In Memorium: The Rev. Paul D. Neumann - Romans 8: 31-39

 

The Memorial Service for the Rev. Paul D. Neumann
1-22-1956 – 7-29-2021
August 7, 2021
Redeemer Lutheran Church
Baytown, TX

The Reverend Paul Neumann was born on January 22, 1956. He was baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and later confirmed in that same Baptismal faith. Paul was led by the Spirit of God to serve the Lord and His church and was ordained into the Office of the Holy Ministry in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod in 1982. He married his wife, Laura, on March 3, 1990, and together they reared their children Lacey and Andrew. Paul’s service to the Lord concluded here at Redeemer, where he served since December 15, 2016, when he fell asleep in Christ, in his Baytown home, on July 29, 2021, at the age of 65 years, six months, and seven days. Blessed are those who die in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. 

The text for today is from Romans 8:31-39, one of Paul’s favorite passages: “What, then, shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died - more than that, who was raised - who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? For as it is written, “For your sake, we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation shall be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Dear family members, friends, brothers in ministry, saints of God at Redeemer, and especially you, Laura, Lacey and Andrew: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. 

 We speak of faith in two aspects. The first is faith as a noun, as in the Christian Faith. This is the faith as revealed in the Scriptures, confessed in the Creeds, and taught in our Lutheran Confessions. This is the faith that teaches we are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ Jesus. “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.” This is the faith that proclaims Christ’s resurrection as the Lord of Life and that those who believe in Him will also live eternally. Most importantly, the empty grave demonstrates the Father accepted the Son’s payment on our behalf and it is the prelude of our own resurrection when He returns. This faith is objective: it is steadfast and true and does not change like shifting shadows.

 And then there is faith as trusting and believing. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we are enabled to say, “I believe these sure and certain promises of God.” Spirit-given faith, even the size of a mustard seed, is saving faith because it trusts Christ alone as the source of our salvation. This enables the Christian to confess “I believe” what the Creeds say, “This is the Christian faith.” “I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord. Who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and his innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom…” This faith is personal. It is God’s gift to His children. It is subjective; it ebbs and flows, sometimes it is a hot, roaring fire, sometimes it isn’t much more than a smoldering wick, but it is always grounded in the sure and certain faithfulness of Jesus. This faith takes the objective faith, we are saved by grace through faith, and in that personal, subjective believing, Christ’s faithfulness becomes ours.   

It is the Lutheran pastor’s vocation to proclaim the Christian faith to the people of God. As a called and ordained servant of the word, pastors baptize, preach, teach, visit, marry and bury. In the stead and by the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, pastors speak absolution to the heart and conscience that is burdened by guilt and broken by shame. Whether in the pulpit or a hospital emergency room, in front of the altar or in front of the shut-in’s kitchen table, at the font or at the NIC-U bassinet, the truth of Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed. In the face of life and death, in the joys and heartbreaks of life of the people in his parish, the pastor points people to Jesus and to the certainty of His death and His resurrection as the source of salvation. “Christ Jesus is the one who died - more than that, who was raised - who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? … No, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” This is most certainly true: Christ who died, Christ who was raised, Christ who intercedes, Christ who unites and holds us to the Father’s arms, Christ who makes us children of God. This was the message of St. Paul the Apostle; this was the same message that you heard your pastor, your husband, your father, and friend preach over and over. 

But a pastor is also a child of God who confesses Jesus in his own life. He doesn’t just say “this is the faith.” He also says, “and this, this I believe.” And, as a child of God, who both lives and serves under the cross, there are times when the weight of that cross presses down. This is true for every Christian, but in many ways, it’s an even greater weight on the pastor. There’s an old phrase that the pastors will well recognize, a phrase coined by Luther, that a pastor isn’t formed by classrooms, but by prayer, meditating on the Word, and by the struggles of life under the cross of Jesus. We carry not only the yoke of the Office, but those of the parish as well and our own families. Life as a pastor is not always golf courses, sermons that pour out like water and are welcomed with words of high praise, cooing babies and 5-star potlucks. Often there are bitter meetings followed by angry phone calls, sermons that are hard-fought to write and not well received, confirmands that don’t return, and cold meals eaten long after the rest of the family has left the table and the kids are tucked into bed. And, the cross is felt at home, too, by the wife and children who sometimes and unfairly get the short end of the stick. Paul had his fair share, plus an extra scoop or two, over his almost 40 years of ministry, and in many ways you three bore that cross along with him. 

