Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Because Today We are Burying another Pastor

Today is the funeral for a beloved elderly Lutheran pastor in our area. I didn't really know him very well, per se, but I definitely knew of him and had met him many times over the last several years. He was the epitome of graciousness.

I do not really know what he "accomplished" during his ministry. Perhaps some of those stories will come out today. I don't know what churches he served, how well those churches 'prospered,'whether those churches are doing well now, or anything else, really, about his 'ministry.'

I really only know two things about his personal life. Make that 3. First, he was very hard of hearing. Telephone conversations were tough. Second, he was incredibly dedicated to taking care of his wife up to her dying day. Third, as I already mentioned, he was incredibly gracious in the way he spoke to/with you. He didn't even really know me, but whenever we would chat for just a few minutes (which was probably about all we ever talked) he seemed to care about me as if we'd been companions forever.

Our synod and bishop have suggested that what really matters in life is that people see in us something about us being signs of and participants in the in-breaking of God in the world.

These signs are sometimes subtle. Sometimes they are linked to what people perceive to be great earthly accomplishments and sometimes not. What is apparent through these kinds of people is a sense that God's grace is both sufficient and at hand. Through such people we can feel this truth, even in the shaking of their hand and the exchanging of but a few pleasantries.

I guess I would hope, by the end of my own life, that I will have figured out how to so naturally convey such things as well.

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