This Incomplete One: Words Occasioned by the Death of a Young Person

by Michael D. Bush (Editor), Nicholas Wolterstorff (Foreword)

These premature deaths supremely test our faith.

This Incomplete One , edited by Michael D. Bush, features sixteen extraordinary sermons from preachers wrestling with the deaths of children and young adults. The preachers here include classic theologians -- Jonathan Edwards, Friedrich Schleiermacher, and Karl Barth -- and select modern preachers. Two especially noteworthy features are a thoughtful foreword by Nicholas Wolterstorff, author of Lament for a Son , and the first English translation of the profound sermon preached by Karl Barth at the memorial service for his own son, Matthias.

In the midst of immense grief and suffering, This Incomplete One speaks forth words of quiet hope and comfort.

" "Even if we cannot rejoice ourselves, we still hear an entirely different voice rejoice. . . . This voice speaks about the completion of even this incomplete one, about his completion as God's servant brought about through death. It speaks about peace and joy and life to the fullest."
-- Karl Barth"

In this

"M. Craig Barnes
Karl Barth
David L. Bartlett
Ronald P. Byars
John Claypool
William Sloane Coffin Jr.
Stephen T. Davis
J. Howard Edington
Jonathan Edwards
Laura Mendenhall
Jeffrey J. Newlin
Jack Roeda
Fleming Rutledge
Friedrich Schleiermacher
Philip Turner
James Van Tholen"

185 pages, Paperback

First published May 3, 2006

Reviews

[Bill Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

The editor was wise in choosing sermons preached at funerals of young people, both long and short, recent and from times long gone by. Sermons of pastors who lost children, John Claypool among others.

Wise words of death, grieving and comfort from very wise people.

For those of us who have sat intimate with a sermon like one of these, one is missing.

The one preached on 20DEC2014 is missing.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preachers, take note! One of the better books of sermons I've read. Each of these is a funeral homily occasioned by the death of a young person. That includes everything from a stillbirth to a young adult killed in an accident to a teen who overdosed at a party. The preachers are non infrequently parents preaching at the death of their own child. Hard to imagine.

I read it because I was preaching at the funeral of a 34-year-old guy I had known pretty well through church and recovery (not in my current church) who overdosed after many years of addiction. I was personally affected by his death, and it was also the youngest person I'd ever participated in a funeral for. (Boy is that an awkward sentence!) And I have had this book since seminary, I think, and never read it.

There's something for every occasion here, but even more, it's a very diverse collection of excellent sermons. There's even one by Jonathan Edwards! (Which I didn't read, because even the abridged version is LOOOONG, and I don't anticipate trying to preach like Jonathan Edwards any time soon.)

I very highly recommend this to all my preacher friends. It's very inspiring.