Yet, Paul remained a faithful child of God. That’s not to say that there weren’t moments where that faith wasn’t shaken, moments where faith the size of a mustard seed would have been a welcome improvement, moments where the cross seemed as if it were about to break off the crushed reed and wash over the smoldering wick. Yet, even in those moments, as a baptized child of God, Paul held onto the absolute certainty of the promises of God in Christ Jesus. I served Our Shepherd in Crosby thru June of 2017. Before I left this circuit for Victoria, I had the privilege of hearing Paul preach at our monthly circuit meeting. With his big voice filling the room and with fire in his words, he spoke of Jesus’ death and His resurrection, and His forgiveness of us who are united to Christ through Baptism into Jesus, “even,” he added, as emotion broke into that big voice, mellowing it into a gentle rumble. He paused, touched his hand to his mouth, and continued, “even for a sinner like me.” 

How could he say that? Because of faith in Christ. Our translation says, “I am sure,” but I think that’s a little soft. I prefer a more powerful translation of the verb: “I am certain, confident, convinced - think exclamation point here! - I am certain (!) that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, or things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Amen, amen, it is most certainly true!

I said we speak of faith in two aspects: one that is objective and universal, one that is subjective and personal. Both not only speak of Christ who died and rose, both look ahead at what and who is to come. The Creeds confess it: “I believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life of the world to come.” Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen. The Scriptures record Christ’s promises to return. He promises our own resurrection. The Scriptures proclaim it. The Church confesses it. You are baptized into it. And, by the power of the Holy Spirit, you believe it, just as Paul preached it to you and believed it himself. And, because it’s Christ’s promise, you know it is true: that in the resurrection of all flesh, Paul, by grace through faith in Christ, will have his, “I am certain” answered by Jesus Himself. “Well done, good and faithful servant.” 

Now, a word especially for you, Laura, and you Lacey and Andrew. Your husband, your father, was fond of speaking about how much he looked forward to seeing Jesus. I know that is a little bittersweet, but I want you to know he followed a good role model. St. Paul the apostle did much the same when he wrote to the Philippians how he desired to be with both the church and with Jesus. I know what it is to lose a dad at a young age - Dad was 57 when he died; I was 26.  I watched my Mom wrestle with losing her spouse, also of 30 years. We don’t get a say when the Lord calls our loved ones home. In these grey and latter days, hold fast to the faith and the promises of God. Read these passages of Scripture again; hear Jesus’ promises for you. Share your grief together; share your hope and your faith in Jesus together. But don’t do it in a vacuum. For you also believe in the holy Christian church and the communion of saints. Gather together with the church, the saints of God on earth. Let them care for you. Let them hold you. Let them be a source of strength for you in your weakness. And, remember: when you gather with the church on earth, you’re not just worshipping with these saints. You also worship with the saints who have gone before, the angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, whose heavenly worship of the resurrected Jesus joins with ours on earth.  

And to you, people of Redeemer, be the body of Christ to this family. Walk along side them. Care for them. Be compassionate with them. Weep with them, rejoice with them, laugh with them, talk with them, and, sometimes, be silent with them. They know how much Paul loved Jesus. Now, remind them of Paul’s love for them, and more than that, of Jesus’ great love for them, and that you, too, are certain that nothing can separate them from the love of God in Christ Jesus their Lord.

The last time I worshipped at Redeemer was the day of Pastor Neumann’s installation, December 15, 2016. Nine pastors each spoke a blessing or prayer for him. The verse I shared with him that day was from Romans 15:13. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, that you may overflow in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” It seemed appropriate to share a word from St. Paul the Apostle as St. Paul Neumann began his pastorate here. There was joy and there was thanksgiving as we celebrated the gift of God in providing a pastor for this church. 

So, it’s a little strange to be here again today. Today is the reversal, if you will, of Paul’s installation. We aren’t celebrating the beginning of his ministry, but giving thanks to God for Paul’s faithful service to Him, to His church, and to his family. The pastors are here, again with red stoles; the family is here; the congregation is here. But Paul is at rest, asleep in Jesus, waiting the resurrection of all flesh. Yet, even in our grief and through our tears, we rejoice in the promise of Christ that He is the resurrection and the life, and that those who live and believe in Him shall never die. 

I close with the blessing I spoke over Paul at his installation. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, that you may overflow in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Amen.