I. Bruce Tideman
In Memoriam

February 18, 2006

Isaiah 61:1-3
Psalm 23
2 Corinthians 4:7-18
John 14:1-6
I.N.I. (In the name of Jesus)


Jacquie, you said you wanted a lot of music today, and you are getting it!

A famous Dutch theologian, Huub Osterhuis, said this about the power of song, the necessity of song in liturgy, the strengthening of song in the face of death.

A song is more guileless, joyful, effective and human than any way of speaking. A song may be admonitory, instructive and catechetic, but if it is good, it is always more than this. The sung word is the very heart of the liturgy.

Singing is discovered and invented, it is born at time when there is no other possible way for people to express themselves-at the grave, for example, when four or five people with untrained, clumsy voices sing words that are greater and smaller than their faith and their experience.

--from Prayers, Poems and Songs (New York: Herder and Herder, 1970), pp 103-104. [Emphasis added.] Quoted by Gabe Huck in How Can I Keep from Singing? Thoughts about Liturgy for Musicians (Chicago: Liturgy Training Publications, 1989), p 37.

Through the tears, buoyed by the communities that surround us, we join the stream of voices that have sung such sturdy Victorian hymns that have guided sailors and pilgrims alike:

From the Entrance Hymn: "Jesus, Savior, Pilot me/over life's tempestuous sea/Unknown waves before me roll/Hiding rock and treach'rous shoal/Chart and compass come from Thee/Jesus, Savior, pilot me." I can hear my own sainted grandfather's voice joining in on this one!

From the Hymn of the Day, following the sermon, which is the Navy Hymn: "O Trinity of love and pow'r/all trav'lers guard in danger's hour/from rock and tempest, fire and foe/protect them wheresoe'er they go/Thus evermore shall rise to Thee/glad hymns and praise from land and sea." And all Navy men and women, and those who have known and loved them dab their moist eyes.

Martin Luther, whose own death date is today, knew the power of music and song. For Luther, the primary use of song in worship is to proclaim the gospel. He once said that "next to theology, music deserves the highest praise." Luther practiced what he preached. Luther took a medieval antiphon, collaborated with Johann Walther, a musician of his day and made it into a powerful proclamation of the gospel in the face of death:

Even as we live each day, death our life embraces.
Who is there to bring us help, rich forgiving graces.
You only, Lord you only!
Baptized in Christ's life-giving flood:
Water and his precious blood-
Holy and righteous God,
Holy and mighty God,
Holy and all-merciful Savior,
Everlasting God,
By grace bring us safely
Through the flood of bitter death.
Lord, have mercy.

In the midst of life, dear beloved Bruce died. With all sorts of things on the burner, set in motion, making plans, caring for a friend newly diagnosed with cancer, having reserved the next trip overseas with Jacquie, getting set for a big Men's Breakfast to hear about Global Mission, gearing up for his 80th birthday celebration, considering with Jacquie's urging to get another dog, the week after a weekend at the Nashua Symphony on Saturday and the next day, Sunday, here as usual to be gathered in the Word and share in the Meal and sing with the community of the baptized, in the midst of so many doings, active to the last, Bruce's life among us ended.

Martin Luther said it, and it is true: Even as we live each day, death our life embraces. In the midst of life, there is death. For each one of us, the journey, on land, on sea, in life, leads to death. It is a common human destiny and destination. We are finite creatures, and faced with that we might be humbled, sober, and thoughtful.

Into that stream that leads to the end of life has been poured yet another path that is the one that Bruce followed. This is the journey, which God has joined in, and spoken about, and prepared for, all for the sake of love, all out of sheer mercy, despite the truth that is death.

So into this strand of death within life we hear from the prophet Isaiah about "the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit." We hear from the psalmist "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows."

We hear from Paul about the fragility of our human bodies as clay vessels, "with death at work in us, but life in you…" "So we do not lose heart."

And from the one who is joined to God's heart of hearts and who has joined us in the journey, Jesus in the gospel of John tells his anxious followers: "Do not let your hearts be troubled."

There is a fountain, a river, an ocean that is deeper and wider and bigger that carries us from this life, through death, into life with God. We are certain that this life from God, signified in baptism, and claimed as we join in the journey with Christ, who gave himself for us in death on the cross, and overcame death and the grave on Easter, is the final destiny for Bruce, and for we who are in the midst of this life.

Luther turned the phrase by saying yes, you may say in the midst of life there is death, but, in the midst of death, there is also life.

What God has in store for Bruce is indescribable, and held in trust until Jesus claims the final victory for all who rest in him. Paul describes this with eloquence as "an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure." This is a life that lasts, that is heavy, bright, and beyond anything we can measure, and beyond even death!

We are grateful to have known and loved Bruce, who by his example, showed compassion, kindness, love, and service.

With Bruce, and joined with Jacquie, their daughter Joanne, and their family and friends, their community here at Christ the King, and with other singers, either strong or feeble, and with pilgrims in this life's journey, either limping or running, we come to be washed over by God's mercy in times of need and loss.

Holy and righteous God,
Holy and mighty God,
Holy and all-merciful Savior,
Everlasting God,
By grace bring us safely
Through the flood of bitter death.
Lord, have mercy.

Let the singing continue, proclaiming life in the midst of death, commending Bruce, and finding comfort in God's eternal peace.

I.N.I.

The Rev. Timothy J. Keyl, Pastor
Christ the King Lutheran Church
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