Contemplating Funerals Again
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
As I shared in a previous devotion, a church friend asked why we have funerals, and I had a quick answer, but her question pushed me to think more deeply about funerals. The “Calvin Institute of Christian Worship” tackles the rationale for funerals in an October 26, 2007, article by Joan Huyser-Honig. Huyser-Honig affirms that Christian funerals are sacred expressions of grace, support for the living, and a proclamation of eternal life.
Like my prior devotion, Huyser-Honig quotes Dr. Thomas Long; this time, Dr. Long focuses on the human body. Dr. Long shared that “Believers may feel embarrassed about bodies, prone to a ‘pseudo-Gnostic understanding of death.’ Not understanding body and soul as a union, they fail to ‘see Christian faith in an embodied sense.’ Instead, they think of the deceased as ‘dead and going nowhere, or at, best, going into the spiritual ether of the eternal present.’” With cremation becoming primary, we tend to forget that just as Jesus had a bodily resurrection, our resurrection will include our bodies in some fashion. Funerals provide an occasion to affirm theological truth by reaffirming the Christian understanding of life, death, and resurrection.
Huyer-Honig’s article also affirms that funerals are for “those left behind.” For many, the only time people darken a church door is at a funeral. Sharing God’s love, truth, and eternal care is a blessing all should hear. Funerals offer opportunities for the Holy Ghost to light a fire in their souls. Sharing God’s powerful love in the funeral service is vital, and when a funeral only celebrates the life of the person, God is sadly forgotten.
Next, funerals provide the opportunity for “Giving thanks for a life.” Sure, you can do that at a bar, with people drinking beer and sharing stories of the one who died, but what is missing is God’s role in guiding and intervening throughout the person’s life. Since God blessed their life, it is only right that the gathered friends and loved ones offer moments of thanksgiving to the God who blessed them with the deceased and sing and pray their gratitude.
Finally, every Christian funeral should affirm the reality of “Christ’s victory over death.” The reading of Scripture, the wisdom shared in the singing of a hymn, and/or a special music selection should proclaim “Christ’s victory over death,” so all can receive the comforting promise of eternal life. Only through a well-ordered funeral service is the message of eternal life and the person’s baptism fulfilled, and their death and resurrection recognized and affirmed. Contemplate the role of the funeral service and the reasons why it remains a valid expression of faith today.
