One of the questions I get asked often is whether or not it is a sin to be cremated. Usually, this is in response to a family member who has just passed that decided to be cremated or someone contemplating their own plans for burial. Certainly, cremations are becoming more popular now with the rising cost of a traditional burial. One of the local funeral directors just confirmed that for me in a recent discussion with him last week. Should a Christian make arrangements for being cremated after their death? Is that even a biblical option? Does it really matter?
The first thing I do when I get such questions is to reassure the person asking that what happens to their loved ones body or what will happen to their own body has no bearing whatsoever on where the person’s soul will spend eternity. What one does with Jesus by God’s grace determines that. Not what takes place to their body in life or in death. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Not by preserving or destroying our body. And having one’s body scattered into ashes will have no effect on the new resurrected body he or she will receive at the return of the Lord because God can easily bring all of those ashes back together again, regardless of where they may be at that moment. I like how Richard Phillips put it when he wrote, "We may trust God, who made everything out of nothing, to sort out the molecules when it comes to the coming resurrection of our bodies." And God will need to do so anyway for someone whose body may have been destroyed in a fire or blown up in an explosion as well as for believers who were burned at the stake for their faith many years ago. Depending on how long it is until the Lord’s return, most believers’ body will have be transformed from decay and decomposition, even with all the embalming that has been done and the preservation in a nice casket. Part of the curse is that as man was created from dust and dirt, to dust and dirt we will return in death (Genesis 3:19). The issue is over whether we should speed up that process with the burning of our bodies or allow God to naturally have it take place. So, don’t worry or stress out over the condition of your loved one who may have been cremated. If they knew the Lord through faith in Him, they are fine now and will be just as fine when it comes to the resurrection of their body on the day of Christ’s return. The cremation itself makes no difference as to that.
With all this said, I do think that a proper burial best fits the practice, pattern, and picture we are given in Scripture regarding death and the future hope of our resurrection in Christ. Much better than is communicated with cremation. My goal here is not to make anyone feel bad or guilty due to decisions that have already been made for those in their families but to help us think through and consider how Scripture may direct us in this matter. Perhaps to help some of you who may be considering cremation or wondering if you should. Or to equip you in answering this question about cremation whenever you may get asked it. If nothing else, you will understand why it is I typically counsel and encourage burial over cremation, even if you wind up disagreeing with me about it.
When it comes to what was done to one’s body after death in the Bible, we see early on Abraham purchasing a plot of land to bury the body of his beloved Sarah after she had died (Genesis 23:3-20). Later, Abraham himself is buried there by two of his sons, Isaac and Ishmael (25:8-10). Jacob buries Rachel following her death and puts a pillar over her tomb; an early gravestone (35:19-20). Esau and Jacob bury their father, Isaac, in the family grave site which Abraham had bought, where Jacob also requests to be buried at as well (v. 29; 50:29-32). Then, we have Joseph who makes his people pledge to take his bones with them to the land of Canaan when God would fulfill His word to bring them back to the land He has promised to give them. He has himself embalmed and place in a coffin there in Egypt until that time (50:24-26). Such showed his faith in God to keep this promise (Hebrews 11:22). Sure enough, Moses takes Joseph’s bones with him in the exodus (Exodus 13:19) and they are buried in Shechem once the people had been brought back to the promised land of Canaan (Joshua 24:32). God Himself even buries Moses’ body instead of consuming it with fire (Deuteronomy 34:5-6). And we can’t neglect the care and burial of our Lord’s body after His death. Rather than having His body cast aside in the burning heap as was common at that time, Joseph of Arimathea offers up his own tomb for it to be laid in, wrapping it in a clean linen shroud (Matthew 27:57-60). With such care and concern being shown to Jesus’ body after His death, what does that indicate about our own?
On the other side of things, we notice that the denial of a proper burial of the body and a burning of it was many times a sign of God’s judgment. The prophet Jeremiah speaks of “those pierced by the LORD on that day” who “shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall be dung on the surface of the ground” (Jeremiah 25:33). The Moabites are even punished by fire for their burning of the bones of the king of Edom (Amos 2:1-3). Others were burned up or consumed by the fire of God’s wrath (Numbers 11:1-3; 16:35) or commanded to be burned as a consequence for certain sins under the old covenant (Leviticus 20:14; 21:19). We’ve seen this recently in our study of Leviticus with Nadab and Abihu when they offered up “strange fire” to the Lord in their worship (10:1-3). Clearly, the practice and pattern of Scripture was a proper burial for one’s body. The burning of it not seen to be or treated as a positive thing. While there is not an explicit command for us not to burn our bodies in cremation or that we must properly bury them, I think the consistent practice and pattern we find throughout Scripture should factor into our own consideration of this. Furthermore, do we really want to subject a believer’s body to what has become a symbol of God’s wrath and anger, knowing that they have been graciously spared from such for eternity through their faith in Christ?
There is a respect and dignity shown in burying a person’s body rather than burning it as well. Just as you wouldn’t dream of intentionally mauling or harming a loved one’s body while they are alive, why would we want to do that to them once they are dead? It’s still very much their body. They are just temporarily separated from it. As I remind people during the committal part of a funeral service at the gravesite, this body is the one we got to know our deceased loved one through. The body we shared with, embraced, and kissed. The body of one we spent so much wonderful time with. Isn’t caring for that body and laying it to rest a way we can continue to express our love and respect for the person even after their death? And there is something about taking care and honoring the body God has given you even in your own death. Many of us for that matter could do better at doing such now in life with proper exercise, better eating habits, and avoiding those things which we know will do harm to our bodies. Don’t worry. I’m also talking to myself here! Ouch!
The burial of the body also communicates our faith and hope in the future resurrection of the body. The traditional words for the committal service from the Book of Common Prayer states, “Forasmuch as it hath pleased Almighty God of his great mercy to take unto himself the soul of our dear brother/sister here departed, we therefore commit his/her body to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust, in sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be like unto his glorious body, according to the mighty working, whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself.” The picture is that the body is being laid to rest until the day of it being physically awakened in resurrection at our Lord’s return. Both Jesus and Paul speak of the body being like a grain of seed planted in the ground to rise again to the same likeness with the flower that results from it (John 12:24; 1 Corinthians 15:37). Such a seed is buried, not burned. The metaphor the Bible often uses for the death of a believer is that of being asleep (Matthew 9:24; 1 Thessalonians 4:13). The body appears to be sleeping as it is buried in the ground lifeless with the hope that it will wake up in life with resurrection. Those pictures are lost with cremation and the destroying of the body into ashes. I mentioned Joseph earlier desiring to preserve his body in light of the coming fulfillment of God’s word to bring the people back to the promised land of Canaan. Likewise, there is a sense where we want to preserve our bodies in light of the coming fulfillment of God's promise of a future resurrection of the body. Just as that served as a demonstration of Joseph’s faith in God’s Word, a proper burial does for us as well.
I remember as a young 20 year old serving as an intern at a church for a summer while in college sitting with some ladies who were discussing their funeral plans. They each spoke of what kind of burial they wanted or if they desired to be cremated and what would happen to their ashes. When they came around to ask me my thoughts, I naively said, “I don’t care what is done with my body. I will be with Jesus. They could throw it over a bridge for what it mattered!” I now realize that it certainly does matter what happens to my body after my soul or spirit departs to be with Jesus awaiting its reunion with my renewed and transformed body on resurrection day. It matters to others who love and respect me both body and soul. It matters how I view and treat the body God has wisely designed for me and given me. And it matters as a witness to my faith in the future resurrection of my body promised by Jesus. It of course doesn’t matter as to where I will spend eternity or ultimately in that sense. We must always keep that in mind. However, I think these other matters should be considered and weighed when making such a decision as we seek to honor and respect the bodies the Lord has given us in both life and death.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Lee
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