Honoring the Dead

1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price. So glorify God in your body.

2 Kings 25:8-9 ESV

Nebuzaradan…a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. And he burned the house of the Lord…

Recent events have pushed the question upon us of what is an acceptable way to “dispose of” human remains? Even the question lends itself to a faulty understanding of the human condition. The question was not “how can we honor the dead?” or “how do are the bodies of our loved ones to be treated after they are separated from their souls?” Yes, framing the question is important. Which is the most accurate(biblical) understanding of the situation presented when a body lies separated from its soul? To say that the question is one merely of how to “dispose of human remains” is to assume that they need disposed of like trash and garbage, that there is no inherent difference between a human body and say a piece of wood.

Yet, Paul clearly outlines that a Christians body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Genesis tells us that man was created in God’s image (with body and spirit), nor did Jesus leave his body behind instead taking it up again, the resurrection of the dead is a hallmark of Christian doctrine and that resurrection is bodily (1 Cor. 15:12-19). How then are Christians to treat the temple of the Holy Spirit when the spirit is no longer present? How are Christians to honor half of the union that once was the imago dei (Image of God?

The recent events at the forefront are dual. The first is the rise in cremation services (last year the majority of Americans were not buried); the second is the rise of the new “greener” way that is liquification, the body is placed in an acid tank dissolved, (California recently became the 15^th state to outline the practice in law, Kansas already has).

The second text was chosen to bring to mind the sacking of the Temple of Solomon and then ask the question, is this how the temple of the Living God is to be treated by his servants? As Josephus is writing his history of the fall of Jerusalem he attempts to paint Titus in the best light by being opposed to the burning of the second temple and events simply getting out hand. The lack of burial and grave was seen as a curse on those it fell. Committing the body to the fire was seen as symbolic beginning on earth what would be completed in eternity, the immortal torment of the soul in the Lake of Fire, by the medieval church. Which it was reserved for those seen as already damned.

As biblical Christianity falls to the wayside, is not a burial the best way to stand and state what is believed of both the present and eternity? Standing over the body of our brothers and sisters as they are confined to the ground waiting in expectation of the day they will be reunited with that body as they greet their savior in the sky? Would this not also be the best way to show that mankind is inherently different from all of creation? To testify of the hope that lies within us, the hope of resurrection (not reincarnation) and the coming Christ, even in death?

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO

Groanings

Ezekiel 9:6

Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house.

Ezekiel is taken in a vision to Jerusalem where he is shown the overwhelming debauchery and idolatry of his nation. He is then allowed to see God’s judgment as quoted above and in light of what he has seen he makes no cry against the justice of the verdict. In the place one would look for the holiest and most pious people were found the greatest evil. This lead God to require the executioners to begin in his house. The severity of the judgment is great and terrible, even the “little children” are not spared the wages of their sin.

As one studies history it does not take long before they will come face to face with the evil of man. The depth of sin is great and looking into the well of history we find that it is beyond finding out. To this we see that even our children are trained to see evil as good and good as evil. As we studied the life of Tyndale in our evening service, all my little girl could think of was how evil the people were that would strangle and burn a man simple for translating the bible that others could read it. What do we say to this? Do we hide from reality and quote the modern mantra that “men are basically good” and “children are born innocent”? Christians cannot do this great evil and deny the reality and testimony of scripture and history. Men are evil from their earliest thought, “In sin did my mother conceive me”, and to be so foolish as to believe men are basically good when the news and history cry out the contrary is absurd and reckless.

No, Christians must dwell in the reality that God’s grace has restrained us from being as evil as we could be. It is on this grace that Christians lean. The Grace of God to touch such wicked hearts as ours and turn them that they may actually enjoy the light and long to see it every day. This then is the mark of Christ that he has put and that he will spare from the everlasting torment found in the Lake of Fire. In the day of Ezekiel God’s grace was so great that any who would simply “sigh and groan” at evil was spared the sentence. In a day when sin is celebrated in every media outlet, personal and public, and those not wishing to dance to fiddler’s tune are ostracized and ridiculed, I wonder how many in our churches even sigh and groan at the sin we see around us? Or are we simple sad to see our building deteriorate because no one comes to church anymore? Will we share the only antidote for the poison that has permeated every aspect of our being, the news that God has come and died that we might live?

Judgment begins with those closest, those who should know and don’t. As churches become “white washed tombs” for those who are losing influence in culture those who seek God must be a “holy people” who congregate and assemble, and buildings become holy because “a holy nation, a royal priesthood” gather in them. That the Gospel would be preached not only from our pulpits, but around our tables, our water coolers, our desks, our front porches, and every other place God has put us. Let us pray with the spirit for our nation and our people with “groanings too deep for words” that revival will come and “Who knows? God may turn and relent and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO

Absurdity

Jeremiah 44:7 ESV

And now thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel: Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves to cut off from you man and woman, infant and child, from the midst of Judah leaving you no remnant?

Jeremiah finds himself taken from Judah, after the destruction of Jerusalem, not by the Babylonian army who treated him well and let him decide to stay, but rather by his own people. Those who refused to submit to the Babylonians and instead chose to flee to Egypt despite God’s warnings through Jeremiah to the contrary. Once again Jeremiah finds himself called to preach and prophesy to those who give lip service to listening but in the end only are concerned with their own itching ears. This group not liking what he said chose to kidnap him and force him to live in Egypt.

