Caleb Connally Funeral/Memorial Sermon

IT'S WORTH THE WAIT Funeral Message for Caleb Connolly Primary Text: 1 Corinthians 15:22–28, 51–55 "For as in Adam all die, even so in Messiah shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order..." THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CANNOT HURRY You cannot hurry the sunrise. You cannot hurry a harvest. You cannot plant a seed tonight, stand over the ground tomorrow morning, and demand that the earth give it back to you. The seed has an appointed season. And sometimes between the planting and the harvest there is something none of us particularly enjoys. There is a WAIT. And today, the Connolly family has entered into a wait. You are waiting for answers. Waiting for understanding. Waiting for the pain to become bearable. Waiting for the day when the memory of Caleb brings more smiles than tears. But according to the Word of YAHWEH, there is another wait occurring today. Caleb is waiting too. And I came to tell this family: IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. THIS IS CALEB Before I open the Scriptures, I want to make sure everybody in this room knows who we came here for. We did not come here for a statistic. We did not come here for a headline. We came here for Caleb Connolly. [FAMILY MEMORY — one specific story: the laugh, the nickname, the thing he always said, the thing only his mother would know. Thirty seconds. Make the room see him alive before you talk about him asleep.] That was Caleb. And that is the Caleb YAHWEH knows. CALEB IS ASLEEP We have been taught something about death that the Bible itself does not teach. We have been taught that when somebody dies, they immediately become more alive than they have ever been. But Solomon said: "The dead know not any thing..." — Ecclesiastes 9:5 Paul repeatedly called the dead those who had fallen asleep. And when Lazarus died, YAHSHUA said: "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep." — John 11:11 Death is a sleep. And there is something beautiful about sleep: The sleeper does not experience the wait. You can sleep for eight hours and it seems like a moment. So from Caleb's perspective, the next conscious moment is the awakening. Caleb is not burning somewhere this morning. He is not being tortured while his family mourns. He is not looking down helplessly upon your grief. He sleeps. And sleep only makes sense because there is an awakening coming. So family— IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. BUT WHAT ABOUT HOW HE DIED? Now we need to talk about the thing everybody in this room knows, but perhaps nobody wants to say out loud. Caleb's life ended through an overdose. And unfortunately, religion has sometimes been merciless toward people whose lives ended in addiction. People will take the final page of somebody's story and act as though they have read the whole book. They see the overdose. YAHWEH saw the whole life. They see the addiction. YAHWEH saw the battle. They saw what Caleb did. YAHWEH knew why. We know what happened TO him. YAHWEH knows what happened IN him. And Isaiah prophesied concerning Messiah: "He shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge..." — Isaiah 11:3–4 Think about that. YAHWEH refuses to judge as human beings judge. We saw Caleb's weakest moment. YAHWEH knew every moment that brought him there. We saw the struggle. YAHWEH knew the wound beneath the struggle. And that is why Abraham could ask: "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" — Genesis 18:25 Yes. HE WILL. A WORD TO THE ONES STILL FIGHTING I need to stop right here and speak to some people who did not come to hear a preacher. Some of you sitting in this room today are carrying what Caleb carried. You know the battle. You know the pull. You know the thing that told Caleb "one more time." I am not going to shame you at Caleb's funeral. But I am going to tell you the truth. This casket does not have to be your future. Caleb's story is not finished—but yours is not finished either. And you have something today that Caleb does not have. You have a morning. You woke up. You are still breathing. And the same YAHWEH who has not given up on Caleb has not given up on you. If you leave this building and you don't know where to go— Come find me. Come find this family. Do not let anybody bury you the way we are burying Caleb. Somebody in this room needs to hear this: WAIT. Your story isn't over. BUT I WANT TO GO FURTHER THAN THAT TODAY Because I haven't come merely to tell this family that Caleb will someday receive a fair hearing. I've come to tell you something about the purpose of the Judge. YAHWEH's judgment is not like man's judgment. Man judges to dispose of people. YAHWEH judges to set things right. Man's judgment can end in hopelessness. YAHWEH's judgment moves His creation toward His ultimate purpose. And Paul tells us exactly where this entire story is going. Listen carefully: "For