observe All Saints Day. Of course, October 31, 1517, is the exact date on which Martin Luther posted his 95 Theses on the doors of what is often called “the Castle Church” in Wittenberg, Germany, signalling the start of the Reformation of the 16th Century. In fact, the name of the church is All Saints Church. It was the chapel for Wittenberg University and the common practice was posting news and announcements on its wooden doors for the university community. Very likely no one gave Luther a second glance as he put up his document. Nowadays the doors are made of cast bronze with the 95 Theses engraved on them.

Presentation of plaques.

We cannot know exactly what Luther was thinking at the time, but it was fortuituous for him to post the 95 theses on the doors of All Saints Church on the eve of All Saints Day. In his theses, a series of propositions offered for academic debate, Luther challenged the idea that the Pope could use a treasury of merit earned through devotion and good works by people declared to be “saints” by the Roman church to alleviate the time served by less exemplary people as penance in Purgatory with letters of indulgence.

The early Christian church singled out for special honor those departed believers who had suffered imprisonment, torture, exile or death for their faith. Near the end of the second century, confessors (those who suffered for the faith, but were not put to death) were distinguished from martyrs (those who died for the faith). After the end of Roman persecutions, a confessor was a Christian noted for virtuous life. The building of churches above the graves of confessors and martyrs by the third century developed into the custom of placing their relics under or in altars and invoking their intercession. We still follow the custom of acknowledging heroes of the faith in the New Testament or early church history with the title of saint (e.g., St. Paul, St. Augustine). But, thanks to Luther and his fellow reformers, we now understand the entire church, both on earth and in heaven, to be the communion of the saints, who are all who have been declared righteous in God’s eyes through faith in Jesus Christ. According to the Lutheran Confessions, the saints in heaven may pray for the church on earth (Apology to the Augsburg Confession XXI 9), yet it does not follow that they are to be invoked. The saints in heaven are not mediators of intercession or redemption (Apology XXI 14–30). Invocation and prayers to saints are prohibited (Smalcald Articles-II II 25), but the confessions approve honoring the saints (Augsburg Confession XXI 4) in three ways: 1. By thanking God for examples of His mercy; 2. By using the saints as example for strengthening our faith; 3. By imitating their faith and other virtues.

The reformation of King Josiah.

A special day to honor all was kept on May 13 in the churches of the eastern Roman Empire according to Ephraem Syrus (who died around 373 A.D.) This may be why Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon, a former pagan temple, in Rome and an architectural marvel with the world’s largest masonry dome, as a church in honor of the Virgin Mary and all martyrs on May 13, 609 (which it remains to this day). But early in the eighth century, Pope Gregory III dedicated a chapel in Rome on November 1 in honor of all departed saints. In 837 Pope Gregory IV ordered the observance of All Saints Day on November 1 throughout western Christendom. By the end of the 13th Century, November 2 was designated as All Souls Day to follow All Saints Day as the day to request requiem masses for those believed to be in purgatory.

In Venezuela, the second day of November often is called el Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), but unlike Mexico there is no skull candy, parades or altars in the graveyard with food offerings for the departed. For many people, the day has little religious significance, but rather is the customary time to visit, clean and place fresh flowers on the graves of loved ones. Halloween is considered a North American holiday. Although retail stores will put up Halloween displays and sell Halloween-related merchandise, many evangelical sects strongly oppose Halloween for its supposed pagan origins.

So what about those pagan origins? The Samhain harvest festival appears to be a purely Irish, not a pan-Celtic, tradition. It’s not even mentioned in any historical documents until the ninth century, long after St. Patrick evangelized Ireland in the fifth century. Whether either Pope Gregory III in 731 or Pope Gregory IV in 837 was worried about any survival of Irish paganism is not certain. Scottish and Irish immigrants did bring some of their folkways to the United States in the 19th Century, which became popularized as Halloween traditions. For example, their skill at carving out turnips or beets to place candles inside was applied to the pumpkin, a very North American plant. (A similar type of giant squash, known as auyama, is found in Venezuela, but it is a different species (Cucurbita moschata) than the North American pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo).) “Trick or treating”, as we know it, began in Canada in the 1920s. While a direct link between modern Halloween and ancient Celtic paganism is dubious at best, there is reason to think of Halloween as primarily a North American secular holiday.