After they have seen so much of God’s wrath, they persist in rebelling. They have seen the Jerusalem conquered twice and the temple sacked and burned. This then leads God and Jeremiah to the exasperated questioning. “Why do you commit this great evil against yourselves…” Two things of great significance in this question. Notice that it is the people killing themselves. Such is all sin. All sin is an attack on ourselves. Others may receive damages from our own sin, but no matter how private or public the sin. No matter how many are affected by it the first victim is ourselves! Just as Adam’s sin effected not just he and his wife, but also all their progeny and the natural world as well (climate change is a biblical issue!) and yet the first to feel the effects of sin were Adam and Eve.

The Second thing to be noted is that all sin, make absolutely no sense. The absolute bewilderment that God has at seeing the people persist in rebellion is understandable from our perspective, yet all sin, even losing my temper this morning, is as foolish and ridiculous as Israel’s. To this we must add our own bewilderment at what would cause men to cheat on their wives, murder 60 concert goers, run trucks into crowded streets, or women to murder the children in their wombs. The list of senseless sin is long because all sin is senseless when contrasted rightly with God’s majesty and grace.

Why do I persist then in committing this great evil against myself? In the end it is the same as the Israelites, I don’t want to acknowledge God as Lord, I want to be Lord. When I hold on to my sin time and again never truly repenting of losing my temper instead justifying it against “their” behavior instead of Christs death. I never see it as foolish and absurd as it rightly is. What sin are you holding onto? Failing time and again to conquer? Will you dare to look at your sin through the lens of scripture?

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO

He Will

Jeremiah 33:6 ESV

Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security. I will restore the fortunes of Judah and the fortunes of Israel, and rebuild them as they were at first. I will cleanse them from all the guilt of their sin against me, and I will forgive all the guilt of their sin and rebellion against me.

Jeremiah was called by God to proclaim to the people of Judah the inevitable fall of their country. The Country he loved. The temple he worshiped in from his youth. The farms he played in. All would be swept away by God. The wickedness of his society was such that its fall was truly inevitable. No righteous king could halt the march. King Josiah, in all his zeal, could only delay it a few years. The Prophets could only save a prepare a few souls for the captivity that would come to them. As Daniel and his friends had to be prepared to stand righteously in the court of debauchery.

Jeremiah is also called to sing this song to us as well. No, his message was not written to us but it was written for us, and for all who are called to watch their beloved nation sink into moral depravity. To all who are called to fight against the see of decay, so evident in what they love. In the heat of this sorrow God has given us the message. He will heal, he will restore, he will rebuild, he will cleanse, he will forgive. Not only is he the one that must pass the sentence and execute justice on his people, in all his greatness he also fixes, heals, and restores.

Notice in these verses who the primary actor is. Ezra, Nehemiah, and the host of others are not the primary actors in healing and rebuilding the nation. God is. They function as the tools and hands God is using but God is the primary actor, and his will is the primary will. Even as we face uncertain days and perilous times, know that God will restore in his time.

As Augustine was called to watch Rome fall and in his grief, was able to articulate The City of God. We are called to endure difficult circumstance but in it God gives us great opportunity to bless generations we will never know. Let us not be overwhelmed by what was but let us look to the future. And overwhelm the present with the power, majesty, and grace of our loving lord. That we might be overwhelmed by him in eternity.

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO

Inquire

Jeremiah 21:1-2 ESV

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, “Inquire of the Lord for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to all his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.”

The hymnist, William Cowper, tells us that “Behind a frowning providence Faith sees a smiling face” and this truth bore fruit not only in Cowper’s life but more importantly in the biblical text. As Jeremiah is given the task of prophesying to a generation that not only rejects God’s message but is also willing to “shoot the messenger” as well. The previous chapter ends with Jeremiah pleading with God asking why he was allowed to leave his mother’s womb wishing he had simply died there!

He was brought to that point by the abuse he had suffered at the hands of his people and at the hands of Pashhur. The very man sent by Zedekiah to inquire of Jeremiah is the same that begins chapter twenty by beating him when he heard his prophesy. God’s smile holds something of Irony as Haman was forced to lead Mordecai through the streets so too is Pashhur required to come to Jeremiah. As Pashhur has already rejected the message of God from Jeremiah he is required to ask to hear it again!

This is what reveals the two-faced nature of Zedekiah and his kingdom. Even as he acknowledges God’s use of Jeremiah, as seen here and later in his care for his life during the siege, he persists in rejecting the message from him. This helps us to see that he is looking for blessing on his decisions not for help in making those decisions. “It’s good to be king” and he is unwilling to acknowledge that he isn’t King, God is.

Christians often fail to inquire of God. I often remember fasting to “get direction” from God on what course of action to take. Yet, to truly inquire we must listen. We must listen not to our own sinful hearts but to the words of scripture. I am easily manipulated by the latest movie or a three-year old’s quivering lip and tear stained face, that doesn’t make my hearts inclination right! We must continually conform or hearts and minds to the words of scripture. We must do the ground work of weeks, months, and years poured over God’s word that we might be prepared to listen. Zedekiah and Pashhur already knew God’s answer they simply went looking blessing on their evil action. This is what is called proof texting. When people scour the scripture to find support for actions they know are wrong but they want to be right.

Even as Josiah responded not to Prophecy but to the written word of God. Recognizing the sinful behavior of his people and the just penalty it would require. His son rejects both the written Law and the condemnation of God’s Prophet. He had already determined his path, have you already determined yours? Recognize that in our age we have the “Moses and the prophets” to correct us and shape us. If these aren’t enough to give you direction then you will never listen “even if someone should rise from the dead.”

CRUCE, DUM SPIRO, FIDO