03/30 – Funeral Service for Rolland John Brady

Old Testament: Psalm 22

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far away from helping me, so far away from the words of my groaning? ² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer— also at night, but I find no rest. ³ Yet, you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. ⁴ Our ancestors trusted you. They trusted, and you rescued them. ⁵ They cried to you and were saved. They trusted you and were never disappointed.

⁶ Yet, I am a worm and not a man. I am scorned by humanity and despised by people.
⁷ All who see me make fun of me. Insults pour from their mouths. They shake their heads and say, ⁸ “Put yourself in the Lord’s hands. Let the Lord save him! Let God rescue him since he is pleased with him!” ⁹ Indeed, you are the one who brought me out of the womb, the one who made me feel safe at my mother’s breasts. ¹⁰ I was placed in your care from birth. From my mother’s womb you have been my God.

¹¹ Do not be so far away from me. Trouble is near, and there is no one to help. ¹² Many bulls have surrounded me. Strong bulls from Bashan have encircled me. ¹³ They have opened their mouths to attack me like ferocious, roaring lions. ¹⁴ I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It has melted within me. ¹⁵ My strength is dried up like pieces of broken pottery. My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me down in the dust of death. ¹⁶ Dogs have surrounded me. A mob has encircled me. They have pierced my hands and feet. ¹⁷ I can count all my bones. People stare. They gloat over me.
¹⁸ They divide my clothes among themselves. They throw dice for my clothing.

¹⁹ Do not be so far away, O Lord. Come quickly to help me, O my strength. ²⁰ Rescue my soul from the sword, my life from vicious dogs. ²¹ Save me from the mouth of the lion and from the horns of wild oxen. You have answered me.

²² I will tell my people about your name. I will praise you within the congregation. ²³ All who fear the Lord, praise him! All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him! Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel. ²⁴ The Lord has not despised or been disgusted with the plight of the oppressed one. He has not hidden his face from that person. The Lord heard when that oppressed person cried out to him for help. ²⁵ My praise comes from you while I am among those assembled for worship. I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who fear the Lord. ²⁶ Oppressed people will eat until they are full. Those who look to the Lord will praise him. May you live forever. ²⁷ All the ends of the earth will remember and return to the Lord. All the families from all the nations will worship you ²⁸ because the kingdom belongs to the Lord and he rules the nations. ²⁹ All prosperous people on earth will eat and worship. All those who go down to the dust will kneel in front of him, even those who are barely alive.
³⁰ There will be descendants who serve him, a generation that will be told about the Lord.
³¹ They will tell people yet to be born about his righteousness—that he has finished it.

Epistle Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:20-25

Where is the wise person? Where is the scholar? Where is the persuasive speaker of our time? Has not God turned the wisdom of the world into nonsense? The world with its wisdom was unable to recognize God in terms of his own wisdom. So God decided to use the nonsense of the Good News we speak to save those who believe.

Jews ask for miraculous signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, but our message is that Christ was crucified. This offends Jewish people and makes no sense to people who are not Jewish, but to those Jews and Greeks who are called, he is Christ, God’s power and God’s wisdom. God’s nonsense is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 27:45-47

At noon darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. About three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Gospel Reading: John 19:28-30

After this, when Jesus knew that everything had now been finished, he said,
“I thirst.” He said this so that the Scriptures would finally be fulfilled.

A jar filled with vinegar was there. So the soldiers put a sponge soaked in the vinegar on a hyssop stick and held it to his mouth. After Jesus had taken the vinegar, he said, “It is finished!” Then he bowed his head and died.