Funeral For Reuben Kleven

Kongsvinger Lutheran Church

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I would like to welcome you all. Excuse me, I'm emotional. I knew this was going to happen. I'd like to welcome you all to Kongsvinger Lutheran Church for the observance of the funeral for Reuben Cleven.

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You'll note that the order of service and the hymns are in the bulletin that you received.

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And if you're not a Lutheran, we welcome you to our church and you'll note something about we

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Lutherans. Our services are interactive. And so the family and I and those of Kongsvinger would like you to sing along with the hymns that we sing.

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And then note that there are parts where I will say things and then you will say things.

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And so you can see that the congregation speaks when you see the letter C and everything is in bold.

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Just want to let you know. In the name of the

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Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. In holy baptism,

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Reuben Cleven was clothed with the robe of Christ's righteousness that covered all of his sin.

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St. Paul says, do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

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We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death. In order that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the

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Father, we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

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The opening hymn is Amazing Grace. Hymn number 744.

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Will the congregation please rise? Lord have mercy upon us.

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The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us pray. O God of grace and mercy, we give thanks for your loving kindness shown to Reuben Cleven and to all your servants who have finished their course in faith and now rest from their labors.

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Grant that we also may be faithful unto death and receive the crown of eternal life. Through Jesus Christ, your

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Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

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Congregation may be seated. And let's make sure you grab a microphone.

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I have two readings for today.

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The first is a poem written by Becky Cleven, daughter -in -law to Reuben.

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The poem is titled, The Congregation is Muffled. The pastor not always heard clearly, but he knew the message.

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The service music was softly heard, but he knew every tune. He was a man of faith through and through.

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He showed up every Sunday to the Lord's house. He was faithful to the scriptures. He spent years taking care of those who had passed before him by maintaining the cemetery records.

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He always heard the needs of his family. He cherished what he had every day.

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He challenged every piece of machinery to defy his ability to fix it.

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He didn't hear the birds like most of us, but always made sure they were fed.

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He kept track of everyone, always inquiring about themselves and their family.

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His world was quieter than many of us can imagine. He was a quiet and faithful servant who heard

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God's message loud and clear. My grandfather,

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Reuben Cleven, was a hardworking, trustworthy, and faithful Christian. Grandpa was quiet with a humble strength incomparable to anyone else.

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Grandpa and I had a very special connection that never wavered despite the physical distance between us as I was growing up on the

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East Coast. We would email each other frequently when I was a teenager, and the first question in every email was, how's the weather?

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He really loved to talk about the weather. Grandpa was known for his love of genealogy, taking frequent cat naps even when he was on babysitting duty, and tinkering around on the farm all day long.

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Grandpa was also known for having some catchphrases that he would say during nearly every visit.

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My favorite was during our goodbyes. We would hug and kiss, and I would tell him to be good and behave himself, and he always responded, well,

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I have been good for 62 years. One day I asked him, what about the other 30 years?

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And he smiled, shrugged his shoulders, and said, well, I don't know about that one. Grandpa truly loved his grandchildren and adored his great -grandchildren.

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Although Grandpa did not get to watch me grow up in the same way as his other grandchildren, he did have the opportunity to watch my children,

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Caleb and Sophia, grow up, and I know that brought him so much joy. There is nothing quite like a grandpa.

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Grandpas are unique. They are strong for their family when they need to be, but can melt into a thousand pieces from just a hug and can make everything right in the world.

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Grandfathers give us not only wisdom and encouragement, but they are an inspiration to us.

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A grandfather has the wisdom of long experience and the love of an understanding heart. Grandpas have ears that truly listen, arms that always hold, love that's never ending, and a heart that's made of gold.

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Grandpas teach life lessons that get passed down from generation to generation. My grandfather taught my father about honesty and hard work, and those are values that have been passed down to my brother and I and my own children.

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A few months ago, while Grandpa was in the hospital, we sat there together holding hands and had a very deep conversation about his limited time left here on earth.

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Grandpa didn't understand why he was still here, but he knew his time was near. We were both crying, and then he paused and asked for a tissue.

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I grabbed one, handed it to him, and then took his hand again. He then used his other hand to wipe my tears instead of his own.

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It was one of the most beautiful and selfless moments I have ever experienced. Simply put,

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Grandpas are love. Through the hugs, the stories, and the memories, I will remember Grandpa's love forever.

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I thought I would introduce myself. I'm Katie Clevin, this is Kirsten Clevin, and we are Robert's two of his daughters.

