Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On Sunday, I left immediately after worship and caught a plane to Iowa. I was headed out to the funeral of Ted Maakestad in Radcliffe, Iowa. Ted was the father of my brother- in- law and one of my best friends, Mike Maakestad.

As a pastor, when I attend a service as a participant, I have a few theological truths I listen for. One of the things to look for in determining if something is solid theologically versus heresy, is how many “I” statements are in it, God does God’s best work in the “WE.” From the time God gave Eve to Adam as a partner, to the chosen people of Israel, to the 12 disciples, God is most clearly evident in community. If you really want to see Jesus get involved in the Body of Christ, stop searching for how you can find Jesus, and ask how we might participate together in what Jesus is doing.

The pastor began the sermon by saying he was losing a friend and someone who was vital to the community of faith. He read from the Beatitudes in Matthew 5 and paused for a bit on Matthew 5:8,”….blessed are those who mourn…” Each person who mourned in Radcliffe on Monday, had been blessed by God through Ted. He served the missional community known as the church in a multitude of ways -as leader, confidante, learner, worshipper of the risen Jesus, and full participant in the church.

The community turned out to attend the funeral, and make the drive three fourths of a mile in procession out to the Radcliffe cemetery. There is no doubt that the rural communities truly understand the need to come together to mourn. To mourn, according to Dr. Daniel Olsen, is “…to move in two directions at the same time. To grieve the person who is physically gone, and to celebrate that through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we each share in eternal life with our Heavenly Father.” Mourning is indeed a blessing, when done as a part of the “WE.”

I give thanks to God for the community of faith known as the church. For Ted Maakestad, it was the clearest way to participate in the Kingdom of God and for us, we are blessed to engage in the faith as it has been handed on to us by such saints as Ted, that we might see Jesus in the Body of Christ , which is God’s gift to us. Ted’s legacy in Christ Jesus is clearly a “blessing of the we.” May the funeral sermon for each of us bear testimony to such a legacy.

Still in One Peace,

Pastor David J. Jensen