Life and Death

On the first day of this month I turned 63 years old. At some time during the past year I came to the conclusion that as much as I enjoy being a pastor, and as much as I enjoy reading for my work, that it was time to stop acquiring books connected to ministry. When we moved here one of them men who helped unload our truck commented on the large number of boxes labeled “books.” I’ve read a lot in the seven years we’ve been in Dulce, and I’ve also added to my library. But I still have quite a few unread books. I suspect that should I stay here until age 70 that a few of those may still be unread at that time.

I believe that the end of our ministry here is still years down the road, but that now seems to be the time to do a small bit preparation for that day. I do have a list of books I would like to acquire, but it’s intentionally a short list. Every week I get emails of sales from my favorite bookstore, but no matter how interesting a particular title seems, or how highly it may be commended by a pastor I respect, the emails are deleted. I already have  enough good books to keep me busy. As far as a permanent collection goes, I intend to keep some books when it is time for us to leave here and find good homes for as many of the remainder as possible.

Something else that seems to be a long way down the road is my own death. My health is fine. Because of something called the Great Virtual Run Across Tennessee I’ve run more miles this summer than I have since the summer of 1996. I come from long-lived stock. Both of my parents are in their 80’s and in good health for their age. My mother has lived longer than either of her parents and most of her siblings, and my father is still chasing the number of years each of his parents reached.

Death has been on my mind, intermittently, because of the kind of year this has been for ministry. I have another funeral scheduled this week, the ninth one in the past three months. A number of them have been connected to COVID-19, which all by itself is evidence of the fleeting nature of life and the quite unexpected ways and times it may come to an end. I fully believe all that scripture says about the days of my life being known to God, and so I trust that the way and time He has determined will be for the best and according to His plan. I also have no doubts about the promises He has made to hold me in His hands forever, promises we happened to share with our children in our devotional time last night.  

Death’s timing and means are out of my hands, but I would like to have some influence in the way my passing will be marked by others. I’ve been thinking of this because of the number of funeral’s I’ve done of late. Ordinarily there is a rough outline I use in the church and a different one I use later at the burial. The pandemic has changed things on the reservation and so right now the entire funeral is done at the cemetery. I’ve made a hybrid service that I adapt as best I can for the particular circumstances, at least as far as I am aware of them.

From my point-of-view as a pastor the most important part of planning a funeral is picking the scripture to be preached. It is my belief that a funeral is, more than anything else, an opportunity for God’s people to gather for worship. There is often great sorrow and heavy hearts, and as we gather we praise God and turn to his word for comfort and hope. As far as faith in Jesus goes, people at a funeral are all over the place, from very committed believers to complete unbelievers. My task is to use God’s word to point all of them to the hope of the Lord Jesus.

Use God’s word, but, more specifically, which ones? Sometimes someone in the family will have a suggestion and other times no one has any idea and I offer the family that I will “use my best judgment.”

This was all going through my mind as I was thinking about the coming funeral and skimming through the Psalms. What would I want at my funeral? What I would want is for my Savior and Lord to be lifted up and for people to see some of his beauty and majesty. I would want for the grieving to be comforted and the lost to know in whom they can find their true home.

But from what text? Here are a few that come to mind, in no particular order. Psalm 97. Romans 8. Ephesians 1:3-14. John 10. Colossians 1:15-23. Hebrews 1.

Lest this blog post go one forever I’ll end with these words regarding my faithful Savior and Lord, in life and in death, from Ephesians 3:20-21:

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.