“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions, if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you will be also.”
John 14:1-3 (NKJV)
Less than two weeks after assisting at my daughter’s memorial service, I attended and spoke at a friend’s service.
That morning funeral and visitation memories crowded my mind. The first one was when I was in fourth grade and saw my first-grade teacher lying still in a casket. Flowers lined the walls of the funeral home. The whole experience was creepy.
A couple of years later at our Thanksgiving dinner with my mom’s family, my dad received a call that his dad had passed away. As a sixth grader, I understood a little more funerals and death but seeing grandpa in his casket was still rather creepy. Watching my dad look down at his dad as tears wove down his cheeks was painful. I had never seen him cry.
Over the years more and more relatives and family friends passed away. The tradition with each one was to look at a lifeless body, pretend they looked like they were sleeping, and try to think of comforting words for the family. Often the casket, open or closed, stood in front of the guests during the ceremony.
People whispered as though the one in the casket might be awakened. Attendees wore black or other dark colored clothes. Somber music played. A melancholy mood floated around the room. The preacher read Scripture and reflected on the deceased person’s life. Tears flowed freely amid the grief.
In biblical times, certain rituals were required for mourning. Perhaps some of those traditions continued at the funerals I attended.
Thankfully, the services I have gone to in the last several years have been celebrations. Colorful clothes and joyful music set the mood. Pictures of the deceased and videos of their lives played for visitors who enjoyed the memories. The celebration of life continued as family members and friends related stories and the impact the deceased had made. Of course, there was sadness and some tears along with smiles and laughter. But the focus was on life and not death.
For Christians there is rejoicing that the person is whole and healed. We celebrate that they have joined Jesus in heaven.
It is hard to let go of loved ones because we miss them. However, if we all know Jesus, we are certain we will see them in heaven which is a reason to rejoice.
At the end of Alan’s service, we sang “I’ll Fly Away”. What a joyful ending to his life here and send off to the next one.
Heavenly Father, thank you for being with us in the sadness of losing loved ones. But we rejoice when we know they are with you.
Amen
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