Proper Burial

Proper Burial

 Mourning is not enjoyable,

but it is valuable!

   

When Sarah died,

Abraham mourned.

I marvel at our God-given ability

to express emotions. 

We can laugh until we cry

and we can grieve till we cry.

Emotions are a part of us.

Emotions are a good servant.

They help us recognize life

is more than a mechanical event.

But emotions can be a bad master.

They can keep us from having

a healthy, functional life.

When we lose a loved one

it is healthy, natural and normal to mourn.

Tears are a sign of honor.

 The fact that someone meant enough to you

to cry over your loss

is a beautiful tribute of honor.

Life on earth should have meaning.

Therefore, when a life has been well lived,

we should celebrate it.

There has been a lot of changes

to the way we handle death.

We can find in the Bible

 where the people mourned thirty days.

Not too many years ago,

the normal visitation time was two days

with the funeral on the third day.

Now we find some are opting for visitation

for an hour or two,

then the funeral all in the same day.

I am afraid we can sometimes be

too busy to mourn;

too busy to take the time to reflect

on a life well lived.

When my Mother passed in 2009,

I spent a lot of time reflecting on her life.

I was somewhat surprised

by those who came to pay their respect.

As they shared

how Mom had touched their lives,

I realized, in a new way,

the value of her life.

Mourning is a valuable part of a balanced life.

Scripture Reading

Genesis 23:1-2 NIV

23:1 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old.

2 She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron)

in the land of Canaan,

and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah

and to weep over her.

John 11:1-36 NIV

32 When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him,

she fell at his feet and said,

"Lord, if you had been here,

my brother would not have died."

33 When Jesus saw her weeping,

and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping,

he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.

34 "Where have you laid him?" he asked.

"Come and see, Lord," they replied.

35 Jesus wept.

36 Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"