What we must consider is not the origin of Halloween, but what it has become, which is, for many people, an excuse to dabble in the occult. Certainly in my own experience, Halloween was a lot more fun in a social environment where witchcraft was only make-believe. That’s not the environment in which we now live. So we prefer to emphasize the significance of All Saints Day in church history, especially in relation to the Reformation. On this All Saints Sunday, we will remember the members or relatives of our members who have passed to eternal life:

• Marisol Torrealba

• Daniel Ramírez

• Xiomara del Carmen Torrealba

• Carmen Benicia Garrido

• Ramón Escorcha

The church sings the faith

From October 21 until December 2, Luz Maria and I will be participating in an online course in introducing the new Spanish hymnal led by Gustavo Arturo Maita, the pastor of Príncipe de Paz (Prince of Peace) Lutheran Church, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico. He was baptized and raised as a member of Cristo Rey (Christ the King) Lutheran Church in Maturín, Venezuela, and was, in fact, the first child in Venezuela to receive a Lutheran education scholarship from LeadaChild. The Olathe, Kansas-based mission agency has provided similar scholarships to our preschool children since 2006.

Gustavo Arturo Maita.

Pastor Maita began formal theological studies with the Juan de Frías Theological Institute in Venezuela and continued at Concordia Seminary in Buenos Aires,Argentina. He served his vicarage in the Dominican Republic and graduated from Concordia Seminary in Argentina. In 2017, he received a divine call from the Lutheran Church of Venezuela to serve as an Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod alliance missionary in Puerto Rico. As a church-planting pastor, he has shared preaching and teaching responsibilities at multiple church plants. Additionally, Pastor Maita is the Disaster Response Coordinator for Puerto Rico and provides long-distance disaster response consulting and in-person workshops for church leaders and laity in countries across the Caribbean.He is married to LCMS missionary Ruth Maita, a teacher who also serves in Puerto Rico. The couple has been blessed with two children, Mikhaela and Isaiah.

Go Beyond with Team South America

On November 8-9, 2023, we will participate with other Global Lutheran Outreach (GLO) missionaries in an online event to raise money for GLO to provide us with critical support services without increasing the current 10 percent missionary assessment. For just one day, your donation to GLO will be tripled thanks to our generous campaign sponsors! All contributions received through the Go Beyond! event will be directed to the GLO general fund, and not to a specific missionary. We will ask you to give directly to GLO so that it may continue its vital role as our sponsoring organization. Through GLO we receive international health insurance, plus accounting and tax services. GLO also underwrites the Medicine for Venezuela project, which supplies non-prescription medicines to members of Lutheran congregations throughout Venezuela; ministry to Venezuelan immigrants in Santiago, Chile; and enables the sending of missionaries by national Lutheran church-bodies around the world that lack a missionary support infrastructure.

Adrian Ventura in Wittenberg.

Luz Maria and I will be part of Team South America, which also includes Pastor Adrian and Cruz Maria Ventura, Corali García Ramos, and Elianeth Pineda Vielma, all Venezuelan expatriates in Chile, and Maira Ferrari de Muller, a Lutheran teacher and GLO board member in Montevideo, Urugay. We have set a goal of raising $4,000 for GLO, which with matching funds will total $12,000. Team South America will have its own Web page to receive online donations. The Go Beyond event will last from 2:00 pm US Eastern time, November 8 until 2:00 pm ET November 9. 

Here is where to find our Team South America Web site:

https://charidy.com/glo/samer

Adrian Ventura is the first Venezuelan national pastor that I met in 2002. For 20 years he was the pastor of Cristo Rey (Christ the King) Lutheran Church in Maturín, Venezuela, and twice served as president of the Lutheran Church of Venezuela. He is now the pastor of Divine Providence Lutheran Church in Santiago, Chile. We ask the God of all comfort to bring peace and comfort to his wife, Cruz Maria, upon the recent death of her father. May the promise of a blessed reunion in heaven be the balm that heals hearts which are separated by distance.

The fiesta before the fast

For most of the past month, all schools have been closed in and around La Caramuca, including our preschool. This was because of concern about the effects of the omicron variant on children. However, by the final days of February, COVID-19 fears had faded enough that cities across Venezuela had announced plans for traditional Carnaval celebrations and we were able to open our preschool for a Carnaval party for our children and their families.

Carnaval, or Carnival as it is spelled in English, is derived from either Latin or Italian phrases meaning “goodbye to meat” (“carne” means red meat in Spanish as well). The Carnaval tradition came to Venezuela from Spain. Northern European, predominantly Lutheran, countries have an equivalent of Carnaval known as Fastelavn in Denmark and similar names elsewhere. People in the United States perhaps are most familiar with the French term, “Mardi Gras” (“Fat Tuesday”), which is quite the tourist attraction in New Orleans. English speakers also might recognize “Shrove Tuesday”, like Mardi Gras referring to the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. Customs associated with Shrove Tuesday include the eating of pancakes and other sweets, as well as the ritual burning of palms from the previous year’s Palm Sunday to use for the imposition of ashes on Ash Wednesday. Around the world, Shrove Tuesday is observed by Anglicans, Lutherans and Methodists as well as Roman Catholics.