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I never quite knew how special it was to grow up so close to my grandparents. I spent my childhood ten minutes from Grandma and Grandpa's house.

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In the summers, Kirsten and I would often spend entire days out at the farm with Grandma and Grandpa, and we'd spend at least three to five hours a week with them because we were guaranteed to see them a couple hours at church on Sunday, usually with a big family lunch after.

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We even got to live with them for a few months while our new house was built. I patiently sat by my bedroom door waiting to see the kitchen light turn on so that I could have breakfast with Grandma and Grandpa.

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Breakfast at Reuben and Marla's's always consisted of shredded wheat or kicked cereal and all the toast you could dream of.

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We'd sit down at the table and Grandpa would retrieve his four -slice toaster out of the hutch by his chair. No one else was allowed to touch it.

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Grandma will be quick to remind you that he burnt every single piece of toast he ever made. As a young kid, you learned how to scrape the black stuff off with a knife.

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We didn't mind. Grandpa retired in 1994. While Grandma was at work at American Crystal Sugar, Grandpa somehow found his way to El Verado on most days to snuggle

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Kirsten, Alex, and myself. He was a baby whisperer and more often times than not would fall asleep holding us.

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We have many pictures of a sound asleep Grandpa and wide awake grandbabies in his lap. Grandpa was known for all his hugs and kisses and never getting cross with us grandkids.

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I only remember him raising his voice once in my life after Alex and I were fooling around. The scolding was well deserved.

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Over the last year, I saw my grandparents more than I had since I was a little girl. Thanks to a new job three blocks from their apartment,

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Grandma would often call to ask me to stop and pick up groceries. I loved getting these phone calls and looked forward to these visits.

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My short ten -minute visits usually lasted about two hours. One of my favorite memories this past year was when

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Grandma left me a voicemail telling me that Grandpa had a favor to ask. Could I stop and get them a pizza for supper?

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When I got to their apartment, Grandma handed me a menu. I looked at it and saw quite a few pizzas had been crossed off.

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Grandma informed me that her and Grandpa had been working their way through the Domino's Pizza menu and trying every pizza they had to offer.

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When I got back with the pizza, Grandpa had set the table and included a spot for me. I was sad and I explained

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I had to leave to go to a meeting. Grandma and Grandpa quickly put some pizza on a plate and wrapped it in foil for me to enjoy later.

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One of the last things I did with Grandpa was help him do a 23andMe genealogy DNA test. I explained the directions and told him that he couldn't be disappointed if he got his results back and he wasn't 100 %

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Norwegian. I explained you might be a little German or English or maybe even

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Swedish. The chances of you being 100 %

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Norwegian are pretty rare. I ate my words four weeks later when he got his results back and he was indeed 100 %

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Norwegian. Grandpa made it back to the homeland once and was overjoyed when

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I met my best friend Vibica and made the trek twice to see her in Norway. He always looked forward to my stories and pictures when

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I returned home. Each of us grandkids said our goodbyes over the last four months knowing that any day could be the last.

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I refused to say goodbye and always included a see you later instead. I've never been so sure that someone was going to live forever.

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It was hard watching his body fail him when he had so much life left to live. The last month of his life

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I spent a lot of time visiting him and watching him sleep because I'm a firm believer in not waking someone up from a good nap.

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I'm sure that there were many times where he didn't even know that I had been there. My last memory of Grandpa is watching him sleep peacefully in his chair.

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While I tried to decide whether to stay or leave, he adjusted himself in his chair. As he turned his head, he saw me and his face lit up with a huge smile.

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We sat and talked for 30 minutes about life and my job and he reassured me that I was doing a good thing by working with children.

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Kirsten's last big memory with Grandpa was spending time with him in the hospital. For the past year and a half, he talked about going to see her in Grafton.

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This time, Grandpa confessed that he didn't think he would ever get to see it. She was able to show him pictures and answer questions about the yard.

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Then the chaplain came in to talk with Grandpa and ask him about his faith. After answering all of her questions, she left and Grandpa turned to Kirsten and goes,

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I thought she was going to pray. Kirsten and Grandpa shared a giggle and Kirsten offered to pray with him instead.

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They both cried as she prayed and said goodbye for what would end up being the last time. We wanted to close this out with a list of our favorite

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Rubinisms and memories. Hi, hi! Upon entering any room,

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I always wondered what this was about until I went to Norway and someone did this when they entered the room and I couldn't help but giggle.

