I think that one of the institutional sins of the Missouri Synod has been a despising of the gifts God gives in the Lord's Supper. This has started to turn around in some extremely significant ways, and I rejoice at that! One of them is the provision in Lutheran Service Book for the Lord's Supper to be celebrated in a funeral service. Today I officiated at a funeral service at which the Lord's Supper was celebrated, and if I could have my way, I'd probably never conduct a funeral without the Supper ever again.
The Lord gave in His Supper the comfort that these people needed. The Proper Preface always includes the words "with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven..." That includes the one whose loss we mourn. What better way to celebrate our Savior's faithfulness to the deceased!
The reason it will take time for this to catch on, I think, is that pastors are afraid to with love and concern address the topic of closed communion. I suspect that in most cases this could be done in a way that would still allow all to grieve, but probably not always. But just because we have to work a little harder doesn't mean it's not worth the effort.
