The final moments of one’s life are tender, requiring pastoral care marked by compassion, prayer, and the promises of Christ. The “Commendation of the Dying” offers Scripture‑rooted words and prayers to comfort the faithful, strengthen hope in the resurrection, and entrust the dying into God’s gracious hands.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff,
they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)
The Valley of the Shadow of Death
What is it to walk in the “valley of the shadow of death”? As children of God, we begin that journey at the font when we are baptized. Martin Luther put it this way:
A Christian is a person who begins to tread the way from this life to heaven the moment he is baptized, in the faith that Christ is henceforth the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And he holds to this way until his end.1
As we trudge through this valley of sin and death, Christ sustains and blesses us along the way. He does this with His gifts of daily bread and His blessed Word and Sacrament, giving and giving until our last hour comes and He calls us from this vale of tears.
When we on that final journey go
That Christ is for us preparing,
We’ll gather in song, our hearts aglow,
All joy of the heavens sharing,
And walk in the light of God’s own place,
With angels His name adoring. (LSB 503:5)2
When Death Draws Near
As a Christian, it is a blessed privilege to be present with someone in those last hours in the valley of the shadow of death. The room of one whose breaths become shallow and less frequent, whose limbs are cold and empty of strength, and whose eyes are glazed over is a sacred space.
This is a holy time. The need for medicine and doctors is past. The distractions and trivialities of life are meaningless, and we are left with the one thing needful: Christ Jesus, our Lord.
No matter how small the room, how empty or how crowded it may be with family and loved ones, Christ is there—as He has been!—every day of that blessed journey.
Instinctively, tears flow and words fade. Time stands still.
If your pastor isn’t there, this is a very good time to ask him to come. He is the one who has been entrusted by God to shepherd this soul into the arms of Jesus. He has the Lord’s gifts to bring to you and your loved one who is soon to be with Jesus.
One such gift is the “Commendation of the Dying.”
The Commendation of the Dying
Among the burial rites that we Lutherans have used for centuries, the “Commendation of the Dying” gathers minds and hearts to hear the words and promises of Christ, provides for the confession and absolution of sins, recalls the words spoken over us at our Baptism, and guides those present in the confession of faith and prayers for the saint soon to be with Jesus. If the dying one is conscious, the Lord’s Supper may also be included. Hymns sung by those gathered are an added blessing.
The roots of “Commendation of the Dying” are firmly planted in the Middle Ages, when the church, surrounded by plague, was concerned that the children of God die well. To that end, they created little books to teach people what Ars Moriendi—the art of dying well—looked like for the child of God. These books had prayers, liturgies, Scripture, and instructions to aid the Christian and his loved ones as the final hour approached.
In the “Commendation of the Dying,” the child of God is handed over to God the Father in faith:
Almighty God, You breathed life into Adam and have given earthly life also to _________, Your dear child and servant. With faith in Your power to heal and save, we commend (him/her) to You; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.3
The “Commendation of the Dying,” as found in Lutheran Service Book: Agenda and Pastoral Care Companion, is among the spiritual care tools your pastor has at the ready. When a pastor is not available, an elder or another Christian may use a modified version.
This beautiful rite is a gift to everyone present. It makes clear that death is near and with bold confidence attaches to it all that our Lord has promised for this moment. The Word and promises of God contained in the “Commendation of the Dying” calm troubled hearts, cast away fear, and help to bring a blessed peace to the gathered in the room.
In this little order of service, the dying one is wondrously wrapped in and assured of all the things he or she has heard and received in God’s house since the day of their Baptism. The Scripture readings bring focus to minds overwrought with emotion. Joining together in speaking the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Nunc Dimittis, and “The Litany for the Dying,” we speak the words that truly matter, and finally all receive the blessing.
Ministering to the Dying, Comforting the Mourning
If death is drawing near for your loved one, there is no better thing to request than this service. With boldness, call your pastor, and ask him to come lead the “Commendation of the Dying,” the first of our Lutheran burial rites that the church has instituted for ministering to the dying and comforting of those who sorrow and mourn, all of which culminate in the committal of the body at the cemetery.
At the end of our life, these words are sufficient. Nothing more is necessary. God grant that each of His precious saints is wrapped in such confident, hopeful comfort:
Go in peace. May God the Father, who created you, may God the Son, who redeemed and saved you with His blood, may God the Holy Spirit, who sanctified you in the water of Holy Baptism, receive you into the company of saints and angels to await the resurrection and live in the light of His glory forevermore.4
1Quote excerpted from page 51 of Luther's Works, vol. 24, Sermons on Gospel of St John Chapters 14–16 © 1961 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.
2Hymn text: © 1978 Lutheran Book of Worship.
3Quote excerpted from page 94 of Lutheran Service Book: Agenda © 2006 Concordia Publishing House; page 92 of Pastoral Care Companion © 2007 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.
4Quote excerpted from page 95 of Lutheran Service Book: Agenda © 2006 Concordia Publishing House; page 93 of Pastoral Care Companion © 2007 Concordia Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Scripture: ESV®.
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