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Feet tickles. You were never safe if you didn't have socks on and you were laying on a couch because he would come up and tickle your toes.

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Also, the overlapping hand game. Rubin, I think as kids trying to keep us quiet in church, he would start playing that game with us.

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Jokingly asking us, is that nice? He would say it often.

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Whisker rubs. If you ever gave Grandpa a hug or a kiss, you were guaranteed to have a scratch while you were at it. Falling asleep anywhere.

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The special kitten house that he built because he loved his cats. The gazebo on the farm that we would hang out in, share meals in the summertime.

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We always talked about the four -slice toaster. I don't think I ever saw a two -slice toaster in their house.

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Always four and he was always in charge, usually burning the slices he made.

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In the morning, when we'd get up for breakfast at Grandma and Grandpa's house, you could always guarantee that he would get the last drop of whatever he was eating.

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Clinking of the spoon at the bottom of the bowl, getting every last drop. Which our father has also inherited.

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Following him around the farmyard, it was like anytime you saw Grandpa, there was at least two grandkids following him around the yard.

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Being a full -blooded Norwegian and proud and being an expert lefts a roller. He always had a new car.

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That was a big deal for Grandpa. One time, Grandma sent him to Hugo's for groceries and he came back with a new car.

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Another memory is the garage fire. That was very traumatic as a kid, seeing the garage burn down.

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And then, most people think of their grandmothers as the bakers in the family, but that was

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Ruben. Grandma was busy working at American Crystal Sugar and he was retired, so his specialty was jelly roll.

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And I saw there's some back there today. Sunday dinners, usually after church, we headed to the farm and had a big dinner.

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Living at the farm, flannel shirts and vests. If you saw Ruben in the wintertime, chances are he had a flannel shirt on and a vest over top.

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And if you saw Rudy and Ruben at the same time, they were usually wearing the exact same outfit, but different colors. And always with a pen in the pocket.

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The family trip to Connecticut to see the East Coast Clevans. When Jonathan graduated from high school,

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Grandpa didn't bring shorts on the trip. And so we decided to go visit the ocean and he had to roll up his pant legs to go into the ocean and he got the nickname

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Chicken Legs that trip. Sitting and smiling during unheard conversations it wasn't until we were older when we finally realized that he truly couldn't hear the majority of what we said.

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Instead he'd sit, read our lips, smile and nod. Mowing at the farm, weeding the garden, picking raspberries.

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Genealogy, a trait that I have later inherited. Tracing roots, him explaining to everyone that they're a relative.

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And every Facebook post ended with To all the relatives and relatives of Norway. Sometimes I thought the relatives of Norway were more special than us.

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Cutting pie. If Reuben was cutting pie, he'd always ask, how many are having?

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And that's how many pieces he would cut in the pie. So the fewer people, the bigger the slice.

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Going to Devil's Lake to their camper and going on their pontoon around Devil's Lake.

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Going on road trips and every time they put gas in the car,

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Grandma would get the little notebook out and she'd have to track the gas mileage and Grandpa never really did figure it out so Grandma had to do the math.

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Making the mistake of leaving your coat on only for Grandpa to ask, you gonna take your coat off and stay a while?

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Monday Paradiso nights. Once Kirsten and I were out for supper at Paradiso with a friend and we explained that our grandparents came every

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Monday night for almost 30 years. And as we finished explaining this, Grandma and Grandpa walked in and were seated at the table next to us.

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Grandpa cheering for the football game not realizing that we were praying before Thanksgiving dinner. The same

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Thanksgiving, he came home with a smartphone which he proceeded to drop while taking a picture of the grandkids and we all gasped.

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And a constant memory growing up with Grandpa and Grandma's eating ice cream during the 10 o 'clock news.

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You couldn't go to bed unless you had ice cream. We love you

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Grandpa and we are so thankful for all the time we spent with you. We look forward to a joyful reunion someday.

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The Old Testament reading is taken from the prophet Isaiah chapter 53.

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He was despised and rejected by men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

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And as one from whom men hid their faces he was despised and we esteemed him not.

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And carried our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken and smitten by God and afflicted.

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But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities.

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Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed.

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All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to the

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Lord. We are going to read selected portions of Psalm 116 together by half verse.

