A Christian Funeral Service or A “Celebration of Life” Service?
I humbly suggest there should be a funeral service of witness to the resurrection of Christ to help us grieve properly, and hope substantively, knowing that Christ has indeed defeated death. While our hearts are tender and our minds are anxious with the thought of being without one we love, the message of a certain resurrection to come-as promised and proven by Christ- is exactly what is needed.
The recent funeral activities for the longtime Queen of England prompted me to address the importance of the Christian practice of grieving the loss of loved ones as a church community. In particular, the increasingly common American evangelical practice of conducting a “Celebration of Life” service rather than a funeral service provokes this brief article.
Historically, Christian funeral services make the truth of the gospel and the resurrection of Christ the focus and hope for those understandably and rightly grieving the death of a loved one. Such a service declares Christian truth in the face of our worst enemy- death. It prompts those attending to consider their own mortality. Such a service does not shy away from grief, but rather helps us to grieve with hope. The body of the deceased (normally) being present, does not allow us to color coat the reality of what sin has brought and none of us will escape unless Christ returns first. The declaration of God’s Word meets our grief with gospel surety and a future hope. One leaves a true Christian funeral service having been helped to mourn properly and more focused on Christ. When we think of the deceased, we are comforted knowing they are alive together with Christ. We even find joy in the midst of sorrow knowing there will be a reunion of believers in the not too distant future. We will have plenty of time to remember past interactions with our departed loved one as the months and years unfold (indeed, we should make remembering them a regular part of our lives going forward), but the funeral service is about Christ first and the certainty we find in Him.
So called “celebrations of life” cannot help but focus on the person who died more than anything else. Such services are relatively recent inventions that probably come from (at least partially) a desire to avoid the reality, ugliness, and finality of death, hence the name of the service. Though well-intentioned, such services often become embellishments of the person who died, laden with sentimentality and emotionalism. Grieving is not usually a real part of such services, in fact, a sort of “the person wouldn’t want us to be sad” message is given. It’s almost like such services try to suspend grief. “Bob wouldn’t want us to be crying and sad right now,” is the kind of vibe that is often given by such services. I suggest, if Bob would actually want to pause from his heavenly, contented basking in the glorious presence of Christ, he would tell us something like, “Who cares that I taught theater, told corny jokes, and was a good cook? Believe and praise the risen Christ! I am alive in glory because of Him!” I suspect Bob would exhort us to have a funeral service of witness to the resurrection of Christ in response to his departure, not a celebration of his life, as such. There will be plenty of time and occasions to memorialize Bob and think of his contributions to our lives. However, immediately after his death, enroute to burial, I humbly suggest there should be a funeral service of witness to the resurrection of Christ to help us grieve properly, and hope substantively, knowing that Christ has indeed defeated death. While our hearts are tender and our minds are anxious with the thought of being without one we love, the message of a certain resurrection to come-as promised and proven by Christ- is exactly what is needed.
Whatever we might call a service for a Christian loved one who died:
- Christ should be the focus.
- Grieving is proper, necessary, and OK.
- Any “celebration” should be about Christ’s victory over the grave, and people should leave thinking of Christ more than the deceased.
But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep (1 Thessalonians 4:13–14).
Dr. Anthony J. Felich is a Minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is Pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Overland Park, Kansas.
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Remembering Who You Are Matters; How We Emphasise What We Are Matters More
Whilst we still sin and thus evidently are still sinners, we are more fundamentally holy and righteous in the sight of God, children adopted into Jesus’ sonship, indwelt and empowered by the Holy Spirit…When we remember and recall that is who we truly are now, I suspect we will be encouraged into living in line with what we are rather than being harangued into avoiding living in line with what we once were.
I wrote the other day (or, rather, re-posted) an article about not being afraid to repeat ourselves. The reason for the need to repeat ourselves—other than that people often haven’t heard us the first time—is that we are so prone to forget. We have been going through Deuteronomy recently and a repeated theme is the need to repeat the covenant because Israel are liable to forget it otherwise. It is a point made again and again—Deuteronomy has no problem repeating itself!
The key to not forgetting is to keep repeating. That is why Israel were told to keep reminding each other of the basic covenant stipulations, particularly the Shema. The most important fact about Israel was that Yahweh was their God and they were his people. This is the truth they were to keep repeating—when they get up and go to bed, in the house and out the house, in the city and out the city, with your family, friends and strangers—remember that you worship Yahweh alone. He is your God and you are his people.
The reason for landing on that so hard, and repeating it ad nauseam, is because Israel will ultimately act in line with what they are. If they remember they belong to God alone and they are his special covenant people, they are more likely to act as though they belong to God and are his covenant people. Knowing who they really are leads to acting like what they really are. Functioning as God’s covenant people was not about trying harder so much as remembering who they already are.
