Funeral for Randy Burmeister

RANDY L. BURMEISTER
May 11, 1961 to September 30, 2007

Prelude music- Josh Groban CD

Job 19:25-27a- “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes- I and not another.”

Psalm 46:1-3- “God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.”

John 11:25- Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”

John 16:33- [Jesus says to his disciples] “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

2 Corinthians 1:3-4- “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”

Randy L. Burmeister, age 46, of Coopersville and formerly of New Era, passed away Sunday, September 30, 2007 at his home. He was born May 11, 1961 in Shelby, the son of Robert "Jim" Burmeister and Anna Lutz Burmeister.

Randy was raised near New Era. He was a 1979 graduate of Shelby High School. He served with the U.S. Navy for thirteen years. He had attended auctioneering school in Minnesota. Randy was a truck driver for Holland Special Deliveries.

He is survived by his wife, Joyce; his son, Robert W. Burmeister; the mother of his son, Chris (Dominic) Merlington; his brother, Glen Burmeister; aunts, uncles and cousins; and his most loyal and best friend, his dog, "Hootch" and his other dog family- of which there are numerous and beautiful. Randy was preceded in death by his mother in 1975 and his father in January of this year.

This was a good man. There are so many ways to describe “good” in reference to a person but for Randy, the definition is made up by friends and family. I have listened among you, read the condolences and considered what “good” meant in the perspective of his life as it intertwined with yours.

“He was a generous man with a big heart.” It has been noted over and over his willingness to help others, to volunteer and give of him self. He was compassionate to those who were in greater need than him.

“Randy was a kind and funny man.” He loved humor and enjoyed a good joke. He most definitely enjoyed chiding others. A good ribbing by Randy meant that he liked you. His jokes were witty and entertaining to everyone involved.

“Randy was a good friend.” Those who were closest to him saw him as a man of devotion and love. He would literally give what he had if you needed it.

“Randy was an exceptional man.” He possessed talents of all sorts- a licensed contractor, truck driver, mechanically inclined, goat farmer and “auctioneer”- and on and on the list goes. He considered himself a jack of all trades and master of none. But I don’t believe it- and neither do a lot of you. His natural abilities to learn new things and his creativity allowed him to give of himself to others and to do a wide variety of things.

“Randy will always hold a special place in my heart.” We all echo that sentiment this morning. He will truly be missed and yet still be loved. Despite the emptiness we might feel or the loneliness that creeps in we can know that his memory will be cherished all of our days. Yes, Randy holds a special place in all of your hearts today. That is why you are here.

Allow me to add that Randy was a passionate man. He had an intense love for his wife Joyce. He was committed to her as a husband should. He had an intense love for his son Rob. He was proud of his son who is serving our country in the U.S. Navy in Japan. Despite the distance and time-zone difference, they spoke weekly on the phone. Whatever Randy did he did with passion.

Prayer

Music by CD- Josh Groban

There are three important questions that we need to deal with.

1. Why?

Why did this happen?

Every pastoral ministries class will teach the students that you never try to answer why. Every book for those who deal with grieving families will tell you to not try to answer the “why” question.

I do not take lightly this issue, nor do I do so without the family’s express permission. They could have simply asked that I go a different direction and I would. However, they believed that Randy would not want it any other way. Joyce said that Randy had a high respect for me, and that he began to really accept the Christian faith for him self in a way he had never been able to for years. I want to honor that respect.

In answering the “why” question, we have to consider the ramifications of the Scriptures, the reality of a sinful world that we live in and have the recognition of Randy’s illness.

a. The Ramifications of the Scriptures.

The Bible teaches that it is a sin to take your own life. Within the commandment, “Do not kill” lay the principle of the taking of human life. (Exodus 20:13) We assume that it is God’s prerogative to give or take life. We are, what Psalm 139 calls, “fearfully and wonderfully made” by God. To end our life intrudes upon sacred territory that belongs to God. As Job said: “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

But is it possible for saints to feel so bad that they want to die?

If I told most people that Moses and Elijah wanted their life to end they’d probably not believe me. However, the fact is that both Moses and Ezekiel came to the very end of themselves.

Moses was frustrated with the stress and pressures of leading people out of Egypt who later wanted to go back to their slavery and slave-masters. They were dissatisfied with Moses’ leadership and he felt the brunt of their dissatisfaction. So he calls on God in Numbers 11:14-15- “I cannot carry all these people by myself; the burden is too heavy for me. If this is how you are going to treat me, put me to death right now- if I have found favor in your eyes- and do not let me face my own ruin.”

Elijah should have been flying high after an emotional victory over the prophets of Baal in the book of 1 Kings. He faced down 400 of these pagan priests. The result? He is suddenly running for his life. King Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, has threatened him, he’s exhausted and depressed as he makes a beeline for the wilderness. Under a broom-tree he sits down and prays that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” (1 Kings 19:4)

b. The Reality of a Sinful World.

