Thought for Today
Genesis 49:29 "I am about to be gathered to my people. Bury me with my ancestors-- in the cave in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 30 in the cave in the field at Machpelah, near Mamre, in the land of Canaan, in the field that Abraham bought from Ephron the Hittite as a burial site.
Mark 14:8 She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial.
John 17:40 They took the body of Jesus and wrapped it with the spices in linen cloths, according to the burial custom of the Jews.
Greta and I just returned home from a funeral, burial and mercy meal. “In the Greek Orthodox and Catholic religions, a mercy meal is offered after the burial service. The mercy meal is an informal event that allows the family to gather and celebrate the deceased's life with one another. It's very similar to a funeral repast offered by other religions.” The funeral was a Catholic mass held in a beautiful church in our area. The burial plot was in the cemetery where our youngest grandchild is buried and where Greta and I will someday be buried.
Roman Catholic funerals are quite different from most Protestant funerals I have led or attended. Just as is the case with worship services, Catholic funerals have more elaborate liturgy than do our Protestant funerals. From my own perspective, it is not a matter of right or wrong, correct or incorrect, merely different.
Just as is the issue of which Bible to be used is more a matter of difference than anything else. The Catholic Bible is based on a translation into Latin by Jerome in the late 14th century, the Vulgate Bible. Most Protestants use a translation based on the King James Version originally published in 1611. My own presentation Bible, given to me when I was baptized and made my public confession of faith, is a Revised Standard Version. The Bible in general use within both the denominations I serve is the New Revised Standard Version. Which Bible is the best? The Bible you will and do read is the best. Each has its assets and liabilities.
The issue with funeral services and Bibles is more a question of which format serves you best. At heart, both the funeral service and the scripture used function to assist, improve and aid the user. Funerals are for the grieving family, not for the deceased. Like the Bible, the funeral service is an aid to help the living process and deal with life and death. The deceased today, her husband and many of her friends and family are Roman Catholic. It was proper and important for her to have a Roman Catholic funeral. She was a faithful Roman Catholic in life and should be ushered into eternity via a Roman Catholic funeral mass.
Today, one of the scriptures offered was from the Gospel of John, “14:2 In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” I am always reminded by this passage that there truly are “many dwelling places” in God’s house. Some are Roman Catholic, some Protestant, some other Christian denominations, but all equally dwelling places in God’s house. And, it is proper that each of us should have a service reflecting the traditions of the faith to which we have adhered and faithfully practiced in life.
I am also reminded of those words of Paul to the Ephesians, “4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all. 7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ's gift.” I believe that the word ‘one’ in Paul’s words reminds us of our common belief in Jesus, the Christ.
Roman Catholic, Protestant or any other Christian faith tradition, we all share that one belief in Jesus as the Only Begotten Son of God, the promised Kinsman Redeemer, the Messiah, the Christ. Whether we ‘debt’ or ‘trespass’ when we pray, we pray the same Lord’s Prayer to the same one God and Father of all. I’ve mentioned before my seminary professor who spoke of the beautiful rainbow of different ways we all worship the same God. Today, Greta and I saw that rainbow.
Stay safe, worship God, trust God,
Pastor Ray