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I love the Lord because he has heard because he inclined his ear to me the snares of death encompass me the pangs of Sheol lay hold on me then

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I called gracious is the

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Lord and righteous the Lord preserves the simple return oh my soul to your rest for you have delivered my soul from death

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I will walk before the Lord precious in the sight of the

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Lord oh Lord I am your servant I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving

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I will pay my vows to the Lord in the courts of the house of the

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Lord glory be to the father and to the son and to the

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Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning is now and will be forever amen

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I love the Lord because he has heard because he inclined his ear to me the second reading is taken from Philippians chapter 1 and it reads thus for to me to live is

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Christ and to die is gain if I am to live in the flesh that means fruitful labor for me yet which shall

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I choose I cannot tell I am hard pressed to be with God and to be with Christ for that is far better this is the word of the

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Lord thanks be to God and to die is gain if I am to live in the flesh that means fruitful labor for me yet which shall

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I choose I cannot tell for that is far better if I am to live in the flesh for me yet which shall

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I and to die if I am to live in the flesh in the flesh for me yet which shall

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I I believe in the Holy Spirit the Holy Christian Church the communion of saints the forgiveness of sins the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting amen the sermon hymn or the hymn of the day is nearer my

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God to thee it's in your bulletin you may be seated it's nearer my

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God to thee it's nearer my

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God to thee it's nearer be to thee be to thee and to thee and to thee be amen

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In the name of Jesus, come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest,

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Jesus says. Now we're not talking about taking a nap here, we're talking about something a lot different than that.

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Let me ask you this question, I ask it to all of you, are you tired? I know

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I am. Have you noticed that life is difficult? It is. Yeah, very tired, indeed.

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And you'll note that the reason why we're worn out, the reason why we're tired, the reason why we are heavy laden has everything to do with the fact that our first parents,

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Adam and Eve, yes they were real people, Jesus believed in them by the way. And I'm going to go with his opinion regarding Adam and Eve because he rose from the dead.

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I don't think anyone else has better credentials than Jesus, I mean when you guys want to disagree with Christ, go right ahead, but I'm not going to believe you until after you rise from the dead three days after you've been crucified, right?

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He's got good credentials, he believed in Adam and Eve, and in the scripture we hear what happened to our first parents after they disobeyed the one command that God had given them.

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The one command was this, don't eat from that tree, the tree of the knowledge of the good and evil, the one in the midst of the garden.

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What did Adam and Eve do? They ate. The serpent deceived them, told them that if they ate of that tree that they would become like God, knowing good and evil.

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And so rather than listening to the voice of God, the voice that said do not eat of that tree, they ate of that tree, and Adam of course listened to the voice of his wife and he ate of that tree, and both of them realized at that moment that they were naked.

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And God then showed up in the cool of the day and asked where Adam and Eve were.

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They were hiding, they had covered themselves, their nakedness with fig leaves, a lot of good that'll do, sounds really itchy to me.

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But when God shows up, well, out came the truth about what had happened, and then each of the participants, the serpent,

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Eve, and Adam, all received from God punishments for their transgression.

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And it says this in Genesis chapter 3, verse 17, to Adam, God said, because you have listened to the voice of your wife and you have eaten of the tree of which

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I commanded you, you shall not eat of it. Cursed is the ground because of you, and in pain shall you eat of it all the days of your life.

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Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the plants of the field by the sweat of your face.

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You shall eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken, for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.

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You see, that's where all of this misery comes from. That's the reason why we have funerals.

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We were never meant to die, that was not how God created us. And when anyone says, well, death is just a natural part of life,

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I beg to differ. Death is the consequence of sin, the wages of sin is death, scripture says.

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And so as a result of that, we all know that we have a payday coming, and if you look in the mirror, I've noticed this about myself, that every day when

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I look in the mirror, the image comes back a little bit worse. It's this horrible thing.

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I've been at Kongsvinger for nine years now, and I look at the photos back when I was first made the pastor of Kongsvinger Lutheran Church, and I look pretty good in comparison to the way

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I look now. And you'll note that this is what's happened to all of us, and so death comes and visits us all, and we all know that we have a date with death, and we also know that with that date comes a meeting with Jesus.

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And for many people, that is an anxiety -producing thought. Have you ever had one of those times where you've woken up in the middle of the night, you know, and you wake up with a shortness of breath, and you go,

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I'm going to die someday. And the reality is, you don't know when that's going to be,

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I don't know when that's going to be. None of us is guaranteed tomorrow, or let alone this afternoon. But Christ is not one who is determined to give us what we deserve.

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And so the heaviness, the burden that we all care, the burden that we share together, the burden of death, the burden of losing loved ones, the burden of dealing with our own sin, the burden of conflict.