We must constantly be aware of the sinful world that we live in. This is not the way it was supposed to be. God created a perfect world for humanity, but because of humanity’s choice, sin entered and the perfect became mutated and humanity became separated from God, nature, each other and themselves.

Sin is a perversion of what is holy and good.

Jesus Christ came to show us how we should live. His death on the cross and resurrection from the dead brings defeat to sin and sin’s power.

However, we still live in a fallen world and we still deal with sin all the while we are here on earth. And because we live in such a world filled with sin, we are forced to wrestle with issues bigger than our selves.

c. Our Recognition of Randy’s Illness.

This was not a matter of someone who was out to hurt other people nor was it a matter of selfishness. This was a matter of a serious mental disease that was only recently discovered.

If Randy had died of cancer there would be very little difference in our gathering here today. Most times, it is not the cancer that kills, but the results of its effects on other parts of the body. In this case, Randy’s mental disease took a devastating toll on him.

Randy suffered from bi-polar disorder. He hurt people he dearly loved because he had a mental disease that was slowly taking over. Some of you here felt that hurt immensely.

Understand that in his latter days he expressed regret to Joyce in private conversations as they sought a means for him to cope with this disease. He told her that when he would lose control it was as though something was taking over and he could not control himself.

The last few months were very difficult as different medications were tried, adjusted, changed as well as him seeking new employment in order to have a more consistent schedule. He was not sleeping properly but yet seemed to be feeling better. In the end, though, it was too little too late.

Let me interject this: we don’t take mental health serious enough in today’s society. We’re getting better, but we too often forget that the human brain is the most important organ to the human body but gets little fanfare. We need to become more aware of such diseases as bi-polar disorders that affect so many people. There is help for those seeking help.

So this brings us to the second question I want to address:

2. What?

When I received the call, I was in my office working on church stuff. I dropped my head into my hands. This did not seem real to me, and I didn’t know Randy as well as many of you.

Two important “what” questions come to mind.

a. What could any of us have done?

I think of myself and wondered if a phone call sometime might have made the difference. Many of you, who were closer to him as family and friends, probably have even more intense questions than a simple phone call.

What could any of us have done? Not a whole lot. The fact is that people in Randy’s condition sometimes get to a place beyond the point of no return. They become mentally exhausted, frustrated with themselves and tired of fighting. They come to a place of just simply giving up because they feel that they are the burden and that others would be better off. They lose sight of how much God loves them and how much their loved ones love them.

As a family you should take caution not to be consumed with guilt. If death had occurred because of an incurable disease, you could not have changed the direction of events. The same is true here.

So…
b. What can you do now?

First, forgive Randy for what has happened. Yes, it was wrong for him to do this, but also realize that he did not do this out of rebellion against any of us or against God. Forgive him for the way he has hurt you in the past. Only an Eternal God can know the sickness and suffering that can grip both mind and spirit. We must endeavor to remember the goodness and kindness of his life.

Secondly, give grace to others. We all encounter people who have varying problems and circumstances. Too often we are too quick to judge someone who cuts us off on the highway or says something to hurt us.

Thirdly, if you need help or a loved one needs help, then seek it. I am more than willing to assist you in anyway possible. Randy would want you to.

And the last question I want to address is “how?”

3. How?

How do we move on from here?

Our challenge at this point is to turn to God- through our Lord Jesus Christ and the blessed Holy Spirit, for comfort and assurance. Jesus faced his hour of death and said, “Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me.” (John 16:32)

I say this because I want you to know that in the shadow of death you are not alone. Jesus is saying to you right now, “you are not alone, for the Father is with you.”

How do we carry on?

I like the verse in Ephesians 2:4-5- “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions- it is by grace you have been saved.”

a. Accept God’s Amazing Love.

The Bible teaches us that Jesus loved his own to the very end. (John 13:1) That is the kind of intense love God wants you to realize in your own life. The very essence of God’s character is love. He loves you right where you are at in your life and in the midst of your own personal frustrations and failures. God’s amazing love reaches deeper than we could ever imagine to the very core of who we are.

b. Realize God’s Amazing Mercy.

None of us could be what God calls on us to be without his mercy. While we were sinners Christ died on the cross for us. This is important for us to understand. God’s mercy is what makes God forgive us of our sins. All of our sins.

c. Experience God’s Amazing Grace.

When you and I accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we then experience God’s amazing grace.

This sinful world thirsts for God’s grace. I am sure that all of us here today long to experience the reality of God’s amazing grace in our life.

Conclusion.

Randy had a wide variety of music that he enjoyed from Kansas to Leann Rimes. But one song that I am sure he would want you to know about is “The Long Black Train” by Josh Turner.

This song warns those who might choose to follow the devil’s way of living. I have no doubt that Randy would say to us today:

“But you know there's victory in the Lord I say
Victory in the lord
Cling to the Father and his holy name
and don't go ridin' on that long Black Train.”

Committal.