as in Adam ALL die, even so in Messiah shall ALL be made alive." Notice the symmetry. ALL in Adam. ALL in Messiah. But then Paul says something critically important: "But every man in his own order." There it is. Not everybody at the same moment. Not everybody through the same process. Not everybody in the same resurrection order. But every man in his own order. There is an order to YAHWEH's restoration. There is a timetable to reconciliation. And sometimes— YOU HAVE TO WAIT. But family: IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. JUDGMENT IS REAL Now universal reconciliation does not mean that sin doesn't matter. It doesn't mean YAHWEH winks at wickedness. It doesn't mean there is no judgment. There is judgment. There is accountability. There is correction. There are things in every human heart that cannot enter the finished Kingdom of YAHWEH unchanged. But here is the difference: We do not believe YAHWEH corrects because He hates His creation. He corrects because He intends to restore it. A physician cuts a body not because he hates the patient but because he wants the patient healed. A refiner puts gold into the fire not because he hates the gold but because he intends to remove what does not belong in it. Family, hear me. The fire of YAHWEH is not aimed at Caleb. It is aimed at everything that hurt Caleb. Everything that wounded him. Everything that lied to him. Everything that told him he was worth less than he was. Everything that had its hooks in him. THAT is what the fire is for. And Scripture says: "For YAHWEH will not cast off for ever: But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men." — Lamentations 3:31–33 Did you hear it? "YAHWEH WILL NOT CAST OFF FOR EVER." That changes the funeral. That changes the grave. That changes judgment. That changes how we look at Caleb's death. MERCY DID NOT DIE WHEN CALEB DIED Scripture says: "It is of YAHWEH'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning." — Lamentations 3:22–23 And I want to say something carefully today. YAHWEH did not cease being merciful when Caleb's heart stopped beating. Death does not change the character of YAHWEH. The grave does not cancel His compassion. A man's final mistake does not suddenly make YAHWEH become somebody He has never been. He remains righteous. He remains holy. He remains just. He remains Judge. And— HE REMAINS MERCIFUL. His compassions FAIL NOT. So there is a morning coming for Caleb Connolly. Not this morning. Perhaps not tomorrow morning. But there is an appointed morning. And if His mercies are new every morning— WAIT UNTIL RESURRECTION MORNING. It's worth the wait. EVERY KNEE Paul tells us where the story ultimately goes: "At the name of YAHSHUA every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that YAHSHUA Messiah is Lord..." — Philippians 2:10–11 Every knee. Every tongue. Heaven. Earth. Under the earth. YAHWEH is not going to lose His creation. And Colossians says that through Messiah, YAHWEH purposes: "...to reconcile all things unto himself..." — Colossians 1:20 ALL THINGS. The Bible begins with creation belonging to YAHWEH. Sin enters. Death enters. Alienation enters. But YAHWEH does not surrender the ending to the enemy. The story does not end with Satan keeping part of YAHWEH's creation forever. The story ends with reconciliation. The story ends with restoration. The story ends with every enemy defeated. And Paul tells us what the last enemy is: "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." — 1 Corinthians 15:26 Think about this: If death is the last enemy— THEN DEATH DOESN'T GET THE LAST WORD. THE GRAVE IS NOT HIS DESTINATION Today we are dealing with death. But death is not Caleb's destination. It's an enemy awaiting destruction. The grave is not his eternal home. It's a waiting place. Death is holding something that YAHWEH intends to call forth again. YAHSHUA said: "Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment." — John 5:28–29 Now somebody just heard that word "judgment" and got nervous. Let me help you. Some Bibles say "damnation" there. The Greek word is krisis. It means judgment. It does not mean annihilation. It does not mean forever. It means the Judge of all the earth is going to examine the case. And we already read what kind of Judge He is. He does not judge after the sight of His eyes. He does not cast off for ever. His compassions fail not. So when Caleb rises—and Caleb WILL rise— He is not rising to face a monster. He is rising to face the only Judge who ever knew the whole story. ALL THAT ARE IN THE GRAVES. There is going to be an awakening. There is going to be a resurrection. There is going to be judgment. There is going to be correction. There is going to be restoration. There is going to be reconciliation. Because YAHWEH has already told us where His plan ultimately ends. Paul takes us all the way to the conclusion: "...that Elohim may be ALL IN ALL." — 1 Corinthians 15:28 