By Ezekiel Nabieu
The subject of death and funerals is not a pleasant one though it is inevitable. Immortal readers are well advised not to read this piece. Funerals to appease the living rather than the dead are being eternally carried out in several ways even if the living are obstructed.
It is an axiom that there are just two certainties in life – death and taxes – but that is not true. With the right deductions and a good accountant millionaires have managed to avoid paying any taxes at all. But everyone including millionaires and paupers will face the ultimate certainty: death. Christians are not immune to the fear of death. Death is not always a “beautiful release” but an “enemy” which separates. There is a certain mystery to it. It does not respect the young or the old, the good or the evil, the Christian or the atheist.
If you knew the moment and manner of your death in advance would you order your life differently? If so when would you do it? Right now or would you wait until the day before? And then what would you do to right the mistakes you made during your life?
Unfortunately no one, expect a suicide bomber, knows the day or the hour of their death, which is why it is best in the words of the scout motto, to “be prepared”.
Death is so often accompanied by those heartbreaking questions: "Why me? Why now? Why this? Why must we die? The Bible says: “It is appointed unto men once to die". (Hebrews 9:27). It is the most democratic of all experiences. Over 400 years ago the English author John Heywood noted “Death makes equal the high and low”. We can fight it, and the will to fight it is instinctive. We can even avoid it for a time, and common sense allows us that privilege. We can plead, argue and bargain but death is the one universal enemy defeated by Jesus Christ. Death ultimately intrudes into our well-planned lives and changes things around absolutely.
We want to deny death. We cover our awkwardness around the subject by speaking of the deceased as if they did not die. "They departed this life” we say. "He passed away" or "He’s gone up yonder” etc. The fact that the body is now in the ground and the soul of the deceased has departed is more than we like to admit.
Today we are confronted with so many voices telling us how to live. We are told how to look young, stay trim, keep healthy, have a good image, think positively, make more money, have more friends etc. All these are reasonable ambitions but they indicate that we are trying desperately to cling to this present world. The truth is that life is transitory. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanish. (James 4:14b). The psalmist said, "Each man’s life is but a breath" (Psalm 39:5). If we want to make the most of life we need to face the fact that it is going to end.
Can we afford to ignore the warnings of our ultimate “enemy”? We need to break the conspiracy of silence about the subject with biblically sound, realistic approach. Years ago there was a popular play called Death takes a Holiday. The idea was provocative and made good drama with its impossible theme. Death never takes a holiday in our lives. It has only been defeated by Jesus Christ enabling others who believe in him to defeat death also.
Adolescents are notorious for denying the reality of death. It is naturally the farthest things from their minds. In the vigour of youth they take life for granted but all of us take life for granted when times are good, when there is plenty, and when things are getting better. Death is the last thing on our minds when we have full stomachs. But let a person who is reasonably intelligent ponder slightly on the reality of death and that person will be on their way for an existential crisis. “Who am I?" “Why am I here?” "Where am I going from here?” Incidentally three of our national figures have died in their primes namely S.A.J Musa, Sam Bockarie and Tom Nyuma fulfilling the biblical diction that states: “Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong…”(Eccle. 9:11)
FUNERALS
This article has been desperately captioned that way to assuage the anguish of those with a morbid fear of death. Funerals are an integral part of completing the death process. But many things have been going wrong with the orthodox process including traffic obstruction.
The pomp of funerals with costly obsequies feeds rather the vanity of the living than does honour to the dead. Whatever is bestowed on the dead is no aid to salvation and this includes lying sermons as to rattle the coffin lid. They are of no consequences to the dead. Man goes to his long home and the mourners go about the streets.
In any case people should be treated with all respect and rites of burial. This has lately not been the case in certain Christian funeral processions. The recent fad has been for some so-called mourners to sprinkle powder on their acquaintances and friends or to plaster them with blue in a carnival atmosphere when the elderly die. Appreciably this reprehensible Act is being increasingly discouraged by priests. Dancing around with coffins is also being powered upon. As a result that Act of desecrations during funeral processions is being virtually amended.
All I describe for my own burial is not to be buried alive.
(C) Politico 06/03/14
