It begins and ends with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The funeral service starts with a baptismal remembrance. At the graveside, we pray and rejoice in the resurrection promised to our deceased loved ones in their baptism. The obituary should be no different.
“Jason Matthew Kaspar, a baptized child of God, died (situation may be included) on Blurnsday, Septober 32, 20xx, (location), having lived [x] years upon the earth (sometimes years, months, days, and hours are calculated).”
Use Baptismal names up front. Short forms and nicknames are suitable in the body that follows. We ought to use baptismal names at the start and in the funeral, as a reflection of the name used in God’s claiming of us. He knows the day He called you by name, forgave your sins, and placed faith in your heart. He knows the name by which you were called.
“Jason was born on [date, location], baptized in the Name of the Triune God on [date, congregation], confirmed in the Christian faith on [date, congregation], graduated from [name of high school, college, technical school, or such institution] on [date], was married to Mandy on [date, congregation] enjoying and toiling [x] years as husband and wife together. [They were blessed in their union by the birth(s) of [x] child(ren)]. He was ordained into the office of Holy Ministry on [date], serving the people of God [x] years in full-time ministry and [x] years of pulpit supply in retirement.”
A listing of significant dates shall include the most important ones: those involving the Christian life in faith. This is also a good spot for a military service record and/or other public service like law enforcement, elected office, service organizations, term as king or queen, and the like. It makes for better reading to list activities dryly here and expound on them in the following section.
“‘Pacco Kappa’ as he was called by little ones struggling to learn their intervocalic ‘s’es and terminal ‘r’s…” [Fluffy details and glowing remembrances go here. Please avoid making the deceased sound like a flawlessly angelic figure in need of no savior. Definitely avoid saying they deserve admission into the heavens by dint of their deeds or character.]
In my case, this will be a short section. The life and times bit is very important to the surviving family. It will likely be the hardest part to write. No one is likely to get all the things they want into the obituary. Space limitations and memory-blurring power of immediate grief are certain to truncate that data contained herein. Survivors, don’t beat yourselves up about a perfect remembrance. The years to come and your memories will serve far better than these paragraphs.
“He was preceded in death by [expand or abridge this section as desired], and all the host of those have died in the faith.
He is survived by [living relative and descendants are listed here, close/beloved acquaintances are also appropriate].
We, the surviving family, with certain confidence, entrust our son, brother, grandson, friend, pastor, (list exhaustively), into the arms of Jesus Christ, who called him by name on [baptismal date], and who is the Resurrection and the Life.”
The conclusion should absolutely recapitulate our only true hope and promise. There is no comfort outside of Jesus and his work for our loved ones, which has now been delivered! Double down on the thing that gives a lasting comfort: the deceased was promised salvation in their baptism. And, they have it today!
Details for visitation, funeral service, interment, and memorials may follow. These announcements aren’t exactly “part” of the obituary. They’re more like obituary-istic adjacent material. Do your survivors a solid. Start working on your own obituary today. Even just a collection of dates and basic details will help them immensely.
Let us confess Jesus Christ, certain of the resurrection.
Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Sole Pastor
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX
and
Mission planting pastoral team:
Epiphany Lutheran Church
Bastrop, TX
©2022 Jason Kaspar. All rights reserved. Permission granted to copy, share and display freely for non-commercial purposes. Direct all other rights and permissions inquiries to cosmithb@gmail.com.
We entrust our loved one to God. Sounds Roman Catholic. Not saved baby grace. The whole thing while sounding vaguely Lutheran sounds more like legalistic claptrap.
You may want to go back and re-read that article, brother. The framework of the whole article, and the two preceding it, is the baptismal promise of the forgiveness of sin in Jesus delivered by water and Word in Holy Baptism. That’s all Gospel, baby. Our sinful selves want to cling to some other hope in our love one’s death than the promised delivered to them (Law). We want to justify them by their good deeds and/or Christian-ness in this life (Law). Instead, the “entrusting” to Jesus Christ, through the baptismal promise, certain of the resurrection is all Jesus and not us (Gospel).
Side note: I’m not concealing my identity.