5 APRIL 2024
A funeral service was celebrated at Bryant Funeral Home in Great Bend for Frank Waplehorst by Father Terrance Klein.
Death Reveals a Man |
Frank Waplehorst |
Fr. Terrance Klein |
5.IV.2024 |
Romans 8: 14-23 Mark 15: 33-39
It's only at the close of Saint Mark’s gospel that someone correctly identifies Jesus of Nazareth. Mark proclaims his identity to the reader at the very beginning. “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.” But after that, everyone except the demons is left guessing until Jesus dies on the cross. Only then
When the centurion who stood facing him
saw how he breathed his last he said,
“Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mk 15: 39).
Saint Mark’s message here is quite profound. First, we cannot truly say that we know the measure of a man until his life is ended. Until then, all of us are, as we say, open books, stories still being written. Life only becomes whole and complete when it ends in death.
But Saint Mark goes deeper than that. The deep identity of Christ is revealed in the manner of his death, upon the cross. He is the suffering servant of God of whom Isaiah spoke. He is the Lamb of God who has come to offer his own life in sacrifice for our sins. In this sense, Jesus doesn’t fully become himself, doesn’t fulfill his God-given mission until he dies on the cross.
Remember that all the gospels are written, not simply to record facts, but to tell us how to be disciples. We now stand at the end of Frank’s life, and, of course, we can’t help but wish it had been longer, more trouble-free. Is there any sorrow like that of parents burying their own children? Yet that’s what Dan and Joyce have been given to do. But if a life is only fully revealed when it closes, let’s look again at Frank’s life.
The Lord asked a lot of Frank. Diabetes left him in poor health for so many years. It threatened his heart several times and robbed him of his legs. Like so many of us, marriage did not prove to be a lifelong blessing. Those were some of the challenges the Lord permitted Frank to suffer, but, through his grace, they didn’t produce an embittered, isolated Frank.
No, as Greg Bauer wrote:
I knew Frank while attending church at St Pat’s. Even after he had his second leg removed, he had a positive attitude, telling me he was going to walk again. Frank, I know you are walking again on your legs in heaven!
Far from imploding in the face of hardships, Frank continued to live his life ordered towards others, loving, and caring for those whom God had given him. Joyce described her son as “a wonderful person. Someone kind and caring. Ever so polite.” Think of Frank cooking for his parents each Sunday. Think of Frank greeting those who he passed in his wheelchair. Tom Kaiser wrote:
The best buddy you could possibly ask for. The good times we had were the absolute best. So many fine memories. You are truly going to be missed. Love you, Brother!
It is sometimes harder, especially for men, to be cared for than to take care of others. It seems to rob us of our dignity, our pride in being men. But Frank humbly accepted the help his family gave to him, taking him shopping and to other places he needed to go. Again, that’s not easy. That a triumph of grace.
Clearly, Frank firmly believed these words of Saint Paul and strove to make them his own:
I consider that the sufferings of this present time
are as nothing compared with the glory
to be revealed for us.
For creation awaits with eager expectation
the revelation of the children of God;
for creation was made subject to futility,
not of its own accord
but because of the one who subjected it,
in hope that creation itself would be set free
from slavery to corruption and share in
the glorious freedom of the children of God (Rom 8: 18-21).
Joyce shared an image of Frank’s boyhood with me. Dan used to hoist little Frank onto his shoulders, and the two of them would make their way to the river to fish. That began a love of the outdoors, of animals and hunting, that Frank would never lose. There are so many childhood pictures of Frank with a dog and even—I think—a pig. But it also taught little Frank something he never forgot. We see more, we go further, when we suffer ourselves to be lifted onto the shoulders of others, when we allow ourselves to be loved and cared for by them. That’s a lesson Frank learned early in life. It’s a lesson all of us should heed.
In his suffering, in his death upon the cross, the deepest identity of Christ was revealed. He was faithful to the Father who loved him. In baptism, each of us is called into Christ. We are to find our identities, our true selves in imitation of him. Frank did that. He accepted his suffering; he remained faithful to God; he imitated his Lord. If he did that in his life and in his death, we can be assured that our prayers for his rest and happiness will be granted. Frank shared in his Lord’s suffering and death. Now we take consolation knowing that he shares his unending life.
The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God, and if children,
then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if only we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him (Rom 8: 16-17).
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