“But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Psalm 86:15). Last week, Saman, one of our Iranian parishioners, contacted me—distraught because his dear grandmother Ashraf had passed away. “Could you hold a memorial service for her?” he asked. “Well, of course,” I replied. But then he added two important details: she lived in Iran and she wasn’t a Christian. How do you hold a Christian memorial service for someone who did not fall asleep in the Lord? I asked him more about her faith background. He explained that she had rejected Islam long ago (as is often the case in Iran) and believed only in some “higher power.” We scheduled a time, and he let me know that they would prepare a meal. I invited the whole Persian congregation. Because not everyone knows this family, I was worried that only they and I would attend the service. I was even more apprehensive that they might get stuck with a lot of wonderful Persian food that would not be eaten. As it turned out, twice as many people came to the service as I had thought—even some Muslim relatives. I chose the “Comforting the Bereaved” service from the LSB Agenda and asked Saman to read in Farsi key passages from that service: Psalm 90 and Psalm 27. For the sake of the Christians, I also asked him to read Romans 6:3-9, as the Agenda suggests. Regarding Ashraf’s eternity, all we can do, I explained in a short homily, is to appeal to the Lord’s mercy and grace, His steadfast love and faithfulness—and leave it at that. We concluded with Confession and Absolution and the Lord’s Supper for the Christians. To my surprise, a small crowd showed up for the meal (“O ye of little faith,” Pastor Tiews!). Saman and his family shared with me later that they were greatly comforted by the whole event. He also allowed me to share this story with you. Indeed, praise God for His mercy and grace, His steadfast love and faithfulness… There’s so much we don’t know. And yet we can always rely on these attributes of God—perfectly exhibited in His Son Jesus Christ.
[Image: the meal; a photograph of Saman and Ashraf].
The Tiews in Germany 