St. Mark's Lutheran Church

HOMILY FOR THE REV. MARAT (MARTY) HOLOBOW

Pastor Stephen Scheidt

When we thank God for the good gifts we receive, we rarely think of people as such gifts. But as we gather today, we see how Marty's life was truly a gift from God - a gift for which we want to offer our thanksgiving. Marty has touched the lives of so many people in so many ways; as a loving husband, a wise and caring father and grandfather and as a very skillful and devoted padre and parish pastor.

Marty has been an example to all of us of how a Christian may live life fully by living life in the grace and freedom Christ gives us. In him the Spirit of God moved and in him we saw the face of Christ - through Marty Christ spoke and touched the lives of people around him.

No greater gift does God give us than to be seen in the lives of people like Marty who, like us, have become Christ's Body in the world. Through Marty's life Christ has been present in us.

In his usual compassionate manner, Marty has found a way to bring God's comfort and peace to this day through the scriptures and hymns he chose. They remind us that even as we grieve, even as we lament and feel spiritual pain - we are a people who patiently live in confident hope. This hope comes from being God's children, and flows from God's unconditional love for us - a love that refuses to abandon or disappoint us.

In these hymns and readings, Marty helps us remember that our life with God does not depend on our successes or failures, on the intensity or purity of our faith, or even on our boldness to bear Christ's name as we live in the world. Life with God is simply a gift - given by God, who loves us with a Father's love.

Marty, even in his illness, said that God was gracious to him...and that his life had been a good and generous gift from God. His profound faith even in suffering bore witness to the words we heard this afternoon from Romans:

"the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us."

We celebrate that...
The gift of his life continues in Christ, with whom he shares an Easter Life through the waters of Baptism.

In the days to come, as God brings healing to our mourning hearts, we shall hold on to our faithful hope that flows from God's love for us. In our patient waiting we shall not be disappointed - for we, like Marty, trust solely in God's loving-kindness, from which nothing can separate us.

Amen