Martha Bronner Funeral
[Psalm
23]
July 23, 2016 Hollywood Memorial Cemetery
Hear the Word of God:
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not
want.
He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me
in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy
rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Thou preparest a table before me in
the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth
over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
I’m sure most of us have heard this
Psalm of David before – some of us may even have it memorized – and it is often
read at funerals.
But do we understand what David was
talking about?
David was a shepherd before he was
king of Israel. Shepherds took care of
sheep. They had sheepfolds in which to
house the sheep which kept them safe from predators and thieves – there was
only one way into the safety of the sheepfold.
And the shepherd was responsible for the lives of the sheep – to lead
them and feed them and save them even to the point of giving his own life in battling
predators and thieves.
David begins this Psalm – this song
– addressing the LORD – that is, the One Holy God of Israel – the God Who is
just and loving – the God Who rejoices in glorifying Himself – the God Who
cannot allow any sin or imperfection to remain in His sight.
And David tells us that this God is
his God, that is, David, who was a murderer and an adulterer had somehow been
made right with God, and so God always fulfilled His daily needs – he would not
want for what God knew he needed for the day.
This God gave Him protection and
peace, salvation and righteousness, because it showed how great God is, and
despite continuing to have enemies and be in a position to be harmed or killed,
David did not fear, because the rod of discipline and the staff of guidance
comforted him – growing in the knowledge of and obedience to this God satisfied
him in this life no matter what else happened.
And David knew that, in the end, the
goodness and mercy of God would be what would bring him into the eternal Kingdom
of God.
I first met Martha Bronner in 1996
as she worked the “good dishware and plant table” at our flea market at Second
Reformed Church in Irvington. Although I
can count on two hands the number of times Martha joined us for Sunday worship,
she was always willing and able to help us with our flea markets – helping to
set up and sell and donating some of her own plants to sell.
I found Martha to be an honest and
hardworking person, who prided herself on working well; I can see her being a
prized employee in the NJDMV and as a bookkeeper.
Martha was proud to tell me of her
work in the Prudential and with AARP and at the Papermill Playhouse where I saw
her and visited with her during the show that her sister, Dorothy, went to Sunday
afternoons.
Martha was very proud of her
children and grandchildren. And Martha
made it clear to me that there were no more brilliant and caring people on the
earth than her grandchildren.
After her sister, Dorothy’s, death,
Martha and I talked and exchanged notes on a periodic basis. She was affirming and encouraging about my ministry
and continued to offer whatever help she could be in providing plants, etc.,
for our sales, even though we stopped the full-blown flea markets. And she spoke continually of her love for her
family.
She was a strong, caring, and able
person, and I thank God for the privileged of knowing her.
I thank God that I had the privilege
to talking with her several times after her stroke, and for the chance to
reflect with you for these few minutes as we mourn her death and consider who
she was and continues to be for each of us.
When Martha visited us in worship
and on those visits in the hospital, I preached and I talked with her about the
Lord God Who was David’s Shepherd as he wrote in Psalm 23, and it is my hope
and prayer that each of us will consider Who God is and whether or not we can
say He is “my shepherd.”
How do we become right with God,
David’s Shepherd? How can we say that He
is our Shepherd? How can we recite Psalm
23 and know and believe that it is true for each of us?
Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd.
I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the
Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are
not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So
there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me,
because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from
me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I
have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father”
(John 10:14-18, ESV).
In the Gospel of John, Jesus
repeatedly affirms that He is God in the flesh.
And here, He uses the imagery of being the Shepherd that David knew and
was made right with – Jesus is the Good Shepherd.
Jesus explained that He was sent by
God the Father to incarnate as a human to be the Shepherd of the sheep that the
Father gave Him. Jesus is the Shepherd
of all those who repent and believe savingly in Him.
Jesus came with the mission to lay down
His life to secure the salvation of all those who would ever believe. Anyone Who believes that Jesus is God the
Savior and repents of their sin will be saved by Him. He will make them right with God and bring
them into His sheepfold – into the Kingdom of God now and eternally.
Anyone who wants to be right with
God and receive all that is spoken of in the 23rd Psalm must believe
in Jesus – God in the flesh – Who lived and died and rose to make all those who
repent and believe right with God.
That’s what I believe. That is what I told Martha. And that is what I tell you: Jesus is the Only Way to be right with God; He
is the Only Way to God and to eternal life now and forever. Please don’t wait. As we see the reality of life and death
today, call out to Jesus, repent of your sins, and be made right with God.
Let us pray:
Hope and Only Savior, we thank You for the life of Martha Bronner. We thank You for her love of
family and friends. We thank You for all that was good and commendable in her. And we ask that
You would comfort all those who are mourning, and send the Holy Spirit to open hearts and minds to
the Hope You have provided. For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.
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