The same principle holds for God’s people today. The key to the Christian life is not trying harder to be better. It is fundamentally about remembering who we are in Christ. We worship God alone and we are his people. We are united to Christ and all that is his now belongs to us by faith.
More often than not, however, people in my tradition—theologically and soteriologically reformed people—land hard on something else. We tend to emphasise that we are sinners. And, of course, we are sinners by nature. The Bible is clear that all people are dead in their trespasses and sins. It is only in and through the person of Jesus Christ we can be forgiven for those sins. When we come to trust in Jesus—as Luther helpfully put it—we are simultaneously justified and yet sinners. Our sin is not eliminated in reality even if it is truly and properly forgiven, making us justified in God’s sight. And so we continue to hear an awful lot about sin.
But as I said, the Christian life is fundamentally about remembering who we are. Whilst we are still sinners, inasmuch as we still sin, when we have put our trust in Jesus that is no longer our core identity. Our fundamental identity is now our righteous standing in Christ. Let’s put it this way: stood before the throne of God, what is going to be the essential assessment of our lives? That we were sinners? Or, that we are united to Christ? Surely the latter. The Father, fundamentally, views us as those who are righteous in Christ, not fundamentally as sinners.Related Posts:
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Clothes for Christmas
Every “bad” thing is purposed for our spiritual growth. The things that fill our lives, our closets, our pantries, our agendas that we appreciated to a degree become consecrated through our new eyes of faith to see the hand of our God who gave them to us. We learn to give thanks in all things, even for the shirts and socks and winter jacket.
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. (Rom. 8:28, NKJV)
There it sat. Too big to fit under the twinkling Christmas tree, but glittering right there beside it. A brand new, shiny red Schwinn bicycle, the Cadillac of bikes in its day. I was thrilled. But when it came to my other presents – shirts, socks, a winter jacket – not so much. I may have been alone in my disappointment in receiving clothes for Christmas, but I doubt it.
This was in a day when parents would wait until Christmas to buy things for their children. “Maybe you’ll get that for Christmas,” was their tease. The prospect certainly tided me over. The wait made it special. Involved was more than a present; it was a dance.
That’s not the way our heavenly Father has ever approached His gift giving. Jesus reminds us that our Father gives us good gifts if we ask Him (Matt. 7:11). And He doesn’t just wait until Christmas. Every day is filled with good things from the hand of our God. We need only open our eyes to behold His mercies morning by morning, each sunrise revealing an array of blessings.
Moreover, God’s gift giving not only pertains to some things; it extends to all things. Paul explains: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28). The lives of God’s children are filled with indications of His presence, waiting to be unwrapped through the eyes of faith.
This notion that all things are good might cause us to scratch our heads, especially when we consider how many bad things sometimes happen in our day. Clothes for Christmas might have been a bad thing to a young me, but at least I had a good thing or two to make up for it.
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Misquoting Jeremiah: A Christmas Post
The words of these two women encourage us that our holy God offers salvation, and He cares for the lowly. Jesus Christ, “who became to us wisdom from God,” was born under the lowliest of circumstances to bring us that salvation, and therefore, “righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (cf. 1 Cor. 10:30–31).
With Christmas approaching, it’s timely to reflect on Mary’s expression of praise in Luke 1:46–56, known as the Magnificat. Drawing heavily upon Old Testament texts, Mary praises God for His good favor towards her and towards His people in sending Jesus. It’s not a “patchwork quilt from Old Testament texts,” (205) but there are plausible connections between Mary’s words and texts, such as Psalm 34, 35, 89, and 103. Reading through the Advent section of Daily Scripture: 365 Readings in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin by Jacob Cerone and Matthew Fisher brought to my attention what is perhaps the strongest connection OT connection, and it’s found between the Magnificat and Hannah’s prayer, in which she praised God for giving her a son (1 Sam. 2:1–10).
Similarities between the two expressions of praise are visible beginning with each woman’s opening words. Hannah says, “My heart exults in the Lord” (cf. 1 Sam. 2:1). Mary says, “My soul magnifies the Lord” (cf. Luke 1:46). Hannah rejoices in the Lord’s salvation (cf. 1 Sam. 2:1), and Mary rejoices in God her Saviour (cf. Luke 1:47). Hannah says no one is holy like the Lord (cf. 1 Sam. 2:2); Mary says the Lord’s name is holy (cf. Luke 1:49). In 1 Samuel 2:7–8, Hannah speaks of God humbling the rich and exalting the lowly. In Luke 1:51–52, Mary says God brings down the mighty and exalts those of humble estate.
I was recently comparing Mary’s Magnificat to the Septuagint version of Hannah’s prayer. Experts estimate an early 2nd century BC date for the Greek translation of 1 Samuel (129). And, generally speaking, the text closely follows the Hebrew Masoretic text, but there are some differences (247). And one of these differences appears at the end of Hannah’s prayer.
First Samuel 2:10, as we find it in our English Bible, reads:
The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven.
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