Rev. David Holwick ZH Questions People Ask series
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
November 3, 2002
1 Corinthians 15:35-44
ASHES TO ASHES
I. WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU WHEN YOU DIE?
A. Bombs away...
Seattle, Washington. May 24, 2002.
A Cessna 182 flew over the stadium and dropped an object.
It crashed into the stands and spewed white powder everywhere.
The Mariners game was halted and 45,000 fans were immediately
evacuated.
Worried officials called the Hazardous Materials team.
The fire department was concerned it was another September 11
attack.
It wasn't. It was a dead man's ashes.
Apparently the bag the ashes were in failed to open properly.
Allen Kenitzer, a spokesman for the U.S. Federal Aviation
Administration, commented:
"I guess the deceased was a big Seattle Mariners fan."
#17322
B. So many options...
1) Cyrogenics and frozen heads.
2) Ray Bradbury had his ashes sent into Earth orbit.
3) Ed Headrick had his ashes molded into a Wham-O Frisbee.
[No joke - he was the inventor.]
He said the Frisbee is really a religion - 'Frisbyterians'
they call themselves.
When they die, they don't go to purgatory.
They just land up on the roof and lay there.
#17857
4) Celeste likes idea of being turned into jewelry for
the kids. (ashes are pressurized into diamonds)
C. Burial seems almost passe. Cremation is where it's at.
D. Overriding issues:
1) Which option is best for grieving families?
2) Which option best honors God and affirms Christian teaching?
3) How we honor the dead matters a great deal.
II. CREMATION IS ON A ROLL.
A. It is an increasing popular option for the deceased.
1) From Kennedy to Kennedy.
When President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963,
the cremation rate in the U.S. was about 3 percent.
The Roman Catholic Church, of which Kennedy was a member,
had only two years earlier dropped its ban on cremation.
Catholic priests in the U.S. generally did not allow
cremated remains to be brought into church buildings for
a funeral mass.
Fast-forward to 1999, when John F. Kennedy Jr. was killed
in a plane crash.
He was cremated and had full Catholic services.
#17858
2) The actual statistics.
1963 - 3%
2002 - 25% (today)
2010 - 40%
3) Surprising number of people ask me about it.
B. Cremation is practical.
1) It is certainly cheaper.
a) Full funerals in this area easily cost $7,000.
b) Cremations can be as little as $700.
2) Cremation removes the concern about decay.
C. Less spiritual?
1) Some Christians have had issues about it.
2) Are their concerns valid?
III. HISTORY OF CREMATION.
A. Popular in ancient world.
1) Sometimes refers to live human sacrifice. (Old Testament)
2) Ritual burning of dead.
B. Jews and Christians chose burial.
1) Burial distinguished them from Greeks and Romans.
a) Only exceptions in Bible: Saul and Jonathan (mutilated).
1 Sam 31:12
b) Other kings had memorial briers, but weren't burned.
2 Chr 16:14
2) Christians won over the pagans to their way of burying.
As Christianity spread and eventually became the official
religion in the Roman Empire and elsewhere, Christian
burial practices spread as well.
The growing importance of saintly relics added more weight
to the tradition of careful preservation of the body.
When Christian missionaries encountered cultures with
different funerary practices, adoption of Christian
customs became a sign of changed allegiance.
For example, King Olaf Haraldsson of Norway is credited
(posthumously) with the conversion of his people to
Christianity in the eleventh century.
After his death his body was hidden in sand, dug up, and
reburied by newly pious members of a culture whose
folklore celebrated funeral pyres.
(Christian History magazine called his story, "Dead Man
Converting.")
#17858
IV. WHY CREMATE?
A. Fire is a positive symbol - purification and holiness.
B. Burial is not important in the Bible.
1) Burial is never commanded for Christians, and cremation
is not condemned.
2) Jesus gave little attention to disposing of the dead.
a) "Let dead bury their dead." Matthew 8:22
b) He made negative references to "whitewashed tombs."
3) The Apostle Paul viewed the body as a temporary abode.
a) Only a living body is a temple of God.
b) Bodies are compared to tents.
C. Cremation only speeds the natural process. Gen 3:19
1) We return to dust anyway - cremation is just faster.
2) All believers will be resurrected, no matter what happens
to their bodies.
D. Non-religious issues.
1) Cost is not an inconsequential concern.
a) Traditional funerals can be very materialistic.
b) Also, land requirements.
(Arlington, where my parents will rest, will fill
up in 20 years.)
2) There is also the emotional concern over decay of body.
V. QUESTIONS ABOUT CREMATION.
A. It can be less dignified.
1) People joke about ashes.
2) Stories of ashes being misplaced, etc.
a) Local funeral home with hundreds of abandoned urns
which must be disposed of.
3) Often there is no memorial service or opportunity for
emotional closure.
B. Disputes over cremation's claims.
1) Fire is more often a symbol of eternal judgment.
2) Jesus gave little attention to many important questions.
a) Jesus does not criticize burial but the hypocrisy of
his opponents.
3) Paul did not devalue dead bodies. 1 Cor 15:42
a) He compares it with planting a seed, implying burial.
