No sermon but a busy day!

I didn't preach today in what has become our regular rotation here. (I'll post a video of Brett's sermon here tomorrow.) However, I did a funeral for a dear member just a bit ago. I've never done many Sunday funeral services. I suppose that funeral homes and cemetaries frown on such things. But having a funeral service on "the Day of Resurrection" seems entirely fitting. And in this time when more people are doing cremations, when services don't necessarily need to be on a "work day" for funeral homes and cemeteries, I wonder if Sunday funerals might become more frequent.

Funerals are an intriguing part of the pastor business. For some reason I've recently run across a number of articles and a new book by Tom Long on Christian funerals. To be honest, I've always wondered about some funeral traditions. Why, for instance, do so many church members opt to have a family member's funeral service at the funeral home rather than at the church sanctuary? I'm happy to be of help at either locale. I simply wonder why a church member would prefer the non-church setting.

But while I do sometimes wonder about funeral customs and the like, I should add that funerals are often places where that I most feel like I have helped or comforted someone. People often seem genuinely appreciative of a pastor's efforts at a funeral. I suppose that's why I've heard more than one pastor utter, "I'd rather do five funerals than do one wedding." But that's a different conversation.

In the sure and certain hope of the resurrection, we commend to Almighty God our sister, Betsy.