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Have you noticed that we human beings don't get along well with each other? It's the most amazing thing ever.

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And then I would note here, if you don't believe me, just get married, right? You put two sinners in one house together and expect them to cohabitate peacefully, good luck on that, right?

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And so you'll note, we don't get along well. And as a result of sin, there is conflict in our marriage.

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Because of sin, there is conflict in our family. Because of sin, there's conflict in the community.

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Because of sin, your sin and mine, there's conflict among friends. And because of sin, there's conflict across the world.

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Have you noticed that they're fighting wars even today, right? And I would note something here.

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Nothing seems to stay the same in this life that we live. Somebody, I think it was

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Robert, had found Ruben's baptismal certificate. And it's rather fascinating.

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Actually, I have it here on my iPad, because this is such a wonderful document.

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And this document shows that yesterday, June 18th, was Ruben Clevin's baptismal birthday.

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He was baptized on June 18th, 1931. Now, I wasn't around back then.

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I've only heard of 1931 from people who were there. But one of the things that's interesting, as I was scrolling through social media this morning, as I was trying to wake up to a cup of coffee.

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And I have to do that nowadays with decaf coffee because of hypertension. Decaf coffee is not as fun as normal coffee.

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I just want to make that painfully clear to everybody here. But as I was scrolling through social media,

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I saw video footage that had been recently restored of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig taking batting practice at Yankee Stadium in April of 1931, the year that Ruben was born.

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He was born and baptized. It's a long time ago. A lot has changed, has it not? Back in the day,

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Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, they were the sultans of SWAT. And everybody worshiped them in New York, because these guys were the towering figures of manlihood and of athletic prowess at the time.

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And at that time, Ruben was just an infant. The Nazis hadn't even taken over Germany yet.

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World War II was still a few years off. And in his lifetime,

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Ruben saw World War II, the Korean War, Vietnam War, the

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Gulf War, the war against terrorism. The world has changed dramatically, has it not?

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Now we fight the culture war, whatever that thing is. And so we note that the world changes.

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We change. The generation that gave birth to us, if they haven't passed already, they're ready to pass.

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And are we ready to fill in the spot, fill in the gap? Can any of us do that?

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Are you tired yet just thinking about all of this? Coming back to the words of Christ, Christ says, come to me all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

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Christ promises for everyone who believes and trusts in him the forgiveness of all of their sins and their transgressions.

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And this is a free gift. And this is because of the great love of God. If you think that God is some mean, angry old man with his arms crossed, looking through his eyebrows at you, really looking forward to seeing you when you get there so that he can toss you into the lake of fire, you don't understand who

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God is. You don't understand at all. And here's the thing, Reuben right now is in the company of heaven.

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The Jesus he believed in by faith in this lifetime has now given way to sight.

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And here's the thing, Reuben, I'm sure, 100 % sure, wants you to be with him.

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And we as Christians, we do not mourn as the world mourns. You'll note that people on planet

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Earth, they all recognize you got to die. So what do they do? They get busy doing the YOLO thing, right?

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You only live once. So let's make sure we tick off all these things on the bucket list. But at the end of the bucket list, you know what?

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There's a casket. At the end of the bucket list, is there really anything except for a hollow life?

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The answer is for all who are in Christ, there is forgiveness, pardon, mercy, grace, reconciliation.

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And what our first parents lost because of their rebellion and transgression against God, God promises to restore and to give to us on the day that he returns in glory to judge the living and the dead.

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He will remake the heavens and the earth. Christ says, behold, I make all things new, including you, including

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Reuben, including us all. So come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden.

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Jesus says, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart.

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And in me, you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

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And how is it that Christ can offer something like that to us? We who are worn out by our own sin and its consequences.

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We who've destroyed the earth and brought all kinds of conflict in it. How is it possible that we can have such a promise from Jesus?

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It's found in our Old Testament text. Here again, the words of the prophet Isaiah.

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Isaiah was prophesying hundreds of years before Jesus was ever born and conceived in the womb of the

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Virgin Mary. And he says this regarding Christ's death on the cross.

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He, Jesus, was despised. He was rejected by men. Jesus was a man of sorrows, and he himself was acquainted with grief.

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And as one from whom men hid their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

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You can hear echoes of what would come later while Christ was on trial on that good Friday when

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Pontius Pilate trooped out Barabbas and brought out Jesus and said, which of the two would you like me to give to you?

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And they shouted out, give us Barabbas. Oddly enough, his name means son of the father. There's some theological significance to that.

