Each Sunday in our worship service, we proclaim to one another that we believe in the "resurrection of the body." By this we are saying two things.

First, we refer to the "Body of Christ," his bride, his church. In essence, we are saying that we believe that on the day when Christ comes again, all believers will be raised up to be with him.

Second, we refer to our new imperishable spiritual bodies bearing the image of Jesus Christ. (1 Cor. 15: 41-50) In this way, we, as members of the Body of Christ, will be raised.

While we are alive, our physical bodies have value. They are gifts from our God. They are temples of God's presence. They house our souls. They are the means by which we serve our god. When we have died, our bodies return to their original state. David writes in Psalm 103: 13-16:

13 As a father is kind to his children,

So the Lord is kind to those who honor him.

14 He knows what we are made of,

He remembers that we are dust.

15 As for us, our life is like grass,

We grow and flourish like a wild flower;

16 Then the wind blows on it and it is gone--

No one sees it again.

The great majority of people in America prefer an Earth Burial. There is comfort for those who remain to have a place to go, and visit, and remember, and mourn. The gravestone marks the name and the years of the deceased, bearing witness to the importance of his or her life.

Both are acceptable to the Lutheran Church. What matters in both is that the entire funeral reflect our belief in the resurrection of the body by Jesus Christ.

We can serve God in both life and death. The need for Organ Donors to save and improve the lives of others is critical. In life we serve God by saving and improving the lives of others. We can do the same in death by becoming an organ donor.