Vern Star-Prayer
Notes
Transcript
For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.
Scripture: Psalm 139:13-16
Vern Star Prayer Service
Brothers and sisters, thinking about the occasions that we typically hear this psalm, it’s one that is probably heard more often with other events. We frequently hear it with births and baptisms, with professions of faith, as well as times of vividly seeing the hand and providence of God when everything else seems to go wrong. And yet it struck me several months ago that these words are also fitting for those nearing the end of their earthly lives, and when a loved one has passed away.
David speaks of how God created him, and how God has created each one of us. He has knit us together in a most unique and intricate way—that is awesome. Our limbs, our organs, our muscles and bones do not come together by chance. They are specifically and designedly woven together. There is not just one pattern for the human body, but God sees the unformed—the earliest stages when cells are coming together, and he is active in us from then on.
Vern was, as each of us is, more than just a physical body. He had a mind to think and create. He understood the concepts involved in wiring and manufacturing equipment to work and provide a service. He had the emotional ability to love and cherish his wife, his children, and many others. Vern had a willingness to serve and give of himself to things that were bigger than just him—to serve in the Navy, to serve the church and expressing what he believed was best for the local congregation—I had a conversation like that with him just a few weeks ago. Too he was a sportsman, and he enjoyed the outdoors.
When David talks about his own creation, that which is true of all people, let’s remember also the non-physical parts of our human existence. For Vern, that included an intelligence for work, compassion, service—those of you who knew Vern for longer and spent time with him before his health struggles, can speak to those qualities. Those are all wonderful parts of who God made him to be. Likewise, God gives each one of us has different and unique qualities of our own. It is not chance; it’s not just what we have figured out. It is God who has given us what we can enjoy, and given to us that we would be a blessing to others.
Let’s consider also the final verse we heard—All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Our lives, our stories, the joys and the tragedies, periods of good health and of the body breaking down, the date of our birth and the date of our death—God knows each of them before they are lived out by us. He knows how we will respond to adversity and success. He knows how we will adapt to a new person or a completely new life coming into our lives. God knows all of these days, and has ordained them all.
That word ordained is a word that also means formed. God forms each of our days. Rather than seeing that to mean that he forces us to do everything, this is telling us that according to the purposes of his plan, our lives will have their role. For Vern, that has meant all the days of his 87 years. We do not always see or necessarily know what or how God’s will involves all of these days—especially when we see someone struggling or sleeping for a number of days in a nursing home. Yet, God’s plan was and is active. The Lord drew Vern to know him, and to live for him.
We trust that our creation as men and women, our ability to live the span of our lives, and certainly what gives purpose and meaning to us is God through his Son Jesus Christ. Vern was born, lived, and died belonging to Jesus, knowing that what Jesus accomplished for him was the most significant truth he could believe and most worth celebrating.
Vern’s time on this earth has come to completion, and yet it is the completion that has been ordained and formed by God. He doesn’t need to slip from our memories and thoughts. I truly hope for those that have learned from him, that you would not forget what he has taught. But may we know the testimony of Vern and his life is a testimony that points to something far greater—the love, the grace, and the salvation that comes through the work that Jesus has done. Amen.