The Funeral of Stanley Martin Schleusener
The Funeral of Stanley Martin Schleusener
August 10, 2026
Dear Marilyn, family, friends, brothers, and sisters in Christ Jesus, grace, mercy, and peace be unto you this day.
It’s always interesting to sit with members in their homes, you learn so much about them, you hear about their childhoods, their likes and dislikes, the jobs they had, the love they have for a spouse, their children, and grandchildren.
You also get to learn about their hobbies. Sometimes the hobbies can stir the most conversation, too. Before meeting Stan, I hadn’t really known anyone who had the hobby of beekeeping, nor did I know much about these pesty insects.
But as Stan was homebound for most of the past year or so, we really had a lot of time to visit.
Stan enjoyed beekeeping. It was something to see the photo of him standing next to one of his beehives; it looked like the hive was taller than he was, and he was a tall man.
Truth be told, after talking with Stan, I gained a new perspective on bees and began to see their deeper purpose. Like many people, my entire view of bees was shaped by childhood encounters with being stung.
It’s like, “What did I do to you, bee?”
“Why are these bees always so angry with me?”
Of course, maybe the bees weren’t mad at me at all until I started swinging my hands at them.
“Get away from me…”
Because of Stan’s love of bees, I had to see how often they are mentioned throughout Scripture.
Four times.
Three of those instances describe how these winged insects became angry (Psalm 118:12), chased after God’s people (Deuteronomy 1:44), served as a symbol of conflict among nations (Isaiah 7:22), and stung.
Only once are bees mentioned in the Scriptures in connection with honey, which is interesting since one of the only reasons we care about bees is the sweet and sticky fluid they make, honey. This occurs in the book of Judges when Samson sees a swarm of bees in the carcass of a lion, and he scoops up some honey to eat. (Judges 14:8-9)
Although beekeeping has existed since ancient times, the honey from bees mentioned in the Old Testament was often seen as a sign of good land. But the land of milk and honey also often refers to uncultivated land, an area we might consider wild. This might seem strange at first, but it makes sense because this type of land is suitable for sheep and goats to graze freely and for making milk, while the many flowers attract wild honeybees.
No human hands have gone into these meadows or forests to change their environment.
If you look back to the environment of the Garden of Eden before the fall, it had not been altered by human hands either. It was created and brought into existence through the Word of God. It was a perfect meadow in every way. Until man got involved.
Adam and Eve brought sin into the world, changing the environment; the very soil of the earth would be cursed, where thorns and thistles would grow, work would be difficult, and there was a promise that all men would return to the ground from which man was first created and eventually return to dust.
However, God would make a new promise to Adam and Eve: a child from their lineage would be born to redeem this fallen world and decaying creation.
From this point on, the story of the Old Testament is about Adam and Eve’s children, the children of Israel, being first led into slavery, and then, through the hand of God, being rescued, taught to trust in Him, and being guided to the Promised Land, an uncultivated land flowing with milk and honey.
Yet, this land is not the eternal land of milk and honey; no, that will only come through another child of Adam and Eve.
This child, of course, is Jesus.
He was born of Mary in the little town of Bethlehem to lead the children of Israel, not to an earthly land of plenteousness, but a heavenly home.
A homeland that is beyond comparing in this world, bought and secured for you through the death of Jesus upon the cross.
It’s the pain and suffering of Jesus upon the cross that secured for you a way home to the land of milk and honey.
However, your journey, like Stan’s, continues to take place in a fallen creation where thorns and thistles grow both from the earth and from your hearts, impacting relationships that still need tending through the confession of sins and receiving the forgiveness Christ Jesus won for you.
Yet there are still difficult days throughout this life, and we can grow angry and frustrated when we can no longer do the things we once enjoyed. When we lose control. When we have to start relying on others for help. These are difficult situations.
Like so many, Stan struggled not being able to mow the lawn, do yard work, or tend the bees. It wouldn’t shock me if it frustrated him from time to time to not be able to do the things he loved.
Could your life reflect Stan’s if you lost your freedoms?
Might you become as irritable and angry as bees when you lose control? You might be the ones buzzing around others, which of course distracts you from faith and the purpose of the bee (at least the good bees)—to produce sweet nectar that delights the taste buds and reminds you of the sweetness of your eternal home waiting for all of you.
When these days come, the struggle to remain faithful and loving is tested.
When you struggle or forget to remain faithful and loving, it’s because you’ve forgotten to confess your Savior, Jesus Christ, who died upon the cross for your sins and the sins of the world.
Stan’s Confirmation verse was from the tenth chapter of St. Matthew, “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10: 32)
When you confess your sins, you confess not only your need for a Savior, but you also confess your Savior, Jesus Christ.
Confession is the evidence of what is in the heart.
Jesus then promises that for those who make this confession, He will confess them before His Father in heaven on the last day, saying, “This one, this child is mine.”
During my recent visits with Stan, we talked about bees more often. He shared how special he felt because both Pastor Thompson and I visited him on the same day. During the last visit, though, he continued to confess his sins, as every Christian is called to do. He wanted to receive Christ’s forgiveness and be ready for His Good Shepherd to lead him through his remaining hours of this valley and shadow of death to where all the faithful dwell with the Lord forever. (Psalm 23)
Isn’t it incredible that one of the last things our brother in Christ did was to confess His sins and, in turn, confess his Savior?
In this way, Stan took his Confirmation verse to heart, lived it, and confessed it.
That is a gift.
One of the last things I learned about regarding beekeeping (actually, this was from Marilyn) was the use of the white suit. It was always peculiar to me that beekeepers wore all white when they dealt with the bees; I never understood it.
But I do now (or at least kinda). The white is said to keep the bees calm and prevent them from stinging. The white also helps the keeper spot strays that might be buzzing around. The white suit not only signals that the oddly dressed person is a beekeeper but also reflects their identity.
Likewise, just as the urn is covered with a white pall, it reminds us that Stan was baptized into the name of Jesus. He received the sign of the Holy cross both upon his forehead and his heart to mark him one redeemed by Christ the crucified. Stan was a forgiven child of God, a child now dwelling where the sting of sin has ended.
You, my friends, are also God’s baptized children, clothed in the white robes of righteousness. These garments give you peace and prevent you from stinging one another, help you identify the evils of this life that wish to distract and anger you, and reflect who you are in Christ, your identity as a redeemed child of God.
As we will journey to the grave to place the urn into the ground, remember who you are in Christ, be at peace, and as we go to the grave, join Stan in singing the song of heavenly joy, confessing your Savior as you also await the day when you will be brought into the heavenly land of milk and honey, of eternal life. +INJ+
Rev. Noah J. Rogness
Pastor, Good Shepherd Lutheran Church
Tomah, WI
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Website: www.goodsheptomah.org
The Shepherd’s Voice Podcast: https://goodsheptomah.podbean.com/
