A Message From Pastor Mike
July 2010
Where are we headed?
My brother Ken died unexpectedly of a massive heart attack the day after Faith’s June confirmation service. In the midst of all the grief associated with loosing my brother I asked some very hard questions: What is life all about? Am I or is anyone ever really ready for any given day to be our last? How do I make the short time I have here on earth the best it can be?
To be honest I didn’t have any grand revelations that answered all these questions in one tidy package. However, that didn’t lead me to despair since I had other answers that soothed my anxious soul. Those soothing answers were in response to sizeable questions: Is death the end or the beginning? Where is Ken now? Where am I headed?
The EMT’s found Ken’s daily devotional open on his kitchen table. He’d been reading the devotional for that day; June 7, 2010. For my family that was reassurance that Ken had kept and prioritized his relationship with God despite all the distractions he had in his life. It was a confirmation that he died a believer in Christ. Therefore the answers to the questions of “Is death the beginning or end?” and “Where is Ken now?” were easily answered. Ken is with his Lord and Savior in heaven.
Knowing Ken is with Christ helps ease my heartache. It even attends to some of my self absorbed worries about my own heart issues. Standing at the graveside of a brother one wonders “if my brother can die this young what’s gonna happen to me… where am I headed?” If we’re honest we’ll admit that eventually we’ll all end up in the grave. Yet if we’re Christians we’ll be able to say with confidence, “we won’t stay in the grave. “ Instead we will enjoy life beyond the grave in heaven with our maker, savior, and sustainer.
Upon my return from the funeral to Faith, one of the first subjects I had to address was the congregational vote in May to enter a “90 day discernment process.” This process’s focus is on whether or not to leave the ELCA and affiliate with another national Lutheran church body. It seems so insignificant in comparison to what I’d been dealing with. Yet, it has so many parallels. Leaving the ELCA for many of us is akin to losing a long time family member. There is an entire grief process we have to face as well as a lot of tough questions to answer. Nevertheless, I would submit that the answer to the question of “Where are we headed?” should help alleviate some anxieties and bring hope and confidence in our future.
Leaving the ELCA does not mean we are leaving Christ. The death of our relationship with the ELCA can very well be the birth of new life in a new church body. “Where are we headed without the ELCA?” doesn’t have to be a worrisome issue. Hopefully we can answer, “toward Christ.” For us the death of relationship with the ELCA does not have to mean the severing of our relationship with God. The death of my brother doesn’t mean I’m severing my relationship with God in fact it has deepened my relationship with God. We need to remember that our vote does not mean our church is abandoning Christ or that Christ is abandoning us. We are still traveling in God’s care and love. We will continue to travel with God until that day when we are all gathered into God’s heavenly grace.
In Christ,
Pastor Mike