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But what should I do with Jesus? Crucify him. Why, what has he done? Crucify him. They wouldn't even answer the question.

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And see, all of this was to accomplish your salvation and mine. Because Christ has borne our griefs.

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Jesus has carried our sorrows. We esteemed Jesus to be stricken and smitten by God and afflicted, and indeed he was.

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But here's the good news. Jesus was pierced for our transgressions.

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Jesus was crushed for your iniquities and mine.

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And the punishment, the chastisement that brought us peace with God was upon him.

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And by his wounds, we are healed of our sin sickness. Each and every one of us, me included, all of you included, we all like sheep, we've gone astray.

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We've turned everyone to our own ways. But God has laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all.

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Why was Jesus on the cross? He was bleeding and suffering and dying in order to placate the wrath of God for you.

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He was despised. He was rejected. He was killed. He suffered in your place so that you do not have to be rejected by God, but instead can be reconciled to him.

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He was pierced for your transgressions. He took the punishment that you deserve upon himself so that you could, by faith, then become a child of God and that he would then promise you as a gift because of his great love, something that none of us could ever earn, not by our good works, not by our money, not by any efforts on our part, true salvation and the restoration of the earth.

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Eden, come back, all of us in the new earth as it was supposed to be, where we'll be reacquainted with, reunited with those who have gone before us, and we will have eternal life in a world without end and never have to ever have a funeral ever again.

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That is how good the good news is, how great our

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Lord is. And this is offered to every human being freely.

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And what does it call us to do then? To repent of our sins, to trust in the one who loved us so much that he laid down his life so that we could live.

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There is salvation only in Jesus Christ and no one else. The scripture is clear, there is no other name given on heaven or on earth by which men must be saved.

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So note this, as we consider the loss of Reuben, we know that we will join him someday.

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And for all who trust in Christ, you will have a glorious reunion with him.

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I love the fact that one of his granddaughters refused to say goodbye to him, and that is appropriate, that is bold.

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Because for Christians, we never say goodbye. We always say, I'll see you later.

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And so it is true that I got a little choked up. I miss Reuben.

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He was a hard working man. For somebody who was retired, he sure did put in a lot of work, right?

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And you note this about him, he was selfless, absolutely selfless.

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And I loved talking to him, he never understood a thing I was saying because I had to look at him in order for him to hear me. But we enjoyed our conversations together, and I truly will miss the conversations that we've had.

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It was funny, Marla said, he never talked to me about his faith, but he did talk to me about it. And the one thing

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I can say about Reuben Clevin is that he trusted and believed in Jesus. And it was wonderful preparing him for death.

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The last time I saw him, I brought him to Lord's Supper, and he was awake when I got there. The time

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I visited him before that, he was asleep and I didn't know what to do. What do I do? He's asleep. But he kind of shook himself and woke up and he was so happy to see me.

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And so I enjoyed our time together. But remember what our epistle text said from Philippians, something very important.

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And in the Philippians text, Paul is kind of musing, thinking about his life ahead of him.

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And what shall he choose? He's nearing the end of his own life. And he says, for me to live as Christ and to die as gain.

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And that's true for all Christians. For every one of us who is still alive and a Christian, to live as Christ, to live selflessly, in love towards neighbor and love towards God, serving each other in our toil that we have to go through and easing each other's burdens, if you would.

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And he says, if I am to live in the flesh, well, that means fruitful labor for me. It means that for all of us, by the way. Yet what shall

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I choose? I cannot tell, he says. I'm hard -pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and to be with Christ, for that is far better.

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So as I walked in today, I saw Ruben's body resting comfortably in his coffin.

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And as I watched, the family gathered around and they closed the coffin for the last time.

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Hard to watch. And yet, there's a joy in it. Because we can legitimately say of Ruben, he is in a better place.

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That's where he is right now. He's with all the Norwegians in heaven. And I know that there's more than two, right?

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Right? Big family reunion for him. But that's the point. Only a

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Christian can say that it is better to depart and to be with Christ. Because for everyone else, if you have not faith in Christ, this world is the closest thing to heaven that you'll ever experience.

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For everybody who is in Christ, this world, this difficulty that we go through is the closest thing to hell that we'll ever experience.

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And that's the dividing line. Christ is the dividing line. So brothers and sisters, hear the words of Jesus.

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Take heed of them and note that they are also for you. Are you tired? Are you heavy -laden?

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Are you tired of even trying to save yourself? Why do you even work so hard and try to be so good after all?

