Margaret Wulff Funeral Service
May 1, 2002
I wish I had known Margaret Wulff. For I am sure that if I had that we
would have gotten along famously. Everything this family told me of her
sounded to me as if written in a resume would have made her the perfect
person to be used greatly by God and in fact was used greatly by God.
Stories from long drives over short distances to wine tasting episodes at a
family gathering, I have a picture of Margaret Wulff that looks a lot like
most of the persons that God has used to accomplish his work and proclaim
his message throughout our history.
One phrase that you used over and over yesterday as you spoke of her life
to me was “She was just a…” She “just did this or she just did that.” She
might have been just a…but in God’s scheme of things “Just a…” is a highly
regarded attribute in God’s Kingdom. It was just a stick in the hand of
Moses that brought forth water for the Children of Israel when there was
none. Just a stick stretched forth over the waters of the Red Sea that allowed
them safe passage. It was just a pointed stick in the hands of a man named
Shamgar in the Old Testament that was called “an Ox Goad” that created a
victory over the enemies of God’s people. It was just the jaw bone of a
donkey in the hand of Samson that slew the philistines. It was just 5 loaves
and 2 small fish that fed five thousand men and about 20,000 people total
1
one day. It was just a shepherd boy named David who slew the giant goliath.
It was just a young girl named Mary who was “good enough” by God’s
standards to carry the only begotten son. It was just a lowly group of
fishermen and misfits who turned the world upside down. It was just the
Carpenter’s Son who came to offer eternal life, peace and joy to countless
millions in countless lands over two thousand years. Get the picture?
Margaret Wulff had all the pedigree necessary for God and she should
have all the pedigree necessary for any person living to honor and
appreciate. She has enough pedigree for me.
Earlier I read two sections of scripture that should highlight this assertion
for us today. The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church around the
sometime about 15 to 20 years after the death of Jesus to offer them
encouragement. The church at Corinth must have been filled with ordinary
folk. He kind who are described by the words “Just a…” They apparently elt
like may of us feel that they were not very important. That who they were
and what they did, did not amount to much. But Paul reminds them that
there were not many wise, not many influential and not many noble who
were called. But that God always had and always will call the foolish, the
weak not the strong, the lowly not the high and the despised to do his work
and accomplish his goals. Why is that? I think it is just as easy as this, that
2
the lowliest among us, the smallest among us normally have the character
and demeanor that is interested in others. The stuff or should I say the stuffy
up here…spend much or most of their time looking out for themselves,
counting their wealth or taking care of their business. So Margaret Wulff
was “Just a…” well Margaret Wulff was imminently qualified to be a
servant of God and imminently qualified to possess the spirit of the living
God.
At times like this one of the natural tendencies is to try and review a life
and measure that life’s significance. The question therefore must be asked ,
“How do we measure significance?” How do we measure the significance of
the life of Margaret Wulff?” When we stand at the end of life we are often
drawn to questions of significance.
Did I accomplish anything?
Did I leave my mark”
There was an old song that I sang in high school from some musical that
asked these questions, Did I ever love? Did I ever give? Did I ever really
live? Couple those questions of with what the bible tells us that life is.
Remember it says that life is a vapor, life is like grass that springs up in the
morning and is gathered at the end of the day and burned in the fire. We
contrive a scorecard or a scoreboard as if life were a game or a contest.
3
We joke about life when we say statements like, “He who dies with the
most toys wins.” Remember that old bumper sticker? Well also remember,
“He who dies with the most toys is still dead.
We often measure our significance against others and that is normally
where those “He/she was just a..” statements come from. But God has
another way to measure significance. God’s measure is not the way a lot of
church people like to measure significance. They would measure
significance with attendance, money, how big your bible is or how many
verses you have memorized. God however has given us some powerful clues
and hear the echo’s of those clues in the life of Margaret Wulff.
The first is Obedience- “Let your light shine so that men may see your good
deeds.
The second is attitude- Humility is the number one attitude held up as a
standard in scripture.
Third is service- Devotion to family, those around you, do you love your
neighbors as yourself.
Finally we have that Micah verse.
Well how does the life of Margaret Wulff stack up according these measures
of significance? Does the phrase “Just a…” take on a new light?
4
And in that light how does “Just a…” look now? Insignificant or more
like the stuff that God has always used and always will use to make that
which is good and honest and true. He took dust of the earth to fashion man
and woman, he took a stick to deliver Israel, he gave a baby in a manger to
free the world from the power of death and he took a woman like Margaret
Wulff to teach us once again that he is best glorified when we use the
phrase, “She was just a…” Let us pray.
5