Sermon for the Funeral of F.C.D. Wyneken, at St. Paul’s, Ft. Wayne.

May 15, 1876

Dr. Wilhelm Sihler

Translated by Rev. Karl Boehmer

Wilhelm Sihler’s funeral sermon for Wyneken was one of several. He died on May 4^th in San Francisco, a week short of his sixty-sixth birthday. He had traveled from Cleveland to reside with his daughter’s family, hoping the climate would improve his health. On the 6^th in San Francisco there was a very emotional funeral at which Wyeneken’s son-in-law, Pastor Buehler, preached. The next morning, as Lindemann (A Biographical Sketch of… F.C.D. Wyneken, CTS 1995, p. 51) recounts, Mrs. Wyneken and her son-in-law left for St. Louis, accompanying the body. They arrived on what would have been Wyneken’s sixty-sixth birthday, the evening of the 13^th. The next day, C.F.W. Walther preached a funeral sermon at Trinity where the body was on view. The sermon text was I Corinthians 2:2, “For I determined to know nothing among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified.” Walther’s sermon manuscript does not appear to have survived. As Lindemann recounts, the body arrived in Ft. Wayne on the 15^th. A procession of pastors, students and members of St. Paul’s escorted the casket into the church. Dr. Sihler preached. He had followed Wyneken as pastor of St. Paul’s in 1845. On the 16^th Wyneken’s wife and son-in-law arrived with the body in Cleveland. The final funeral was held at 2:00 p.m. with an overflowing crowd.

I discovered the scribbled manuscript for this sermon in the papers of Wilhelm Sihler in Concordia Historical Institute. William Wangelin transcribed the virtually illegible and abbreviated notes of Sihler. Karl Boehmer provided a masterful translation. The sermon follows an article in English taken from the Ft. Wayne Morning Gazette, Thursday, May 18, 1876, p.

Matt Harrison

Rev. Wyneken

Sketch of His Useful and Eventful Life

An unusual spectacle was witnessed in Fort Wayne on Monday morning last – that of a funeral procession at 6:30 o’clock in the morning. The St. Louis train on the Wabash road, due at that time, brought the remains of the late Rev. Frederick Wyneken from San Francisco, California. Eight gentlemen that had been members of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in this city more than thirty years ago, when Mr. Wyneken was its pastor, acted as pall-bearers, and conveyed the corpse, which was followed by a large number of our German citizens and the professors and students of Concordia College to the Rev. Dr. Sihler’s church. The casket containing the remains was placed in front of the altar and hundreds of the friends of the beloved pastor and friend took a last sad look upon all that was mortal of a man than whom none was more devotedly loved, or whose loss is more deeply mourned.

At 10 o’clock the funeral services were opened, the Rev. Stubnatzi[1] and Sihler officiating. The venerable Dr. Sihler, who was the successor of Mr. Wyneken in the ministry at St. Paul’s church in this city, delivered an eloquent and touching sermon, taking for his text, Proverbs 10:7, “The memory of the just is blessed.” The venerable doctor, alluded to the life and character of the distinguished and good man whose loss the vast congregation had met to mourn. He said substantially: “We have met this morning upon an occasion both joyful and sorrowful. We have reasons for rejoicing, when we think of our deceased friend and venerable father in Christ, who, after having labored earnestly and faithfully in the vineyard of Christ for almost forty years, now has received his reward and gone to his heavenly rest. We are created by God, and can be really happy in Him and through Him alone. Through faith in Jesus he possessed this happiness in this life, but was waiting or the perfection in the life to come. The language of the Psalmist, ‘I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in His word do I trust,’ was his also. Many times and oft he longed to depart, for then he would be with the Lord. Now his hopes are realized. He has fought the good fight and finished his course – he has kept the faith, henceforth there is laid up for him a crown of righteousness. And for his sake we praise the Lord and rejoice. This is indeed a joyful occasion; but it is also one of sorrow, if we turn our eyes from him upon ourselves. His gain has been a loss, not only to his congregation in Cleveland [Trinity], where he labored so faithfully for the past eleven years for the glory of God and the spiritual welfare of his fellow-man; but elsewhere has he been faithful to his Master. The greater part of his life has been devoted to the service of his beloved Lord.”