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Because at the end of it, this life is short. Well, Jesus says that he will give you rest.

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And he has given Ruben his. And we look forward to when we can join him in that rest, in the eternal life that Christ gives us for free because of his shed blood on the cross.

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In the name of Jesus, amen. Now, the family has asked me if I would read

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Ruben's obituary, and I promised them I would. Ruben Clevin, 92, of East Grand Forks, formerly of rural

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Oslo, Minnesota, went to meet his Lord on Tuesday, June 6th, 2023 in Valley Senior Living in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

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Ruben was born on February 11th, 1931 in Oak Park Township to Oleandella Clevin, older than his twin brother,

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Rudy, by as long as it took. That sounds so Clevin to me.

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Ruben grew up outside of Alvarado, Minnesota on the family farm. Following his graduation from Alvarado High School in 1949,

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Ruben went into the workforce laboring in the summer months for local farmers and doing both concrete work and brick laying on projects that still stand to this day.

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The high schools in Oslo, Alvarado, and Warren, the runway at Grand Forks Air Force Base, and parts of I -29 all bear the mark of Ruben's hands.

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In addition to working for Summer Fertilizer in those years, Ruben worked winter campaigns for American Crystal Sugar in 1967.

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He was hired full -time by American Crystal and enjoyed his work there for 27 years until his retirement in 1994.

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On October 16th, 1960, Ruben was married to Marlis Hendrickson in Kungs of Inger Lutheran Church.

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He moved into the farmyard on which Marlis grew up, and the two lived in successive houses within that yard in Higdon Township for all of their married lives.

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They raised three boys, and he enjoyed imparting what he knew on his sons from garage projects and carpentry to fishing, and teaching them how to appreciate a car.

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Ruben's life revolved around being with his family. They would pack up the car and the camper and head to Pine Lake to go fishing and relax.

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In the beginning, he owned a motor, but not a boat. That sounds so practical.

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Okay, but not to worry. Pine Lake always had many boats available to rent for his frequent family outings to spend time with family, friends, and, of course, plenty of fish for dinner.

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He was an active and faithful member of Kungs Inger Lutheran Church, sitting on the church board and acting as a cemetery sexton, a member of the

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Sons of Norway, Get a Varden Lodge Number 21, and a, did

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I say that wrong? Okay, and a member of Tops Take Off Pounds Sensibly.

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I think I should join that. North Dakota Chapter 129, and in the latter, he was selected the

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King of North Dakota. He kept his weight stable for 39 years, and Ruben was a proud 100 %

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Norwegian, we have genetic confirmation of this fact, enjoying family history and his genealogy club.

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Ruben is survived by his wife of 62 years, Marlis of East Grand Forks, sister -in -law Fern, Fleck, and Angeline, Schultz's sons

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Dwayne and married to Becky, Clevin of Mayville, North Dakota, Robert married to Debbie, of Alvaredo, and Byron married to Judith of Mayville, nine grandchildren,

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Jonathan, who's married to Heather, Clevin, Ashley, Follarin, Follarin, Kristen, Katie, Haley, Samantha, Alexander, Samuel, and Zachary, Clevin, three great -grandchildren,

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Caleb and Sophia Follarin, and Amelia Clevin, and his nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents,

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Oleandella, in -laws, Menford, and Ida Hendrickson, siblings, Bloyd, and Alpha Clevin, twin brother,

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Rudy, Clevin, and brother -in -law, Mark Leskowski.

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We continue with the prayers of the church, and I would request that the congregation please rise.

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Let us pray to the Lord, our God and Father, who raised Jesus from the dead. Almighty God, you have knit your chosen people together into one communion, into the mystical body of your

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Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Give to your whole church in heaven and on earth your light and your peace.

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Lord, in your mercy. Hear our prayer. Grant that all who have been baptized into Christ's death and resurrection may die to sin and rise to newness of life, and so pass with him through the gate of death and the grave to our joyful resurrection.

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Lord, in your mercy. Hear our prayer. Grant that all who have been nourished by the body and blood of your

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Son may be raised to immortality and incorruption to be seated with him at your heavenly banquet.

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Lord, in your mercy. Hear our prayer. Give to the family of Reuben and all who mourn comfort in their grief and assure confidence in your love and in your loving care that casting all of their sorrow on you, they may know the consolation of your love.

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Lord, in your mercy. Hear our prayer. Give courage and faith to the bereaved that within the communion of your church they may have strength to meet the days ahead in assurance of a holy and certain hope and in the joyful expectation of eternal life with those that they love who have departed in the faith.

