Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled

Let Not Your Hearts Be Troubled

The Funeral of Irene Meyer – 10/18/2025

John 14:1-11

Rev. Dr. Christopher W. Brademeyer

That portion from God’s holy Word for consideration this afternoon is our reading from the holy Gospel according to St. John in the fourteenth chapter with special emphasis on verses one through four which read as follows:

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.”[1]

Thus far the Scriptures.

In the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, family, and friends of Irene Meyer: there are moments in life when words seem small and our hearts are heavy. The death of a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, sister, and friend brings such a moment. Even when we know death will come, it still feels like an intrusion, a reminder that this world is not as God intended it to be. And yet, into such moments, our Lord Jesus speaks the words we need most: “Let not your hearts be troubled.”

A Troubled World

Irene knew what it was to live in a world filled with trouble. She was born in 1940, during a time of war and uncertainty. When she was just six years old, her father died. Her mother was battling tuberculosis, and Irene and her siblings were cared for by relatives until her mother could return home. It was not an easy beginning.

But through it all, the Lord was already holding her in His hand. On May 18, 1941, at Trinity Lutheran Church, God placed His name upon her in Holy Baptism. He claimed her as His own; He identified her with His very name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There, He promised to be her refuge and strength in every time of trouble. And He kept that promise. The same Jesus who said, “Let not your hearts be troubled,” there claimed Irene as His own little lamb. From that day on, no matter where she lived, no matter what she endured, she belonged to Christ. This was not due to mere ritual or any such trivial thing, but due to the strong Word and faithful promise of Christ in that holy Baptism.

A Life of Love and Service

As Irene grew, she developed a quiet strength and a servant’s heart. At sixteen, she went to work for the Walund family near Forman, and that’s where she met Leonard. Together they built a life rooted in love, faith, and hard work. They married in 1959, first living near Gwinner and later made their home here in Oakes. For years Irene worked as a cook at Oakes Public School, serving hundreds of children with the care like she gave her own.

She was an active member of St. John’s Lutheran Church and the LWML, supporting the mission of Christ’s Church through prayer, service, and generosity. Taking seriously the Lord’s command to be fruitful and multiply, she and Leonard raised six children and were blessed with 15 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

Her love for family and her faith in Christ were woven together. Even when life brought loss,  later the passing of siblings and friends and especially the death of her husband Leonard in 2006, her confidence remained anchored in Jesus’ words: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

The Way, the Truth, and the Life

Those words from Jesus are not merely comforting; they are sure and certain. Jesus doesn’t just show us a path to take to heaven, He is the Way. He doesn’t just speak the truth, He is the Truth. He doesn’t simply offer life, He is the Life.

That’s why Irene could live in peace even with all the hardships this life threw at her. Her hope was not in how strong she could be, or how much she had done, but in what Jesus had done for her. The One who took her sins upon Himself on the cross, who rose again from the dead, who prepared a place for her in the Father’s house, that same Lord came to her once more in mercy and love on October 14, 2025, and said, “Come home.”

The Promise Fulfilled

Jesus said, “I go to prepare a place for you, and I will come again and will take you to Myself, that where I am you may be also.” For Irene, that promise is now fulfilled. All her labors are ended. Her faith has become sight. She no longer sees dimly, as through a glass darkly, but face to face with her Savior. The same Lord who welcomed her at the font as a little girl now welcomes her into the eternal home prepared for her before the foundation of the world.

And that promise is not only for Irene, it is for all who believe in Christ. For as surely as Jesus rose from the dead, those who are united to Him in Baptism will also rise. Irene’s body, now at rest, will one day be raised incorruptible. Death will not have the final word, Jesus will. Indeed, Jesus already has. His death put death to death and destroyed sin and unmade the rule of the Devil for Irene and each of us Christians.

Comfort for the Living

So, dear family, when your hearts are troubled, remember that the Jesus who comforted His disciples on the night before His death is the same Jesus who comforted Irene all her life and who grants comfort in our grief even now. He is the same Lord who forgave her sins, who strengthened her faith, and who now gives her eternal rest. And He is the same Lord who speaks to you today with words of mercy and consolation. He is the one who calls you to trust in Him, to find peace in His promises, and to know that He is preparing a place for you, too. And this is ensured not by our sincerity, our work, or any other thing that we do, but by His holy and precious blood. Christian hope is founded in this unmovable work of Christ and is made ours by the same.

We need not worry about Irene, she is at peace with her Savior, just as He promised.

In the holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.

The peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

[1] John 14:1-4 English Standard Version. All further quotations from the holy Scriptures are from the ESV.