It Happened Again at a Funeral

An  occupational hazard for pastors is going to more funerals than normal people.

If we’re not officiating, we’re often sitting in the congregation supporting a church member who’s lost a loved one.

That’s where I was when it happened again. I was sitting in the pew at a non-United Methodist Church and was struck by how similar our orders of worship are.

The profundity at the heart of St. Paul’s wonderful line about one Lord, one faith, one baptism (Ephesians 4:5) is powerfully evident in how we Christians mourn and bury our dead.

I’m always amazed at how much we have in common in  “our shared faith.”

We do not grieve like the rest of humanity, who have no hope, says 1st Thessalonians 4:13.

Thanks be unto God for our all the good that Christ’s Holy Church does in so many ways, for all that we get right, and for our solidarity in offering comfort and hope to those who grieve.

Amen?