Mr. Wyneken was born in the Kingdom of Hanover [at Verden] in 1811, and immigrated to this country while yet a young man. In 1834 he came to Ohio, and for four years was an itinerant preacher in that and the state of Pennsylvania.[2] In 1838 he came to this State, and was first active in preaching the Gospel to the poor scattered German Lutherans in Adams County; but he soon came to Ft. Wayne and became minister to this congregation, and so continued for seven years. Some few of you have sat under his instructions. I say some few of you, for Death has moved the larger number. While here he was indefatigable in continuing his missionary work in every direction, and gathered material for many a congregation. He cheerfully shared the hardships and poverty of his people – aye, oftentimes gave away his all to help others.

In 1841 he was compelled, through a disease of his throat, to suspend his work and seek recuperation in Germany. Whilst there his love of Christ induced him to publish an appeal to the German candidates for the ministry and others interested in the mission work of the Lutheran church to go to the United States and assist in the great work there. A great number of men came over in consequence of his touching appeal, and are now members of the Missouri Synod.

His family also suffer a great loss. He leaves a mourning widow and eleven children, six sons and five daughters. Two of his sons are in the ministry, and three daughters married to ministers. He was a good husband and a kind father, even after his children were grown up, he remained their constant friend, counselor and advisor. But the Lutheran church is the greater loser by the death of this excellent man. The public services which he rendered the church were very great. For fourteen years he occupied the important position of President of the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, in the United States. He was a man of peculiarly sound judgment, and a man full of wisdom and piety, and consequently well fitted to fulfill the arduous duties his exalted position imposed upon him. Truly the removal of such a servant of God is a great loss to the church.

Need mention be made of his personal characteristics, his kindness towards every body, his liberality amidst all his poverty, his sincerity and openheartedness, unfeigned humility? All know this who knew him. He had his weaknesses also, but he knew them best himself. He always renounced al dependence upon himself, upon his merits, his wisdom, and as a poor sinner he clung and clove inseparably to Christ and His merit. With this unwavering trust, that the gracious Lord whom he had served his lifetime, had accepted him and would receive him into rest and peace and joy and glory. He was fully prepared when Death met him, on the 4^th of the present month, at San Francisco, wither he had gone to recuperate his health. May the memory of our venerable friend be an abiding blessing to this former congregations, to his family, to the church - aye, to each and very one of us.

The remains left on Monday evening for Cleveland, Ohio, where they will be placed in a vault, ultimately we hope, to be removed to Fort Wayne for interment.[3]

Sermon held on May 15, 1876 in memory of the late Pastor Friedrich Wyneken, who fell asleep on the 4^th of this month in San Francisco at the age of 66.

Proverbs 10:7 The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot. [ESV]

1. An occasion both joyous and sad has gathered us here today.

2. It is joyous because it has pleased God to let his faithful servant enter that rest which has been promised to the people of God, after he had served Him for almost 40 years in his church here in this part of the world. For now is fulfilled the longing he surely often shared with David, [written in] Palms 42, “As a deer pants etc.” For the heart and mind of all true Christian believers always yearn for the sight of God, because we were originally created by God to God, and we can only attain complete satisfaction and salvation in God, that is, in the blessed sight of God, in the closest fellowship of life and love with Him. It has also been fulfilled for [Pastor Wyneken], that is, according to his soul, what he surely often said in the words of the apostle: “We would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord,”[4] for here “we walk by faith, not by sight.”[5] – How should we not rejoice in spirit that the innermost desire of his believing soul, and its most fervent longing, have now been completely and eternally fulfilled? He has passed from death to life[6], after he had bravely and valiantly fought the good fight of faith against devil, world and flesh for more than four decades.