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Lord, in your mercy. Hear our prayer. Help us, we pray, in the midst of things we cannot understand to believe and to find comfort in the communion of the saints, the forgiveness of our sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.

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Lord, in your mercy. Hear our prayer. Taught by our Lord and trusting in his promises, we are bold to pray.

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Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

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Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.

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For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.

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Amen. I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord. He who believes in me will live even though he dies.

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And whoever lives and believes in me will never die. To reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people,

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Israel. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the

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Holy Spirit as it was in the beginning, is now. I am the resurrection and the life, says the

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Lord. He who believes in me will live even though he dies. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die.

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The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us pray. Lord God, our shepherd, you gather the lambs of your flock into the arms of your mercy and bring them home.

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Comfort us with a certain hope of the resurrection to everlasting life and a joyful reunion with those we love who have died in the faith through Jesus Christ, your

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Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

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Let us bless the Lord. Thanks be to God. The Lord bless you and keep you.

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The Lord make his face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

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Amen. Let us go forth in peace. In the name of the Lord. Amen. Lord, now you let your servant go in peace.

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Your word has been fulfilled. My own eyes have seen the salvation which you have prepared in the sight of every people, a light to reveal you to the nations and the glory of your people

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Israel. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever.

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Amen. Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.

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And everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Let us pray. Oh Lord Jesus Christ, by your three day rest in the tomb, you hallowed the graves of all who believe in you, promising resurrection to our mortal bodies.

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We ask that you would bless this grave, that the body of our brother may sleep here in peace until you awaken him to glory, when he will see you face to face and know the splendor of the eternal

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God, for you live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

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Jesus answered, the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly,

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I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

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Whoever loves his life loses it. Whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

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If anyone serves me, he must follow me, and where I am, there I will my servant also be.

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If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. The Apostle Paul writes in 1

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Thessalonians, but we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

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For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

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For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord that we who are alive who are left until the coming of the

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Lord, we will not precede those who have fallen asleep, for the Lord himself will descend from heaven with the cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.

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Then we who are alive who are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the

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Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. We now commit the body of our brother,

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Reuben, to the ground, its resting place, earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our

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Lord Jesus Christ, who will change our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body by the power that enables him to subdue all things to himself.

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May God the Father who created this body, may God the Son who by his blood redeemed this body, may

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God the Holy Spirit who by holy baptism sanctified this body to be his temple, keep these remains to the day of the resurrection of all flesh, amen.

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Taught by our Lord and trusting in his promises, we are bold to pray, our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

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Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

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And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever, amen.

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Almighty God, by the death of your son, Jesus Christ, you destroyed death. By his rest in the tomb, you sanctified the graves of your saints, and by his bodily resurrection, you brought life and immortality to light, so that all who die in him abide in peace and in hope.

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Receive our thanks for the victory over death and the grave that Jesus won for us. Keep us in everlasting communion with all who wait for him on earth, and with all who in heaven are with him, for he is the resurrection and the life, even

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Jesus Christ our Lord, amen. Alleluia, Christ is risen, and you respond, he is risen indeed, alleluia.

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Let's do that one more time. We need a little Easter exuberance here. Alleluia, Christ is risen.

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He is risen indeed, alleluia. Let us go forth in peace in the name of the Lord, amen.

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The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face to shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you his peace, amen.

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♪ How sweet the sound ♪

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That last ♪

01:10:56

Burst blind ♪

01:11:10

I see ♪ Twas grace ♪

01:11:18

That taught ♪

01:11:23

Fear ♪ And grace ♪

01:11:29

My fears ♪ Relieved ♪

01:11:37

How precious did ♪

01:11:43

That grace appear ♪

01:11:49

The hour I first ♪

01:11:56

Believed ♪ Through many dangers ♪

01:12:08

Toils and snares ♪ We have already come ♪

01:12:22

Twas grace that brought ♪

01:12:28

Our salvation ♪ Was safe thus far ♪

01:12:34

And grace will lead ♪

01:12:41

Us home ♪

01:12:47

We've been there ♪ Ten thousand years ♪

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Bright shining ♪ At the sun ♪

01:13:08

We've known and seen ♪

01:13:18

That when we first ♪

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Begun ♪

01:13:35

How sweet the sound ♪

01:13:46

That saved ♪

01:13:54

A wretch like me ♪ I once was lost ♪

01:14:04

But see ♪