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Al Rueter Memorial Service
April 20, 2008
Central Lutheran
Eulogy, Pastor Bruce Benson
Rev 14:13:
And I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write this: Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord." "Yes," says the Spirit, "they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them."
Among us here, we knew Al Rueter in several ways — some of us knew him as an important part of the family; others in this place, an important member of a congregation and a choir; others, a good and faithful teacher, preacher, pastor; and still others, as the founder and voice of Sing For Joy. Since I knew him primarily through that program, I almost feel like I should begin by saying, the life we have just heard and enjoyed was performed by Dr. Alvin Rueter who also was the composer of that life, and frequently served as conductor, as well, of those who accompanied him in life.
To call Al's life a song would not be a mistake. And to say that it was lovingly and beautifully sung would be truthful and right. However, before we get too far with thoughts and language like this we should pause. If we mean to honor Alvin Rueter at this service, we have to make a decision about what direction to go in our thoughts and reflections. How shall we most fittingly remember him?
The text from Revelation focuses the question for us. Al asked specifically that Revelation 14:13 be read here, and that the sermon theme be based on that text. So we're going to do that. But there is more than one way to do it. I could suggest that the text easily lets us identify Al as one of the blessed dead who now rests from his labors, you would all agree, and we could simply get on with remembering Al together. We could add our blessing to God's blessing by gathering our memories and stories and focusing all of our attention on Al. It wouldn't be inappropriate. We could decide to do that. But it would probably not be what Al had in mind.
Al most certainly wanted us to consider together a word of scripture, not just our memories of him. This, I think, was not due to any cheap, false modesty on his part about whether he is worth remembering or not. Al, like all of us, would prefer to be remembered than forgotten.
He never forgot his beloved Beulah, or other family members; or friends from his many years of life; he would not counsel us to forget one another. But Al loved the Bible, and, as you know, the great music of the church that opens up the Bible and makes it so singable. Al would want us to think together, to open our ears together to the familiar, yet always new, word of scripture. We would not honor him by speaking about him, if that meant we neglected or overlooked the scripture he thought we should hear.
But Al, why this verse? I guess we can say, to start with, that the verse is perfect for a memorial service. It is. And Al, ever the master of finding words to fit an occasion, would realize that. The verse says — about as clearly as a Bible verse can say — that there is blessing, not curse, blessing not emptiness for those who die in the Lord. It is a wonderful word for this occasion, and Al, the pastor, would want us to hear and take into ourselves that word of sheer hope and grace and comfort. Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord. A word fit for making even those who grieve, sing for joy.
But Al probably had Sing For Joy, in that other sense, in mind too when he chose this verse. It clearly inspired one of the great hymns of the church, For All the Saints Who From Their Labors Rest. Did Al ever hear any Bible verses without also hearing music in his head? I doubt it. And any Bible verse that can inspire a hymn so grand as For All the Saints is a verse worth hearing. His nearly 50 years of doing Sing For Joy seems to have left Al wanting us to hear scripture that inspires music and faith. And, here it is, as fine an example as we could ask for.
But there is even more in this one Bible verse, and Al the theologian probably smiled about this too. We know he was a leader in wanting us to turn away from history's long rejection of Jews and Judaism. Jewish listeners to Sing for Joy were grateful for that. I have heard word of that myself. And it is Judaism that reminds us that when the Bible talks about rest it does not have in mind a mere day off, or a late afternoon nap. Rest is what Sabbath is all about. The rest of Revelation 14 is the rest of eternal Sabbath. It is not the rest of mere weariness, too worn out to appreciate joy, happiness, and pleasure. It is rest full of joy, singing, breaking bread and all the gifts of love. Death says, "eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow you die." But Sabbath says, "eat, drink, and be merry for life is a gift, and God, the giver, is love." Those two kinds of merry making are very different.
If rest for God's saints meant mere idleness or simple resignation to the inevitability of death, it wouldn't suit Al very well. But it is a rest full of joy and love.
Finally, in this one short verse there is still one more phrase that lets us honor Al, and learn from him. The verse ends with the lovely line that can be so helpful for believers trying to sort out the gift of grace from the response of faith, trying to distinguish rightly between the work of God and the works of our doing. Their deeds follow them, says the verse in revelation.
Their deeds follow them. If you hear that like a guilty person, it certainly does not sound like good news. What guilty person wants to have their deeds following them forever and ever? And if you hear it like a Lutheran who has been taught to be suspicious of good deeds it seems like some sort of mistake must have been made here. Why would Al want us to read a verse that doesn't seem to overcome guilt, and that seems to honor deeds rather than grace?
It is lovely, really. If you heard Al's commentaries on Sing For Joy, you know that he would never have let radio listeners think that sinful deeds are not forgiven, that they somehow trail along after us like chains of condemnation and un-forgiveness. No, no, no. The "deeds" Revelation has in mind are something quite other than sin. Our sins do not follow us. That is the gospel, the good news. Our sins do not follow us. As far as the east is from the west, so far has God removed our sins from us. The deeds of Revelation that follow us are not the same as sins. They are something quite different. And even as good, righteous, admirable deeds they do not take the place of the grace of God that was so much a part of Al's life and ministry.
Perhaps Al knew that it would be helpful to us to think about this verse at his memorial service, because we know that among us, Al's deeds do indeed follow him. He is gone from among us, but his good work continues on, it follows after him among us. I know he was proud and grateful that Sing For Joy followed after when he retired. I'm sure he was equally proud of the many pastors whose good preaching was better because of his work; and of the influence he had on so many people around him; and most of all, his family. Was his pride something he should be ashamed of? Absolutely not.
The deeds that worried Martin Luther were the deeds we think we must send on ahead of us to "advertise ourselves" with God, to soften up God's heart a little. Such deeds are worthless, as Paul and Luther said, because God's heart is already open to us. But Revelation has something else in mind. The deeds that follow after the blessed dead are the deeds that served well the righteousness of God. Revelation, in this way, reminds us that our lives have not been full of nothing so that there is nothing left to follow us. Our deeds of love, mercy, justice, honesty, creativity, faithfulness, joy, reconciliation — these have not been done in vain. They follow after us. They last. They matter.
We are here today because Al Rueter is now numbered among the blessed dead, a saint who from his labors rests, and a saint whose labors were full of deeds that follow after him, in the heart of God, and in our hearts too. Thanks be to God for Alvin Rueter. Amen.
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