There is a certain place in life where life on earth is no more. For those past saints (and sinners), life is in a new format. And, in Christian Theology, a new body and new format of life is yet to come. In between there is a blessed time together with Jesus, but certainly a longing for a reunion with both others and our bodies.
That is the type of thought that makes a Sunday funeral worth considering. For the years of my ministry and time involved in the church, I can’t remember going to a Sunday funeral.
Today, in a sense, is a new beginning for me. I will conduct a funeral service where we will inter a body in the ground with a sense that on resurrection day, that person will have a new body.
This is all based on the resurrection of Jesus – celebrated each Sunday in our services. While other faiths may concentrate on a Friday or Saturday or another day of the week (and our own Christian writers tell us to be sure we don’t turn the day of the week into an idol), Christians use Sunday to remind us that Christ is risen.
And because he is risen, we too have a confident hope that we will arise to a reunion with Christ and others.
A great message for a funeral service taking place this afternoon. I’m looking forward to this!!