Weeping is temporary

There is an answer to the question which the angels and Jesus asked Mary Magdalene. Their question was not sarcastic. She was weeping because she thought Jesus was dead and his body stolen. Jesus himself wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus. (John 11:35) That tells us that we need not be ashamed of or hide our tears. In this life, we have many good reasons to weep: death, love not returned, natural disasters, mistakes and failures, chronic pain, injustice.

Before I begin a funeral, I advise the family about to walk behind the urn or casket in the procession: you will have two contradictory emotions during the coming hour. One will be sadness because you will not be able to talk to your loved one again in this life. The other emotion is joy because you know that God is stronger than death. Jesus conquered death when he rose from the dead on Easter Day. That is why Christians are able to sing at a funeral.

If you go to a cemetery today, feel free to weep, but also bring along a hymn book and sing an Easter hymn.

Spirit of Jesus, put faith in our hearts so that we will be able to sing even in a cemetery or at a funeral. Amen. — DAR