From the Senior Pastor – August 2019

“…his father saw him and was filled with compassion;
he ran and put his arms around him and kissed him.”
Luke 15:20b

These words are part of one of the best known stories in all of scripture, the story Jesus told about a man who had two sons. For us, the story has become a beloved example of the gracious nature of our loving God. Though the youngest son in the story turned his back on his father and the home of his growing-up years, the father eagerly awaited his son’s return and welcomed him with open arms when he finally came to his senses.

It’s not a perfect match, but for me, this summer, there is a similar thread of anticipation running through my life. Since last September our son, Tom, has been serving his seminary internship at Luther House Chapel in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. His experience has been extraordinary in many ways: the congregation welcomed him as one of their own, exemplifying hospitality in so many ways; he was given ample opportunity to preach and lead worship when his supervising pastor was on a three-month sabbatical that lasted well into Lent; his theological perspective has been broadened by the witness of those whose history and traditions follow a much different trajectory than his own; and the challenges associated with living as a single white American male in a Muslim-majority southeast Asian culture have helped him mature in ways that likely would not have happened had he been assigned an internship in the ELCA somewhere in the Midwest. I could not be more proud of the young man he has become, of how he embraced this opportunity with his whole being, and how he navigated all of it with a sense of adventure, thoughtfulness, and grace.

With the arrival of August, though, comes the time I’ve been looking forward to all year long—Tom returns home on August 16. He’ll be flying into Sioux Falls and I fully anticipate that reunion to be one of great joy, complete with plenty of tears and long embraces and that awkward giddiness that leaves you with both a smile you simply cannot wipe off your face and nothing to say because there are just so many things you want to talk about.

I can only imagine what the father in Jesus’ story had running through his mind as he embraced his long lost son, but in his response of welcome and love I see and feel how none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered in that reunion was the touch of the one you loved, the familiar smell of the one you swaddled as a baby, and the sweet sound of his voice saying, “I love you, Dad.”

Stella Curry
“For here we have no lasting city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.” Hebrews 13:14

Our Savior’s long-time office manager, Stella Curry, died on July 16. At her request, a family-only memorial service will be held in Texas.

To say that Stella will be missed by the OSL community is a great understatement: she already has been missed, and deeply. But we give thanks to God for Stella’s dedicated and faithful service to the mission and ministry of Our Savior’s and entrust her into God’s eternal keeping. May she rest in peace and rise in glory.