Funeral Preparation
It has been far too long since I last brought up the important topic of funeral preparation. That can seem somewhat of a morbid topic to bring up, yet, if you think about it, it shouldn’t be. After all, from the moment we are born, we are in the process of dying. It is only a matter of time. Our death could happen decades away. It could happen today. Only the Lord knows for sure the day and hour of our departure from this veil of tears.
What more, as Christians, we know that we in fact have already been killed and raised up unto true eternal life with Christ in the power of His resurrection! In the blessed waters of our baptism, we were connected to His death and rising unto New Life. We were born again from death unto true living, with the very Life of God the Son flowing within us and through us. So death is not as distant to us as it may seem.
We have an eternal perspective to life, knowing that we are only traveling through this world as pilgrims, heading toward our lasting permanent home in heaven with our Lord. We know that this world and the stuff in it will not last and that we are intent on building up our treasure where thief, rust and moth cannot touch it. We know that our Lord is coming back, and could do so at any moment, calling us to Himself. We know that He could call us to Himself through the doorway of death at the very next lack of a heartbeat. And so we live expectantly, and wisely.
That said, there is another aspect that we can take care of that is of loving service to our family and friends, and that is to relieve them of much of the painful and difficult decision making that takes place with funeral planning. So often, most of these very hard decisions have to be made within a very short period of time, and during a time when the pain and sense of loss and separation make it very difficult to make such decisions.
This is where you can help by taking time and making the effort to do some initial planning, now! Do you have a will? Many folks, especially those in their twenties or thirties do not think of this. Of course, if you do not have a will, the state will helpfully distribute your assets as they see fit, of course after taking a healthy lump for themselves. If you haven’t done so, get your will written and notarized, remembering especially to care for your children not only physically, but remembering their spiritual care as well (this is a good time to remember their Baptismal sponsors, to include some statement for the sponsor’s involvement in the spiritual training of your children as they promised). It also is a good time to see that gifts the Lord gave you in life are continued to be used to the spreading of His Kingdom. Think of ways that you can use your earthly treasure not only for your family but also His Church. Perhaps endowments or gifts to one of our Seminaries or colleges, or a gift to the church.
Have you made arrangements for burial with a funeral home? Do you have a plot picked out? A casket? These are things that you can do now, again relieving your family of these painful decisions. Most funeral homes are very happy to make these arrangements with you now, and in fact, can arrange pre-payment plans or fixed fee plans where the costs are fixed at today’s rates. Funeral expenses can be high, and it is good to have these already covered or planned for with adequate life insurance. Again, this is to be thought of and acted on out of love for your family. You will be fine, enjoying the bliss of heaven, they are the ones left in pain and loss. It is good to plan ahead and relieve them of some of their pain.
Have you thought through the funeral service arrangements? Though I will already do most of the planning and work for you, it can be a great relief to the family if you have already made your wishes known as far as preferences toward hymns, music, readings, etc. Your funeral is an incredible opportunity to proclaim God’s message of salvation in the midst of death. It is a powerful moment to proclaim hope and life in the midst of extreme sorrow and pain. With thoughtful planning, your funeral can be your last and best proclamation of the Hope that is within you to your family and friends. If you are not sure what would be the best hymns and scripture passages to do this, I am always happy to discuss it with you. Just give me call and we’ll go over it together. We even have some planning kits from local funeral homes that help in this task and which can give us a record of your wishes that we can put in your file and ready to access when the time comes, decades from now, or today.
Of course, the greatest planning you can do, and greatest help is to daily be living in and shining the Love of God in Christ and the hope of eternal life that is yours to those around you. Daily dying and rising in the waters of your baptismal hope and living in Christ Jesus today, and every day. Christ is Risen. He is Risen Indeed. And so are you in Him!
Pastor Reiser
