Funeral Service for Hattie Kerry (February 8, 2014)
Holy Cross Lutheran Church
Rev. Todd A. Peperkorn
Psalm 27:4

“At Home”

Kenetha, Teanna, Shamari, Rashad, Family and Friends of Hattie, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen. Our text for today is from Psalm 27 as follows: “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.” (Psalms 27:4 ESV)

Hattie (Taylor) Kerry was born on July 6, 1926. She was baptized in 1955. She joined Holy Cross Lutheran Church as a charter member in 1988. She married her dear husband, Paul Kerry, on August 1, 1953. He preceeded her in death by many years. She died in Christ in the year of our Lord, February 3, 2014. “And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!”” (Rev. 14:13 ESV)

Hattie has been virtually one of the fixtures here at Holy Cross from the very beginning. I’m sure there are many people here who could tell us more stories than we could count about Hattie. My experience with her has only been the past couple years.

As her pastor, my experience with Hattie has been as the giver and receiver. She is the lady who sits in the back row in a wheelchair. She always has her book open and follows along with the service, more or less. She is always there when I come down with the elder to commune her. And she always said “thank you” when I was finished.

If I could put it this way, I would say that she was, well, at home here at Holy Cross. She always looked like she belonged here. And being one of the very few African American members here, that did not just happen.

But at the same time, it did. The verse from Psalm 27 above really captures what I’m talking about: “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.” (Psalms 27:4 ESV)

Hattie was a sinner like you and me. She made mistakes, she was broken, messed up and deeply in need, like so many of us. There were a lot of people who took care of her in different ways. This isn’t because she was bossy or excessively needy. It was because the wages of sin is death, and she was dying, like every one of us. That death comes quickly for some, and less quickly for others. But it comes to us all.

But there was a great sense with Hattie that she knew where her home was and is. Now I don’t mean sitting in that spot by the back pew, although that is true. I mean she knew that her home was in Christ. In other words, she knew she was baptized. Her identity is not bound up in places and things, or health or wealth or any of the pursuits that this world clammers after so often. Her identity was bound up in God, and in dwelling with Him forever.

I wish I could have known Hattie better. Every time I talked to her we ended up laughing about something. And for those of you who knew her better than me, I’m sure those memories go far, far deeper. That makes our hurt and sorrow all the harder to bear. But our sorrow is for a time. The book of Ecclesiastes says that there is a time for weeping and a time for joy. Our weeping comes from missing Hattie. She was a mother, a sister, and a friend to many. It is right that we weep and be sorrowful.

But do not weep as those without hope. We weep, but we weep with joy, knowing that the resurrection of the body is coming. We weep with a twinkle in the eye, knowing that our dear sister is without sorrow or pain or sadness. I think Hattie would appreicate a little twinkle in the eye, don’t you? For there will come a time, beloved, when you, too, will be raised from the dead and will be reunited with saints and angels and all the host of heaven. And that includes Hattie, and all of your other loved ones who have died in the faith.

Yes, there will come a day when the dead in Christ will rise up from their graves, and heaven and earth will be whole once again. There will come a day when all of our sorrows will be at an end, when every tear will be dried, and when everything that is wrong will be made right again. Hattie is at rest in that now, but it will be so for all of us. Hattie sees clearly what we can see but dimly, a faint trace of the beauty which is coming our way. But make no mistake about it, it is coming.

Hattie was at home here at the Altar of God, and this continues to be her home, as she is now at rest in Christ Jesus.

So until we meet again, dear sister, rest well. Rest well in the arms of your Savior, until the day we meet again in His glorious presence.

Believe it for the sake of Jesus Christ, our risen redeemer. Amen.

And now the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in true faith to life everlasting. Amen.