10. August 2024
Committal for Harriet Jentsch
2 Cor 9:8-10
God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. As it is written: “He has dispersed abroad, He has given to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness.
In the holy Name of + Jesus. Amen.
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ—Rhonda, Richard, Randall, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, family, friends, and fellow saints of God—grace, mercy, and peace are yours in Jesus Christ, your LORD and Savior. Amen. It was only a little over two months ago and we laid our dear brother Gary. I’m sure you remember a morning much like this one, although with the rain. You heard our LORD Jesus use the picture of a grain of wheat falling to the earth and bearing much fruit—a beautiful image of the promise of the resurrection of the dead and the life everlasting.
And today, there’s a lovely rhyme in the life given to Harriet. Gary worked at the co-op, handling planting and harvest. Harriet took the grain that was harvested and transformed it into beautiful cakes for her family and friends. This, too, is a lovely picture of how Jesus takes the things He has made and combines, mixes, and transforms them into beautiful new creations. The seed is given to the sower, the harvested grain is given to the baker, and the baker adds water, salt, and leavening and transforms it into bread for the eater.
Or in the case of Harriet, she added a healthy amount of sugar and fat to that bread, to make ordinary bread into a delectable cake. Let’s not forget the frosting. It’s an amazing gift God has given us to be so creative with the ordinary things of the earth, baking them into a treat to bring joy and delight to every occasion. He blessed Harriet with this gift and, in so doing, made her a blessing to us.
Today is the commemoration of St. Lawrence, a deacon and martyr from the third century after our Lord ascended. We remember him for his extraordinary charity towards those in need. God used him to provide bread for the hungry. When the tyrant emperor demanded Lawrence forfeit all the “treasures of the church,” he brought forward all the poor whom God had made rich through bread, yes, but ultimately with the proclamation of the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins in Christ Jesus.
Harriet is remembered by us for her cakes, to be sure, or the family would not have mentioned it in the obituary. But the greatest gift that she gave us is the one she first received from our Lord Jesus. In her baptism, Harriet was born again as a child of God, given the Holy Spirit, and sustained by Jesus’s Word and Sacrament. Christ Jesus was taking the seed that was sown, causing her to germinate, sprout, and grow. And Jesus joined her to Gary, multiplying His work, evident today in her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and friends. The LORD, who transformed her into His good planting, sowed the righteousness of Jesus in those around her.
While I was not here to witness it, Harriet’s years of service to this congregation and all those where the LORD put her, as well as the establishment and growth of Sheboygan Lutheran High School, continue to bear fruit to this dead. God provided for her, and she provided for us. That work does not cease, but God will continue to make all grace abound in you, giving you everything needed for body, life, and faith. As Jesus gave to her richly and abundantly, so she gave to you all cheerfully. You now bear the imprint of Christ as she does.
And with the gifts of Christ Jesus comes the promises, too. Even while we grieve our dear sister today, missing her, we have the LORD’s promise of resurrection and life everlasting. With the promise comes the joyful reunion with all those who have departed in faith. We long for the day when all will be raised from the dead, and brought into the wedding feast of the Lamb in His kingdom that has no end. And like any joyful occasion, especially a wedding, we’ll rejoice in rich food. And we can all have a slice of cake with Harriet for dessert.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guards your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.
Rev. Christopher R. Gillespie
St. John Ev. Lutheran Church & School – Sherman Center
Random Lake, Wisconsin
Harriet Jentsch
October 3, 1940 T July 27, 2024
Our Savior Jesus Christ has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel. Let us remember with thanksgiving what God has done through His servant Harriet Jentsch.
Harriet was given life by her creator and was born on October 3, 1940, the son of parents Walter and Ida Degnitz. She received the gift of Holy Baptism and became a child of God on October 20, 1940. On May 2, 1940, she publicly confessed her faith and was confirmed. She regularly received the gracious gift of the Lord’s life-giving body and blood in the Holy Supper. On May 28, 1960, she received the gift of a beloved companion in her husband, Gerhard Jentsch. She was blessed with the gift of children—Rhonda, Richard, and Randall, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
God blessed Harriet’s life with many special people as she served God in her vocations at home, church, work, and in the community. Finally, on July 27, 2024, God blessed Harriet with a holy death and took her home to rest in the arms of Jesus to await the resurrection of the dead.
The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord. We give thanks to God our Father through Jesus Christ, our Lord, for our sister, Harriet.