Sermon for Ralph Brasher Funeral
January 17, 2009
Isaiah 43:1-3, 25
“Just as I Am”

Grace, mercy and peace be yours from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Dear Emma, Greg, Blake, family and friends of Ralph,

   Ralph picked this hymn we just finished, I suspect for a reason. “Just as I am…” He picked all of the songs that we are singing this morning. That tells you something about him and his faith. And if you listen to the words of each hymn, you will hear him sharing that faith with you today.

   For the past couple of days I’ve overheard lots of people talking about who Ralph was, what he was like. Did anyone here know him as “Baldy?” I got the story about his brother arranging for his haircut the other night; prompting this nickname. We know he was the boss at RGB. He was a fisherman, a hunter. He was a benefactor of this congregation; he was always interested in the work of the church. I know from the number of businesspeople I saw at the visitation last night and the flowers that were given that he was a well-respected businessman in the Paragould and Jonesboro area. Above all these roles, though, Ralph would no doubt rank Husband and Father as more important.

   But even above that, Ralph was a sinner redeemed by Christ. I believe that is why he chose that particular hymn to be sung at his funeral. The verses of this hymn reflect an imperfect person, a broken person, a fatally flawed person. The hymn also reflects a person who doesn’t hide behind false pretenses or masks, but willingly acknowledges who he is and what he is.

   It isn’t much good trying to hide who we really are, anyway. God knows our hearts. No matter how hard we try, we can’t truly hide anything from him. Instead, like the hymn says, it is best to simply approach God, Just as I am, without one plea” Ralph came to church nearly every Sunday. Ralph didn’t come here as the boss, entrepreneur, businessman, benefactor; not even really as a husband or father. He came here as a broken sinner in need of something that he could not provide for himself. He came here in need of God’s acceptance and love.

   And he got it. Every time. From the first time Ralph’s parents brought him to church as an infant, to the last Sunday he was here, just two weeks ago, Ralph got the message that God loved him. Ralph heard the good news that He was God’s child, not because of what he did from day to day, but because God had chosen him since before creation to be His child. Ralph celebrated that, in the words that Isaiah recorded for us, God called him by name. Ralph willingly confessed his sin, and he gratefully received God’s forgiveness.

   One of the stories I have heard over and over lately, is about Ralph’s annual Christmas speech at the RGB Christmas part. I never had the opportunity to hear one, but I have heard about them. And I understand that every year he invited everyone to come to church with him. Why? Because he was vitally concerned that everyone know the peace that he knew in Christ.
The last time I really was able to visit with him, he seemed to know that the end was near. He told me that he didn’t’ think he would be around very much longer. And it upset him a little. But he wasn’t upset about death itself; because he knew that Christ had already defeated death for him. Like the verses from Isaiah said, God called Ralph by name and made him His own. Even when life became difficult in the last short time, when the water got high and strong and the fire became hot, Ralph knew that the one who created him and redeemed him was the one who would walk with him through it all, even death.

   We confessed that same truth together when we placed the pall on his casket a few moments ago; as an infant Ralph was united with Christ in death, and joined with Him in His resurrection. Ralph’s death a few days ago was simply the working out of the death that Ralph suffered when his parents brought him to this church on March 26, 1939 to have him baptized. At that time, only a month old, he died with Christ. And with Christ, at that time, he rose to new life. The family stressed to me as we were planning this service that it was to be a celebration of life. I couldn’t agree more. We will cry and we will miss Ralph, but we will celebrate today that he lives because Christ lives. That’s probably why he picked the song that we are going to sing in just a moment.

   And I think I would not be doing justice to Ralph if I didn’t finish with these words; The life that Ralph has today is a life that is also yours in Christ. The forgiveness that Ralph received for all His sins is available to you as well. God has created you and formed you. In Christ, he has called you by name, and through His blood, shed on the cross you are His. He will walk with you through the water and through the fire, because He is your God. And he will blot out all your transgressions and remember your sins no more. God sent His Son into this world so that He could give forgiveness, life, hope and peace to all of us. Tomorrow every Christian church in this community will be having a service. I encourage you to go to whatever church you want. Go just the way you are, imperfect, broken and sinful; and be ready to hear about a God who loves you anyway, who sent His son Jesus as the substitute to take your punishment and your guilt so that nothing in this world, not even death, need worry you. And if you don’t know where to go, I know a church where there will be at least one open seat, and I’m sure Ralph would be proud to see you in it.

Now, may the grace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, now and always.

Amen.