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546. No Weeping At This Funeral, BUT... July 7, 2024

Updated: Aug 6, 2024



KEY SCRIPTURE: Ecclesiastes 7:2

It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart.


RELEVANCE

In our previous post, I wrote about the passing of my precious father-in-law, a lovely Christian man who lived his faith. We ' laid him to rest ' two days ago, Friday, July 5, 2024. 


If you've been involved with organising a funeral, you will appreciate that the week between death and the funeral is busy. Many aspects need to be considered to make it successful. 


What do I mean by that? 


When people attend funerals, there is an expectation of solemnity. A significant part of that is not only about keeping our heads bowed in silence at the right times, but organising everything so well that nothing 'odd' is noticed. It takes a lot of work and consideration to achieve that.


Choosing a funeral home, the coffin, and the type of service; selecting favourite songs or hymns; writing the eulogy, which means going back over history to ensure key points are brought out and unnecessary ones removed: choosing the speakers; meeting with the celebrant; considering who to inform of the deceased friends, and even working out what goes into the death and funeral notices. 

Fortunately, Heather has a large and helpful family. She even has a cousin who works for the funeral home and made an extra effort. 


By Friday, everything came together for the 2 p.m. country graveside service. For a funeral, it was perfect. The weather was ideal at 18 degrees Celsius with a very mild breeze—great for Winter. The funeral home erected two white marquees and chairs, a smaller one for the celebrant and other speakers. They installed the Audiovisual equipment and prepared everything before the guests arrived. 


Early arrivals were soon accompanied by a crowd that quickly swelled, with seats left for older people or infirmed. Even birds chirped from the surrounding trees.  


As this was a Christian's funeral, tears were few, except when certain stories in the eulogy brought specific memories, or when realising the finality in the lowering of the coffin as the sole piper played the bagpipes. 


Other than that, we all knew that Henry was bound for Heaven. Who can be sad about that? It wasn't as if we weren't sure or lived in the hope that God might accept him. We all knew because of God's promises. Henry knew where he would be going long before he went. Since he accepted Jesus Christ as his Saviour so many years ago, he has known—known. Henry read and believed the promise in


John 3:16, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.


Henry is now living that everlasting life. We who are left await that promise, but Henry has crossed over. He is now living with his Lord and Saviour. Who could be sad? 


The service wasn't overly religious—it was agreed that Henry wouldn't have wanted that—but the message was sufficient to make people think about where they are headed when they die. A good funeral should do that. God said it is better to enter a house of mourning or perhaps attend a Christ-honouring funeral than to go to a pub for a counter lunch and a few beers to 'celebrate a life' and cackle in the misbelief that the dead are now in some mystically wonderful place. 


The saying that we have laid Henry to rest is a misnomer. He was at rest the moment his heart stopped beating. The dust from which his body was made returns to the earth for further environmental use, but the Lord took his spirit to a place so superbly different that our tiny minds cannot imagine it. 


The funeral was wonderful—full of wonder—not because of anything other than God's promises to the living while they are living. 


We make the decision to enter Heaven while we are living. Henry's funeral made that evident to us all. 


Prayer

Dear Lord, I praise you for Henry's life and death. Thank you for so many people thinking enough about him to attend the funeral and for the effect he had on others in his quiet, unassuming way.  

Photo by Rhodi Lopez

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