83 Five things not to say at funerals

A few years ago I wrote a poem about the verbs (or lack of) you see in obituary notices. . . “departed this world,” “entered his eternal rest,” “asleep with the angels.” Some poor souls simply “passed” and some died “at home” without a verb to give them comfort and direction. It appeared to me that the Baptists and Pentecostals had the best verbs. So when I saw the title, “Five things you should not say at funerals,” I thought perhaps it was about the cheap grace sometimes offered grieving family, such as “he’s in a better place.”

However, Jeff Gibbs, the author is a pastor with some twenty plus years of experience. Gibbs approach is not humorous, it is theological. You can read the entire article online, but here are his five theological gaffs made in funeral meditations.

1. “[He] has received the crown of righteousness, and he has heard the Lord say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’” No, actually, he hasn’t--not yet.

2. “[She] has now entered into eternal life.” . . .both diminishes the significance of Holy Baptism and effectively eliminates the creedal hope of “the resurrection of the dead and the life of the age to come.”

3. “[He] has gone to his eternal home.” The hope Paul refers to in 2 Cor 5:1-10 concerns the resurrection body that will be given to him and to all believers. The Holy Spirit is the bridge between this mortal existence and that immortal, resurrection life.

4. “[She] is with the Lord now forever.” Makes our bodily resurrection an after-thought. Things will change on the Last Day also for the dead--they will be raised and in that condition, “we will always be with the Lord.”

5. “This is not a funeral--it’s [his] victory celebration!” You wouldn’t say this at a funeral of a child, or a young mother . . . death, even of a Christian, is always and only a sign that sin has not yet fully been abolished by the Lord Jesus Christ. Death does separate the deceased from those who love him, but does not separate the deceased from the love of God in Christ.

Gibbs concludes that “in the face of death the pastor must proclaim the Good News of God’s solution to sin and all its effects. And God’s solution for bodily death is bodily resurrection! The resurrection of Jesus [which we have just celebrated] is the first fruits of the final resurrection on the Last Day--and this is very good news indeed for all who are in Christ Jesus.”