3. This same occasion that has gathered us here today is also a sad one for us all, for what has become his gain, namely that his soul has gone home from this land of exile, has become our loss, and especially:

a. For his congregation, whom he bore in the love of Christ with a fatherly heart. To him had particularly been given those who mourn in Zion,[7] that he should comfort those who experience tribulation [Anfechtung] because of their faith with that comfort with which the Holy Spirit had first comforted his heart from the Holy Scriptures and at times from the words of Luther. For because he was called to comfort more and more believers in tribulation [Anfechtung] by means of the Gospel and the forgiveness of sins by grace through faith in Christ, he himself had to also undergo more and more tribulation [Anfechtung]. And this comforting, which makes the heart of a believer joyful and of good cheer by means of the Gospel, through faith in Christ and the righteousness of God, he surely often had to administer faithfully and diligently for almost 40 years, first as an itinerant preacher in Pennsylvania and Ohio, then in Baltimore for 5 years, subsequently for 4 years in St Louis, and after stepping down from his office as president of synod, for another 10 years in Cleveland West.[8]

b. For his family, 6 sons and 5 daughters, who are now mostly grown and either hold a certain occupation or (as daughters) are married. The loss is hardest for his wife, with whom he lived, as far as I know, for 35 years in unspoiled marital joy and close communion. Because of him and the children, she came to know that we have no lasting city on earth,[9] because 5 times…[10]

… bound up and contributed to the advancement and encouragement of this gathering of the saints.

4. To all this must be added his endearing joyfulness, authenticity and the ease with which he communicated on a personal level; furthermore, his tirelessly active love and generosity (even in the time of his poverty towards members and others who were even poorer than he was), his decency, purity, his forthrightness, his heartfelt and sincere humility and self-denial – in short, he was a man of God, who gave the impression always and everywhere he went, both in and outside the church, that he only had in mind the glory of God and whatever served the good of his neighbor, both in and outside his congregation. In particular he loved his Lord, loved Him who had died and risen for him, and nothing was further from his mind than to seek his own advantage in terms of money, honor and luxury.

5. What was the reason that he always showed himself to be an approved worker[11]? That he was a teacher who turned many to righteousness, as Daniel says,[12] so that many a Christian has him to thank for his conversion to Christ? What was the reason for his faithfulness and ability as pastoral caregiver in comforting the brokenhearted and those in tribulation [Anfechtung]? What was the reason that in governing his household he was a loving husband and an affectionate, yet firm father? What was the reason that he had at conferences and synodical gatherings such an evangelical perspective, that he contributed in such measure to the rejuvenation and encouragement of the others, especially in earlier times? Other than his natural and spiritual gifts, the reason was most certainly this: That he clung in faith only and alone to the grace of his God and Savior, that he sat at the feet of the Word of God, and although weak in himself, became strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might against all tribulations [Anfechtungen].

6. And so it was the power of this Word and his simple, child-like faith, that while he suffered for many years from heart trouble and chest constrictions, throughout his severe illness he was able to overcome the occasional strong attacks and quiet his heart by means of the third petition.

7. Because of the nature of his enduring illness it was likely that he would depart quickly for his eternal home when the Lord’s hour came. And so it was; after his congregation had given him leave for an undetermined period, he had gone to California, and while he was preparing to return, in San Francisco on the fourth of this month, he suddenly fell asleep in Christ because of a stroke.

8. What shall I say now, I who had been in brotherly union with the faithful departed for thirty-one years?[13] I shall say what our text says: The memory of the righteous is a blessing.

9. A blessing will be his remembrance in all congregations and everywhere he had preached earlier, places where he had preached for almost forty years the Word of God and most especially the dear and most precious Gospel of Christ; that he publicly and in a unique manner, as a blessed instrument of God, helped many a soul to turn from sin to righteousness, from curse to blessing, from death to life, from condemnation to salvation.

10. A blessing will be his remembrance in his household, where he serves his diligent widow as an example of childlike faith that she follow and now cling all the more firmly and fervently to the One who remains her spiritual husband, sit at her Savior’s feet, cast all her cares upon Him, and at the same time quietly and cheerfully rest in his love and care as a child in his mother’s lap. A blessing will be without a doubt his remembrance to his sons and sons-in-law, who also stand in the service of the church, that they follow in his zeal to save and preserve the sheep of Christ in fervent love for every soul that has been bought at a price through the blood of Christ, that they as faithful and shrewd managers give in evangelical wisdom to each member of the household his due, with self-denial, humility and enduring patience. And in this fine, princely virtue his remembrance will serve as a blessing for his other children following in his footsteps, for them, his sons and daughters.

