So Great a Cloud of Witnesses

by Robert Mohns

The West Region of Lutheran Church–Canada is composed of 115 congregations, with roughly 30 (about 25 percent) vacant. About half of those are in the process of calling a pastor; the other half are, for various reasons, not calling. 

In an average year, about 3 to 5 workers retire, and every year the number of emeritus/retired workers called to glory increases. These are daunting statistics. They can overshadow any good thing that the Lord of the Church is doing among His people.

In his All Saints’ Day sermon this year, my pastor reminded me of the importance of the many genealogies recorded in Scripture. These genealogies proclaim that the Lord is at work in every generation to fulfill His promise to save lost and condemned people from every tribe and nation and peoples. The genealogies all point to the promised fulfillment when God sent His Son in human flesh, born of the virgin Mary, to be our Saviour. 

You too are a part of that genealogy of Jesus. In Holy Baptism, you have been made children of God. You see how deep your family tree goes! In the last book of the Bible, John writes about that day when what we believe by faith in the Word of God will be made visible. That gives us hope and courage to meet the days ahead.

The last quarter of the church year is filled with feast days, observances of the saints, and other festivals. These are all opportunities for God’s people to remember His continuing, ongoing fulfillment to save lost and condemned sinners. All of this leads up to the last Sunday of the Church year, the Sunday of the fulfillment—the awesome and great day of the resurrection of all flesh, the day when the perfect fulfiller of God’s promise, Jesus, shall appear with His holy angels, and the graves will be opened and all the redeemed, the whole genealogy of God’s people, will be raised in their flesh to everlasting life before the face of our victorious Saviour, the King of kings and Lord of lords. What a day that will be!

Every day until that Final Day, the Lord is at work adding more and more saints—folks just like you—to His family tree. Yes, despite the daunting context we face—struggles are not new to the Lord nor His Church. The Lord Himself speaks to His Church concerning these last days, with words of warning and encouragement and promise. The defeated enemies of our God continually rail against the saints but they cannot harm us. Their demise will be revealed on that last and terrible day of judgement. We are surrounded by the evidence as more and more of the saints finish their race and join that great cloud of witnesses.

Every day until that Final Day, the Lord is at work adding more and more saints—folks just like you—to His family tree.

In this season of remembrance, I am particularly mindful of the faithful pastors God has called to preach His Word of promised redemption through the crucified and risen Christ and administer His life-giving Sacraments even unto death. I am mindful that many of our pastors and workers have taken on more souls to care for in communities beyond their own congregation. Some have added additional congregations to their parish work. I am mindful of the many emeritus pastors and workers, veterans of the cross, who, as God enables, continue to support their congregations and pastors, and who continue to provide for the needs of our vacant congregations so that no congregation goes without. Indeed, the workers are worthy of double honour.

I am mindful of our faithful fathers of the faith, who bore witness to Christ and preached God’s Word to us; who poured over us in Holy Baptism God’s gift of Word combined with water, by which we became children of God; who counselled us, warned us, pleaded with us, encouraged us, prayed for and with us; who heard our confession and absolved us; who fed us the bread of life; and who now have been called to the Lord’s nearer presence. We do not worship them, but we remember them as servants of the Word, redeemed in the blood of Christ, and given to the Church to serve His people. 

In this past year we remember the following workers: Lester Carlson; W. James Anderson; Margaret Towriss; Leander Arndt; Alan Visser; Alvin Oberhammer; Bokman Hwang; Roger Humann; and Bob Willie. This is by no means a complete list, but let it spur us on in remembrance of the mercy God has shown to our own generation. 

We give thanks to God our Father through Jesus Christ, our Lord, for our workers who faithfully shepherded Your flock here on earth. Grant that we, too, may be faithful until death and receive the crown of life. Amen.

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Rev. Robert Mohns is Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC)’s West Regional Pastor.

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