Golden Tail

The Spirit Dog, by Steve Bonham

Children’s Sermon

25 October 2026

Good morning, guys. How’re we feeling? Ready for Halloween?

So, my question for you this morning is: Do you have any pets?

We got a dog this summer. She’s pretty great: sweet, gentle. Everybody loves her. She reminds me of a saying from the old Desert Fathers, when Abba Xanthias said, “A dog is better than I am, for he has love and does not judge.”

There’s still a lot that we can learn from our dogs.

Martin Luther, one of the great Reformers of our tradition, had a dog named Tölpel, which means “clumsy.” And he said to Tölpel one day, “Be comforted, little dog, for in the Resurrection you too will have a little golden tail.”

And I’ve always liked that—not just because it’s nice to dogs, but because it kind of sums up what Reformation is all about. Sometimes we’ve got to go back to the root. Sometimes we’ve got to remind ourselves of what is most important to us.

And for Christians, the most important thing is that we have faith in Jesus. And faith isn’t a pop quiz. Faith isn’t a test. Faith is just trust. That’s all it is. We trust that God loves us. We trust that God is good. And so no matter what happens, we have faith that God will make it right.

This is a great relief, to remember, to remind ourselves, that God always loves us—all of us, even clumsy little dogs. Everything has a place in the Resurrection. All of us have a place in Jesus’ heart.

Sometimes it really is just as simple as that.

Sound good? Okay. Let’s pray.