+Priscilla Cook + Requiescat in Pace+
Text: John 10:27-30
Dear Willner, Carolee, Jean, family, friends, students of Priscilla, and brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
One of my early memories of Priscilla occurred about fifteen years ago when I moved to the area for a mobilization at the Pentagon. At the time, my only means of transportation was my Harley and because I cared deeply about my bike, I would roll up to church and park on or near the sidewalk of the undercroft.
Well, one Sunday I was running a little behind and when I showed up for Scripture Study, my exhaust ensured the windows rattled just a little. What I didn’t realize at first was that I had also rattled the entire back row of Scripture Study! As I entered that day, Priscilla provided me a stern look that informed me without words, I would not do what I had just done ever again.
Priscilla was very serious about her faith; she was a Christian and fervently believed the words we heard from St. Paul this morning:
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. (Romans 3:23-25a)
Even as she had become homebound these last years, and missed her husband Carl terribly, her enduring faith led her to confess her sins before God, to confess she had fallen short not only before man, but also in the eyes of her heavenly Father.
Yet, her faith was unwavering even in these latter days as she rejoiced in the gift of redemption received through Christ’s Word and in His very flesh and blood for the forgiveness of her sins. A gift Pastor Esget and I had the privilege of bringing her.
Funny story, a couple months ago, Priscilla had become ill and to visit her, it required an individual to wear a mask and a gown. Pastor Esget went to visit her, and you know when you have all this gear on you become unrecognizable – your voice becomes muffled. Well, Pastor Esget asked her, would you like to receive the Lord’s Supper and she was quick to say, “I only receive the Lord’s Supper from my pastors.”
This is the type of confession that brings a pastor such joy! Once Pastor Esget removed the mask briefly, that smile of hers appeared along with the twinkle in her eye, and she gladly received a foretaste of the heavenly banquet.
This story is a reminder, Priscilla was a Lutheran and nothing else would do, she held firmly to this confession, recognizing, even in her last days:
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by [God’s] grace as a gift… to be received by faith. (Romans 3:23-25a)
A faith she tirelessly confessed and taught as a Lutheran School teacher for nearly 36 years (25 of those years here at Immanuel Lutheran School). As you can guess, she took this vocation of teacher seriously and she cared deeply for her students and Immanuel Lutheran School as a whole. In fact, even after retirement, she didn’t leave the school, Priscilla and her husband Carl never stopped serving the students of Immanuel, the two would be seen helping in the carpool lane of the school nearly every day, greeting students with smiles, hugs, and relationships that have endured throughout the years.
Their love for the children and school was unmatched.
But for Priscilla, what was first and foremost was her desire for our school to teach and confess Jesus. She saw her students as being entrusted to her care and wanted them to know their Savior. She wanted them ready to enter the world, she wanted them ready to confess their faith in Christ Jesus, she wanted them to know, hear, and follow the voice of this great Shepherd.
I believe this emphasis was greatly impacted by Priscilla’s confirmation verses, which were at the end of the third reading from the Gospel of John:
[Jesus said] My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
What characterizes the sheep is that they “hear the voice of Jesus.” They hear His voice and follow Him; we call this faith.
You who have faith, need not fear the casket or the grave, but rather rejoice, even today, that you too shall never perish, but receive eternal life.
Like Priscilla, your Shepherd, the Good Shepherd has you in the safety and pasture of His hand.
The death and resurrection of Christ Jesus has become the gate unto this good pasture, the place where salvation and forgiveness reside. A place where those who hear the voice of the Shepherd receive eternal rest from the labors, ailments, and dark shadows of this life.
Soon, you will journey to the grave, the dark, horrible pit of the earth, but go there with the knowledge that Jesus and His life, death, and resurrection has transformed the grave and made it as the Psalmist writes, the gate unto eternal life.
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the LORD. (Psalm 118:20)
For those who enter through this gate will say with Priscilla and all who rest in Christ Jesus, one of her favorite verses:
This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)
Through the tears and sadness, let us rejoice with your mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, friend, teacher, and sister in Christ; because her prayer has been answered and she has faithfully heard the Shepherd’s voice and rests eternally in His care. +INJ+
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Associate Pastor, Immanuel Evangelical-Lutheran Church
Alexandria, VA