By the way, for several hundred years, Roman Catholics in Venezuela have had papal permission to hunt and eat the capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris), the world’s largest rodent species, during Lent on the theory that its semi-aquatic lifestyle makes it more like a fish than a mammal.

It was in 18th Century Italy, France and Spain that Carnaval festivities took on what may be their most well-known characteristics, namely masquerade balls and parades. And that is how we celebrate with the preschool children. These days, the girls like to dress up as Disney princesses, while the boys favor Batman, Superman or Spider Man, a tribute to the worldwide influence of the U.S. entertainment industry.

Before our festivities began, we prayed the Lord’s Prayer, the children sang a song based on Romans 8:39, and I read from Luke 5:33-35.

“And they said to him, The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink. And Jesus said to them, Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days.”

This, along with its parallel verses in Matthew 9:14-15 and Mark 2:18-20, is one of only two passages where Jesus speaks of fasting. The other is the appointed Ash Wednesday text, Matthew 6:16-21.

I explained that there are times when the Christian can be festive, as well as times for somber, solemn reflection. We may rejoice with those who rejoice, without falling into drunkenness and debauchery, while those given to drunkenness and debauchery will find any excuse to do so, even the Christmas holidays. We should never forget that the point of our feast days is to enjoy and give thanks for the material blessings that God has given us, even as He has commanded us to pray for our daily bread in the Lord’s Prayer. Nor should we cease to pray and cast our cares on Him in times of scarcity, whether doing without is a voluntary choice or not.

Then came Ash Wednesday, when I did read the lesson from Matthew 6.

“And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

In Matthew 6:1-18, Jesus talks about almsgiving, prayer and fasting, and makes the same point each time. These things should not be done to gain the admiration of men, but with an attitude of humility and selflessness, the fruits of the Holy Spirit working in us (1 Corinthians 13:1-13). And as Psalm 51, the psalm appointed for Ash Wednesday says, the acceptable sacrifice of thanksgiving to God is a repentant and contrite heart.

For dust you are, and to dust you shall return

One goal of Ash Wednesday and the subsequent days of Lent is the meditation on our own mortality. Through baptism we have the promise of sharing in Christ’s resurrection (Romans 6:3-4), yet as sinners we cannot escape the sentence of physical death in Genesis 3:19. This was brought home to me just before Ash Wednesday, March 2, as Bruce Keseman, pastor of Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church, Freeburg, Illinois, conducted a wonderful memorial service for my sister, Deborah Ann Ernst, on Saturday, February 26. My sister, Deborah Ann Ernst, received in full the peace which the world cannot give on Sunday, February 13. This is the second time that Pastor Keseman has presided at a funeral for a member of my family, the first being at the death of my father in 2000.

The saddest part was not the loss of my sister, because we know that she is with Jesus, but knowing that 10 to 15 years ago, it would not have been that hard for Luz Maria and I to journey to the United States to be with my mother at this time. Of course, many Venezuelans have had the same experience from a mirror-image perspective. Having emigrated from Venezuela, they have found it impossible to return for the death of a family member.

Pray for safe passage to Caracas

Travel inside and outside Venezuela was becoming more expensive and uncertain even before the COVID-19 crisis. For two years we have traveled only as far as the city of Barinas, and we can only pray that soon the travel bans, COVID-19 testing and quarantine requirements will be lifted. How the ripple effects from the current war in Ukraine will affect us is anyone’s guess.

For more than a year, Luz Maria has been mentoring online women enrolled in a deaconess training program sponsored by Concordia El Reformador Lutheran Seminary in the Dominican Republic. This past month, Pastor Eliezer Mendoza, direct of the Lutheran Church of Venezuela’s Juan de Frias Theological Institute began a series of three in-person seminars for the deaconess students. The first one was last week at Ascension Lutheran Church in San Felix de Guayana (in eastern Venezuela on the banks of the Orinoco River). The second will take place this week at Cristo Rey (Christ the King) Lutheran Church in Maturin (also in eastern Venezuela, but to the north). Next week Luz Maria hopes to travel to a seminar in Caracas (central Venezuela) with a group of other women from the west. (We are living in Venezuela’s wild western frontier, as a matter of fact.) I will pray for her safe passage and I hope that you will, too.

Churches and mission agencies should pray and reflect on how to continue cross-cultural mission work in a world of closed borders, open war and increasing hostility to the proclamation of both Law and Gospel.

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!