Sermon for the Christian Funeral of Lorraine Schiefelbein

In the lesson we heard from 1 Thessalonians, St. Paul says, we do not want you to be uninformed brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as those who have no hope. When Paul is talking about those who are asleep, he means those who have died. We know that Lorraine is not merely asleep, she has died. Nor is she is some sort of soul sleep, her soul is with Christ now. By asleep, Paul is using the word as a substitute for “died” for a very specific reason – sleeping people wake up. That is the hope for those who grieve – those who have died, those who sleep in Jesus will one day awaken.