Until the last enemy is destroyed (1 Cor 15:26) death will remain a reality for the people of God. Death is, on the one hand, the enemy of the Christian. It is, on the other hand, an enemy that God turns to the good of his people, leading them through death to eternal rest. Blessed indeed are the dead, for they rest from their labors (Rev. 14:3). These dynamic of a defeated enemy turned for the good of God’s people is the context for pastoral ministry to the dying and grieving. Death and dying therefore call for careful theological attention. The articles in this issue of LOGIA turn to death and dying in the light of Christ and scripture.
Pastoral care for the dying and grieving is informed by scripture. Tyler C. Arnold turns to the Benedictus as a resource for pastoral care to the dying. The words of Zechariah, repeated through the liturgical song of the church, offer insight for bringing God’s word to the dying and grieving. They point to the value of the account of Jesus’ life for a soul sick with the terminal disease of sin. Approaching the Benedictus in this light, Arnold draws out themes for pastoral care from the song of Zechariah.
Pastors, as they care for the dying, have the opportunity to hold death in their hands. Yet those same hands bring life into the darkest of life’s moments. Harold Senkbeil’s reflection on caring for the dying highlights what is at stake for pastors bringing God’s gifts to their dying sheep. While this is especially true in pastoral care at the end of life, those familiar with Senkbeil’s books will recognize that all of God’s flock are Dying to Live. Hands that offer communion to the healthy at the altar are bringing life to dying sheep also. This reflection is a reminder of the eternal significance of pastoral care to dying sheep.
Funerals bring people face to face with death, whether the grieving are healthy or not. The music at a Christian funeral serves several purposes in providing pastoral care to those mourning the dead. Joel W. West’s article surveys funeral hymns, providing tools and criteria to use while planning the music at a funeral. The charts attached to the article will serve as useful references for pastors, cantors, or music directors as they plan out funeral services focused on the proclamation of the gospel to bring comfort to the grieving.
Pastoral care for the dying and grieving, like all pastoral care, means bringing God’s word of law and gospel to people wounded by sin and death. Bo Giertz, in his famous novel, compared that word to a hammer. Matthew Richard offers a different image of God’s word, portraying the word as a javelin. The allusion to a particular javelin in mythology captures the efficacy and power of God’s word, as the Holy Spirit uses those words to put sinners to death and raise them to life. Richards calls pastors to proclaim God’s word with boldness and confidence arising from the Lord’s promise that he will use that word for the good of his people.
Electronic communication and social media are, among other things, contributing to a growing incivility. Lutherans, and even Lutheran pastors, are not immune to the incivility of the age compounded by the social dynamics of online communications. For a model of Christian love and friendship—even in the face of acknowledged theological difference—this issue includes Herbert C. Mueller III’s analysis of the relationship between Edmund Schlink and Herman Sasse. Mueller shows that Sasse’s faithful confession of the truth and concern for Christian fellowship did not interrupt a friendship with Schlink. Moreover, the article offers a unique perspective into the dynamics of Lutheranism through the course of the ecumenical movement in the mid-twentieth century.
The editors of LOGIA are pleased to bring these reflections to pastors tasked with bringing life to a dying world. We pray that the issue brings a word of encouragement to pastors as they hold death and life in their hands, and to all people who look to Christ in the hope of eternal life.
For the editors, Aaron Moldenhauer
Table of Contents
The Benedictus: A Liturgical Framework for Extraordinary Pastoral Care
Tyler C. Arnold
My Deathbed Experience of the Holy Spirit’s Work
Harold Senkbeil
Through Death to Life: Selecting Ecumenical Hymns for a Lutheran Funeral
Joel W. West
Herman Sasse and Edmund Schlink: Theologians, Colleagues, Friends
Herbert C. Mueller III
God’s Word, A Javelin
Matthew Richard
LOGIA Forum
The Liturgy and Pastoral Care
A Funeral Just for You
Why Are There Still Takers for Tashlan?
In the Midst of Life We Are in Death
A Genealogy of the New Perspective on Paul
“Andy” Rectilinear or Typology? Both!
What’s Good About Shame!
Baptismal Death, Baptismal Resurrection
Non Nobis, Domine
† Wilhelm Walther Petersen † In Memoriam
Dr. Norman E. Nagel —Preacher