Not YAHWEH all in a few. Not YAHWEH all in most. Not YAHWEH all in everybody except the ones whose lives ended badly. YAHWEH ALL IN ALL. That's where this thing is going. It may take ages to accomplish His purpose. There may be resurrection orders. There may be judgment. There may be fire. There may be things about YAHWEH's plan that we do not presently understand. But Paul showed us the destination: YAHWEH — ALL — IN — ALL. And if that's the destination— IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. FAMILY, WAIT FOR THE MORNING Today you see a casket. Wait. Today you see death. Wait. Today you see an overdose. Wait. Today you see a story that seems to have ended badly. WAIT. Because YAHWEH isn't finished with Caleb. Today addiction appears to have won. WAIT. Today death appears to have won. WAIT. Today the grave appears to have won. WAIT. Because Paul said: "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is DEATH." And if YAHWEH has promised to destroy death— THEN DON'T JUDGE THE STORY WHILE THE ENEMY IS STILL STANDING. Wait until YAHWEH finishes. IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. WAIT UNTIL THE TRUMPET Wait until the trumpet sounds. IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. Wait until the graves open. IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. Wait until sleeping sons hear His voice. IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. Wait until mothers see their children rise. IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. Wait until every secret is known. IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. Wait until every wound is understood. IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. Wait until perfect Justice examines what imperfect humanity could never understand. IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. Wait until Mercy stands beside Justice. IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. Wait until everything that ever hurt Caleb is burned away. IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. Wait until every enemy is beneath His feet. IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. Wait until death itself is destroyed. IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. Wait until every knee bows. IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. Wait until every tongue confesses. IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. Wait until all things are reconciled. IT'S WORTH THE WAIT. Wait until YAHWEH is— ALL IN ALL. AND THEN PAUL SHOUTS AT THE CEMETERY "O death, where is thy sting?" Death, you stung this family. But your victory is temporary. "O grave, where is thy victory?" Grave, you're going to receive Caleb today. BUT YOU DON'T GET TO KEEP HIM. You are holding him until the appointed hour. You are keeping him until resurrection morning. You are nothing more than a waiting room for a young man who has an appointment with the voice of YAHSHUA. So family— when tonight gets lonely... WAIT. When you miss his voice... WAIT. When his birthday comes... WAIT. When the holidays come and his chair is empty... WAIT. When somebody mentions Caleb's name and suddenly the tears return... WAIT. When somebody tries to define his entire life by the manner in which he died... Tell them: WAIT. When religion tries to tell you that addiction was greater than YAHWEH's ability to restore... WAIT. When somebody tells you that death defeated the purpose of YAHWEH... WAIT. Because YAHWEH has not finished the story. There is a trumpet that hasn't sounded yet. There is a resurrection that hasn't happened yet. There is a judgment that hasn't finished its work yet. There is a reconciliation that has not reached its completion yet. There is an enemy called death that hasn't been destroyed yet. And there is a day coming when YAHWEH shall finally be— ALL IN ALL. GOOD NIGHT, CALEB So we don't say goodbye today as people without hope. We say: GOOD NIGHT, CALEB. Sleep until the trumpet. Sleep until your name is called. Sleep until resurrection morning. Sleep until the righteous Judge sets everything right. Sleep until Mercy completes what judgment begins. Sleep until death loses everything it thought it had won. Sleep until the purpose of YAHWEH reaches its appointed end. And family— WAIT. Because when the trumpet finally sounds... when Caleb finally awakens... when the grave finally surrenders... when death finally dies... when every knee finally bows... when every tongue finally confesses... when creation is finally reconciled... and when YAHWEH is finally— ALL IN ALL— we will look back across every tear, every unanswered question, every lonely night, every grave, every judgment, every age, and every moment we could not understand— and together we will say: IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT. IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT. IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT.