The Importance Of Funerals In The Christian Context
The basis for Christian faith is the second coming of Jesus Christ, who is God’s son. Further, Christians think that at the moment of their deaths, judgment will be passed on the acts they have done while they were still alive. They believe that it is through their deeds that they will be worthy of staying in the kingdom of God. The teachings of Jesus Christ are the guiding principles that Christians strive to live by in their daily lives.
For Christians, a funeral service signifies the start of the soul’s journey to the life after death. Funeral services and ceremonies are alleviating, because of the positive belief that the departed soul has at last found an eternal home in God’s abode.
Christians view death as an exit from the world of pain and an entry into the world of everlasting bliss. That the soul is enjoying heavenly bliss and is residing with God Himself is a relieving thought that absorbs the severity of the shock that death brings to the family members. The Christian funeral rituals are organized with the same spirit.
Usually, a Christian funeral service is conducted by the pastor. They are generally held at the church which the deceased used to visit during his or her lifetime. Usually no casket is used in the service, but sometimes there are exceptions to this, especially when the service is conducted inside a funeral home. A traditional Christian funeral service does not include public viewing of the deceased at the time of ceremony.
The proceedings in such a funeral service are similar to a memorial, in which devotional hymns and prayers are sung and lines from the Bible are read out loud. After this comes a short elocution from the pastor and then a mass prayer by people who have assembled there.
After that comes the time of contemplation and sharing grief by friends and family members, when the people gathered voice their feelings about the dead person and tell how the person has influenced them and has left a deep impression. Some people also opt for doing a visual display of pictures of the deceased or play a recorded video from the life of the deceased.
The final phase in the ceremony is that of a brief reception that is held inside the church itself and some food is served. People do not go for a graveside service usually, but some families that make an exception to this.
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September 15th, 2011 at 12:24 am
Thank you so much for your hard work \^3^/!!!!