A Song of Unending Love. A Memorial Service Sermon for Kim Brunssen. April 1, 2023

I was blessed to preach at the memorial service for Kim Brunssen at Grace Lutheran Church (River Forest, IL) on Saturday, April 1, 2023. You can (and should) check out the livestream so that you can experience the majestic music. The bulletin is also available. Rest eternal grant Kim, O Lord; and let light perpetual shine upon him.

Karen and Karl; family and friends; sisters and brothers in Christ, grace be unto you and peace in the name God the Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

1. “We are here to celebrate the gift of Love. Such a beautiful gift could only come from God Himself, He who is love.” Those words began a different sermon some 47 years ago, given by Weston Noble at St. John Lutheran in Keystone. The occasion was a wedding, of course, that of Kim and Karen. Today, too, are we here to celebrate the gift of love, for we loved Kim. Our love draws us together in mourning, and in search of a word of hope. Kim, of course, loved a great many things. He loved to sing and make music, although even more, perhaps, he loved helping others discover their voices and find the creative spark. He loved a good meal and a glass of fine wine, and he loved just as much, I think, getting to know his waiter or bartender; he was always interested in others. Who else would share pictures of their waiters on Facebook. He loved nice cars, almost as much as he loved not driving them, knowing instead that they were safe at home. Most of all, of course, he loved you, Karen; and you, Karl. That love overflowed into our lives; thank you Karl, and Gaylan, and Dean for sharing stories and memories of how you and many were blessed by Kim. In the years I was blessed to know him, Kim was generous and hospitable, always curious about my kids’ goings-on and how ministry was going for me. And I was always glad to know that Kim was up in the loft, making music with his friends who are really family, fellow Christians, to the glory of our God.
2. We are here to celebrate the gift of love, but love, as Dr. Noble said in that same wedding homily, is risky. To love is to enter into the certainty of loss. And what a loss those who loved Kim have suffered. Mere months ago, everything was, so far as we knew, normal. I remember making small talk, which with Kim was never small, in the atrium waiting for another wedding to begin. But so much of life is beyond our control. Cancer emerges; tumors grow. Death is still at work in our world. Kim’s death is particularly painful because he was still so full of life and, at only 69, had so much life to live. Or so we hoped. We grieve the future that could have been, with trips not taken, meals not shared, songs not sung. But if love is risky, it is worth the risk, for who would have known but not loved Kim?
3. After sharing food and wine with his closest friends, Jesus tells them that he has to go away. To show forth the light and love of God, Jesus, God’s own Son, was born into this world. But to bring light into darkness is risky. To love is risky. Jesus’ love for this world leads to his death. In the great story of God’s love that the church will hear again this Holy Week, Jesus risks suffering, death, and the grave. Yet on his way to the fate he knows awaits him, Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” If ever there was a time for a troubled heart, is it not in the face of death? On our own, yes. But as those who know and follow Jesus? Whose lives were marked with Christ’s cross and sealed with the Holy Spirit in the waters of baptism? For yes, the Triune God showed up at St. Mark in Garrison that day and made Kim God’s own child. Jesus is willing to risk death because in doing so he will demonstrate for the world the full expanse of God’s love. Arms spread wide on the cross, he embraces us in our suffering that we would be joined with him in a life that extends beyond death and the grave. A life in which our sins are forgiven, and we are free forever.
4. Kim blessed us in so many different ways. He partnered with you, Karen, in a life of love, and with Karl you became a complete family. As the beloved Mr. B., he positively impacted and influenced several generations of young people at Andrew High School. Here at Grace, Kim’s presence brought joy to so many. So, we grieve today, and we mourn. How could we do otherwise in the face of such a loss? But we need lot let our hearts be troubled. For Christ who was dead is alive. He has become for us the way, and the truth, and the life. He has gone on ahead of us to make sure there’s room enough in his Father’s house for all of us, for each of us. He comes to us today in Word and song. Christ gives himself to us anew as bread and wine, his own body and blood, a foretaste of the great feast of which Isaiah speaks, the eternal celebration at which Christ himself is server and host. Kim’s life has now been taken up into this great celebration, troubled no more by cancer or the cares of this world. May you be strengthened by the hope and promise of our Lord, for it is for you, too.
5. I carry two things with me from my last, precious conversations with Kim. First, his simple summation of a life well lived. In Kim’s inimitable words, “We did a lot of stuff.” Indeed. From Vinton to New York, Decorah to Leipzig, Galena to Croatia, from the halls of Andrew High to Grace Lutheran and so many other places, yes, Kim did a lot of living. And in Christ, that living has not ended. For in Christ, no death now gets the last word. You, too, shall be brought through death into life, gathered with Kim and all the saints in light around the throne of Christ, the Lamb of God. Which brings me to the second thing I carry with me. Although it was hard for us to understand at first due to his failing speech, Kim wanted us to raise the rafters on this day. In the midst of our sorrow, we claim the hope of Easter and unleash songs of praise to the One who has conquered death. Kim helped so many of us discover the joy of song, stood with so many of us making music to God’s glory. Remembering our brother, Kim, and in celebration of Christ’s love for us, let us sing our faith anew. Soli deo gloria. Amen.

And now may that peace that passes all understanding keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, this day and forever. Amen.