Lloyd Sittler Funeral Sermon

What can be said about a man like Lloyd Sittler? Some one like me, who knew Lloyd only for the last few years of his life cannot do this man justice or give him the honor he deserves.

This was a man who as a young man would see a plane in the sky and say, "Someday, that will be me." This was a man who did not shy away from adventure or back down from a challenge:
• a man who, in 1940, rode across the country to California to go to school.
• a man who would elope with the woman he loved;
• a man whose hands built B-25 bombers, a man who those who flew those planes would trust with their lives;
• a man who fulfilled his dream of flying and experienced WWII, the Korean War, and Vietnam

This was a man who traveled around the world with experiences others only dream of:
• a man who took his family to Japan and Turkey
• a man who stood in the shadows of the statues on Easter Island in wonder;
• a man who would drive to Alaska--twice!
• a man who taught his children the meaning of words like character, honor, faith, and love.
So I ask again, can someone who knew Lloyd only in the last years of his life adequately describe him?--probably not. But there are a few things about Lloyd I do know. When I met Lloyd, his life had changed
• he stayed home more and more, yet when he and Mildred came to church, he was always ready with a firm handshake, a big smile, and a hug for my girls.

In his last months, Lloyd didn't speak much, yet he was always ready with a smile, and eager to hold someone's hand.

The man that held the lives of hundreds of airmen in his hands now found his life in the hands of those who would provide care for him. Is there dishonor or shame in that? Not at all. It was simply a change in roles, a shift in responsibilities. Yet these things frustrated Lloyd to no end--he felt somehow diminished, yet Lloyd also discovered, perhaps only through his experiences, the truth of Paul's words to the church at Rome, "that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God... in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Scripture reminds us that this body is but a shell--that it is perishable. But through faith in Jesus Christ, we have victory over death--and this perishable body must put on imperishability.

Friends, Lloyd was a man of character and honor. He lived his life well, serving his country, his fellow man, and his wife and family well. And Lloyd found it a great honor to have served his Lord, Jesus Christ. Today we honor this man with our words and praise, and I believe that he has received an even greater honor. The honor I speak of is not found in our words or actions, but solely in our faith. The honor I speak of is the welcoming embrace of Jesus Christ and hearing those coveted words--"Well done, good and faithful servant."

Let us honor Lloyd today with our words and remembrances and honor Christ with our lives, so that through faith, we can point to Lloyd's victory today and echo his words, "Someday, that will be me."