4) Burial does not have to be materialistic.
5) We should not speed up death, so neither should we speed
up decay.
C. Burial was consistent Christian practice in past years.
1) Follows example of Christ.
2) Christians never rejected burial.
3) It is the best way to portray our belief in resurrection.
VI. DUST THAT IS ETERNAL.
A. Neither cremation nor burial do justice to resurrection.
1) No matter what happens to body, God can raise it.
a) Revelation mentions the sea giving up its dead.
2) If you are atomized, God can put atoms back together.
B. Resurrection is associated with body, but goes beyond it.
1) Ancient Jewish tradition of bodies rolling through
tunnels so they can be in Jerusalem for resurrection.
2) Resurrection bodies recall ours, but are eternal.
a) Arguments from 1 Corinthians 15...
VII. HONOR GOD WITH YOUR BODY.
A. No clear Biblical command about funerals, so do as you wish.
1) Either can honor your Lord.
B. Whichever you choose, focus on these points:
1) The dead should be shown respect.
a) Bodies are dust, but we know they were once people.
1> Respect for the dead is an extension of respect for
the living.
b) Memorial services and even viewings are appropriate.
c) A place of rest can be helpful to survivors.
1> Tombstones can be a positive witness.
2> (Bible verses on old-time gravestones)
2) The resurrection is our ultimate hope.
a) Burial cannot guarantee it.
b) Cremation cannot thwart it.
c) Only your decision based on faith can attain it.
C. Opening=closing question: what will happen to YOU when you die?
=========================================================================
SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#17322 "Cremation Ashes Startle Baseball Fans," Reuters News Service,
May 24, 2002.
#17857 "Frisbee Funeral," Internet, http://europe.cnn.com/2002/us/08/13~
/life.frisbee.reut/index.html, May 24, 2002.
#17858 "The Cremation Question," by Elesha Coffman, Christianity Today,
http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/newsletter/2002/~
feb22.html
#22421 "From Ashes To Ashes: Is Burial The Only Christian Option?" by
Norman L. Geisler and Douglas E. Potter; Christian Research
Institute; http://www.equip.org/free/dc765.htm
This article forms the basis of many of the pro/con arguments
in the sermon, though I disagree with their conclusion. The
article is summarized below.
These and 20,000 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,
absolutely free, at http://illust.holwick.com
=========================================================================
"From Ashes To Ashes: Is Burial The Only Christian Option?"
Norman L. Geisler and Douglas E. Potter
Christian Research Institute
http://www.equip.org/free/dc765.htm
Summary of article [with some of my alterations and additions]
==================
I. Why cremate?
A. Fire is a positive symbol - purification.
B. Burial is not important in the Bible.
1) Burial is never commanded for Christians, and cremation
is not condemned.
2) Jesus gave little attention to disposing of the dead.
a) "Let dead bury their dead."
b) Negative reference to "whitewashed tombs."
3) Paul viewed body as temporary abode.
a) Only a living body is a temple of God.
b) Bodies are compared to tents.
C. Cremation only speeds the natural process. Gen 3:19
1) We return to dust anyway - cremation is just faster.
2) All believers will be resurrected, no matter what happens
to their bodies.
D. Non-religious issues.
1) Cost is not an inconsequential concern.
a) Traditional funerals can be very materialistic.
b) Also, space requirements.
2) There is also the emotional concern over decay of body.
II. Questions about cremation.
A. Can be less dignified.
1) People joke about ashes.
2) Stories of ashes being misplaced, etc.
3) Faddish? Ashes turned into jewelry.
B. Emotional concerns.
1) Often no memorial service or opportunity for closure.
a) Local funeral home with hundreds of urns that must be
disposed of.
C. Disputes over its claims.
1) Fire is more often a symbol of eternal judgment.
2) Jesus gave little attention to many important questions.
a) Jesus does not critize burial but the hypocrisy of
his opponents.
3) Paul did not devalue dead bodies. 1 Cor 15:42
a) He compares it with planting a seed, implying burial.
4) Burial does not have to be materialistic.
5) We should not speed up death, so neither should we speed
up decay.
III. The argument for burial.
A. Consistent practice in past.
1) Follows example of Christ.
2) Christians never rejected burial.
B. Focuses on physical body, and, by extension, our resurrection.
1) Body is a potent symbol - we are created in image of God.
2) Burial is the seal of death.
3) Resurrection is proof that death is not final.
C. Emotional closure at viewing ceremony.
1) We associate the body with the person in a special way that
ashes cannot.
2) Burial offers most respect for the dead.
3) Cremation similar to burning a flag?
a) Even if it is necessary (disease), ashes should be
buried and not cast to the wind.
IV. Conclusion.
A. No clear Biblical command, so do as you wish.
B. Whichever you choose, focus on this:
1) The resurrection is not limited by our type of burial.
2) The resurrection body is different from this one.
3) The dead should be shown respect.
a) The bodies are dust, but we know they were once people.
b) Respect for the dead is an extension of respect for
the living.
c) Viewings are appropriate.
d) A place of rest can be helpful to survivors.
C. It also widens possibilities for remembrance: jewelry.
