Romans 8: 38–39 / Psalm 46 / John 14: 1–6
This is the written version of the
homily given at St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church (ELCA), Fairfield,
Pennsylvania, on Saturday, March 7, 2026 by Fr. Gene Tucker, on the occasion of
the funeral for Robert E. Kerstetter, Jr.
“WHAT LIES AHEAD?”
(Homily text: John 14: 1–6)
The weather in south-central
Pennsylvania in early March can often involve significant occurrences of fog.
Sometimes, the fog can be quite thick, making driving and walking (as in along
a road, for example) a hazardous undertaking.
In such situations, it’s important for
us to know – for our own safety, but also for the safety and the welfare of
others – what lies ahead of us.
Knowing what lies ahead is a good way
to look at our Gospel reading for this funeral service this morning, but also
as we think back over the events of this week, as Bob Kerstetter’s earthly
journey came to an end…Those early disciples of Jesus wanted to know what lay
ahead. We, also, want to know what lies ahead as we think about Bob’s
continuing life and our life in this world, now that he has entered into
eternity and into God’s presence.
Let’s begin by looking at our Gospel
text, from John’s Gospel account, chapter fourteen.
John devotes five chapters[1] of
the Gospel which hears his name to the events that took place during the Last
Supper.
In our Gospel text this morning, Jesus
tells His disciples that He is about to go away. But He says that His purpose
is to go to prepare a place for them, a place in which they may be with Him.
In response, Thomas says, “but we don’t
know the way (to where you are going)”.
Jesus then says that He is going ahead
of them, to be the way to the Father.
Most likely, at the time Jesus said
these words, they didn’t make much sense to Thomas, or to the other disciples
who heard them. In time, however, and especially after Jesus’ resurrection on
Easter Sunday morning, they made perfect sense, for in the Easter events, they
understood that God’s power to create and to re-create were at work in Jesus’
new life.
After Easter, which is the central
truth of the Christian faith, the way ahead was clear.
On Tuesday of this week, Bob
Kerstetter’s life came to an end. Someone’s passing is never an easy occurrence
to accept.
In the wake of someone’s death, we want
to ask, and we want to know, “What lies ahead (for that person, and for us)”.
The answer is to be found in God’s
ability, God’s power to create and to re-create.
As Bob’s life came to an end, a new
life, a new life much like Jesus’ new life, began in all its fullness.
That new life was God’s guarantee back
when Bob was baptized, for – as St. Paul tells us in Romans, chapter, six - we are buried in baptism in a death like
Christ’s, and we are raised to a new life like His.
To be sure. Bob didn’t receive that new
life immediately upon baptism. He had a life to live in this world before
entering into that new life.
Along the way, Bob made it clear that
his heart was a heart that longed to know the heart of God.
I’ll cite but one example, which I
heard from the family when we met to plan this service earlier this week…
Bob was a teacher for thirty years,
teaching fifth graders. One of Bob’s particular gifts was the ability to
identify a student who was at the margins of the class. Bob took that student
and folded them into the fulness and the life of the class, sometimes to the
point of making that student the center of the class.
Come to think of it, that’s just what
our Lord did: He reached across the divides in society that existed 2,000 years
ago, bridging the gaps between people. He restored them to the community and to
fullness of life in the process. Bob had a good mentor in Jesus Christ, as he
lived out the values of the Christian faith.
Having received the promises of God in
baptism, Bob’s life assures us that he sought to work out his faith, and to
cultivate a lively and personal faith with the Lord.
Knowing that he did these things
assures us of the way ahead, for now, Bob can hear God say, “Well done, good
and faithful servant, enter into the eternal rest promised to all the saints”.
AMEN.
[1] Chapters thirteen through seventeen
