Alfred years ago mentioned to me that when folks were buried when he was a child, they always sang "Nun lasst uns den Leib" and he rattled it off auf Deutsch. In loving memory, then, of Alfred:
This body in the grave we lay
There to await that solemn day
When God Himself shall bid it rise
And mount triumphant to the skies.
And so to earth we now entrust
What came from dust and turns to dust
And from the dust shall rise that day
In glorious triumph o'er decay.
The soul forever lives with God
Who freely hath His grace bestowed
And through His Son redeemed it here
From ev'ry sin, from ev'ry fear.
All trials and all griefs are past,
A blessed end has come at last.
Christ's yoke was borne with ready will;
Who dieth thus is living still.
LSB 759:1-4
May God fulfill for Alfred's soul all the promises that He has made in His gracious Word and give to him a place of refreshment, joy and light, and keep His body safe in peaceful sleep until Christ's reappearing!
Give Clara my love.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting that hymn. It reminded me of all the funerals I officiated at in Germany. I would begin singing it and the congregation would join in as the pallbearers lowered the casket on ropes into the grave. It was always a witness to two realities: death and the victory of Christ. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMichael Zamzow
Will do, Charlie.
ReplyDeleteMichael, glad it brought back those memories of our triumph in Christ in the face of death. We sang some alleluias together this morning around Alfred's body to remind ourselves and Satan that he hasn't won; not at all.
"Who dieth thus is living still."
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful proclamation for those who are left here to mourn!
We sang a Brahms version of this with Reuning and the Seminary Schola Cantorum back in 1998. Begrabnesgesang. I don't know if a recording of it is available. It predates the Brahms Requiem but contains some elements of it. I recall it being a stunning way to celebrate All Saints!
ReplyDeleteDan Grams