Funeral Services at Battle Creek
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unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not
where they have laid Him.” Her heart cried out after her Saviour, and
at that very moment He was by her side, though she recognized Him
not. “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest
thou? She, supposing Him to be the gardener, saith unto Him, Sir, if
Thou have borne Him hence, tell me where Thou hast laid Him, and I
will take Him away.
“Jesus saith unto her, Mary.” That is all He said—“Mary.” Many a
time she had heard that familiar voice, and she must have recognized
Jesus by His tone or expression, for immediately she acknowledged
Him as her Master and Lord. “Touch Me not,” He said to her; “for
I am not yet ascended to My Father: but go to My brethren, and say
unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God,
and your God.”
John 20:11-17
. Then it was that Mary hastened to the
disciples with the glad tidings of a risen Saviour.
“It was her love for the Master,” the speaker continued, “because
of what He had done for her in forgiving her sins and in connecting her
soul with heaven, that kept the Saviour on earth after His resurrection
until He had made Himself known to her. There is something very
touching in this narrative. It shows that the Saviour is willing to reveal
Himself to those who are devoted to Him and to His service,—those
who desire above all things else to maintain a living connection with
heaven. As Mary recognized her Lord after His resurrection by His
voice and His general demeanor, so I believe we shall be able to
recognize again our sister who now sleeps. While we cannot hear
her voice in this world any more, yet her influence lives; and in the
resurrection morning, if we remain faithful, and have a part with the
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people of God in that glad hour, we shall hear her voice once more, and
we shall recognize her. My dear friends, there is a living connection
between heaven and this earth still, and the promises the Lord has made
to His people will be verified. Not one word will fail of fulfillment.
May the Lord help us all to be among those who shall meet their Lord
in peace, and who shall have the privilege of greeting our sister in the
kingdom of heaven. May God grant it for His name’s sake.”
The hymn, “We shall meet beyond the river,” and benediction by
Elder W. T. Knox, closed the Tabernacle service. Carriages and cars
were in waiting, and these conveyed many hundreds to the burial place
in Oak Hill Cemetery.