11. His remembrance will be no less a blessing to all the servants of the church and the teachers of the institutions of our synod, with whom he had first been in close contact, and later on in brotherly union at synod and at conferences, for there will hardly be a single one who cannot gratefully ascribe to him diligent encouragement, refreshment and advancement for his spiritual life and his undertakings in the office.

12. That the dearly departed also had his particular weaknesses and foibles because of the corruption of his flesh, which every Christian has to contend with all his life, is something he knew better than anyone else. For he had an exceptionally tender and restrictive conscience, also and especially with regard to his weakness, and so he would probably often have sighed with the apostle, Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?[14]

13. This complaint and cry for help that he had in common with all true believers has now been completely and graciously answered for him, so that he can now say: Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord![15], for he is now perfect, pure, holy and righteous, without any fault or blemish of sin, placed almost completely in the sight of Christ. He has recovered, according to his soul, the divine image and can never lose it again; in seeing God he has received eternal life.

14. And in the Kingdom of Glory, on the Day of the joyous resurrections, his transfigured body will not lack a distinctive radiance, for it is written in Daniel 12, The teachers shall shine like the radiance of heaven[16] etc. He surely did not belong to those who sowed sparingly in teaching and in life, but to those who did it bountifully;[17] and accordingly, he will reap in blessing and be well supplied from the Lord, who repays righteously; for although eternal life is always a pure gift from God by through Christ alone by faith without any merit, which the dearly departed also shared in through the true faith in Christ, according to the Word of Christ, Whoever believes in me has eternal life[18]: Nevertheless, God has promised a distinct reward of grace and repayment according to the labor of love, the work of faith and the patience under the cross.

15. May the gracious and merciful God help all of us, both those dear ones who are now without a shepherd as well as us, the brothers of our dear brother and father in Christ that we, like him, would continue in the true faith and blessed trust, so that we also, when our last hour shall come, will have a joyous departure from this vale of sorrows to that place where there is no more sadness, no pain, no sighing and no tears, but only eternal joy and gladness upon the heads of the saints. Then we shall break out in unceasing praise and thanksgiving to our faithful God and join the holy angels in saying, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing![19]

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[1] Wolfgang Simon Stubnatzy (February 15, 1829 – September 13, 1880), was born in Fuerth, Franconia, Bavaria. He was sent to the U.S. by Loehe in 1847 and finished his education at the Ft. Wayne Seminary. He served as pastor at Cooper’s Grove, Cook, County, Illinois (1849-1862); and then as assistant to Wilhelm Sihler at St. Paul’s in Ft. Wayne. In 1868 he became pastor of Emmanuel, Ft. Wayne. He served as president of the Central District from 1878-1880 (following Scwhan’s election to the Synod Presidency). Luth. Cyclop., p. 739.

[2] The obituary is inaccurate at this point. Wyenekn arrived in Baltimore in July 1838 and was serving St. Paul’s Ft. Wayne by the last week in September. The same inaccurate time-line is presented by Sihler in the sermon.

[3] Wyneken was in fact buried in Cleveland.

[4] 2Cor 5:8.

[5] 2Cor 5:7.

[6] Jn 5:24.

[7] Isa 61:3.

[8] NB Sihler here points out that Wyneken had to temporarily return to Germany In 1841( because of throat trouble).

[9] Heb 13:14.

[10] It would seem that a line or a thought is missing from the sermon at this point.

[11] 2Ti 2:15.

[12] Dan 12:3.

[13] Wyneken and Sihler had corresponded, but met face to face in February 1845. Sihler had already been called by the Ft. Wayne congregation as Wyneken’s replacement. Wyneken traveled through Pomeroy to meet Sihler, as he made his way to assume his new duties as pastor in Baltimore. Lindemann, A Biographical Sketch, etc., p. 18.

[14] Rom 7:24.

[15] Rom 7:25.

[16] Dan 12:3.

[17] 2Co 9:6.

[18] Jn 6:47.

[19] Rev 5:12.