Garden of Good and Evil

 

"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened."

- Dr. Seuss

  

This may seem like a bit of a macabre subject to some, but stick with me and hopefully we'll find a meaningful message here.

 

Our subject here isn't really focused on death itself.  The subject for today is more about saying goodbye, about cemeteries and funerals.  Perhaps that is one thing that all people, everywhere, understand. 

 

Some of the earliest archeological finds include funeral objects.  There are some classifications of early cultures that include the methods and manners in which we say goodbye to the departed.

 

There is also an old expression, "funerals are for the living."  In a culture that professes to believe in an after life in which our good deeds are rewarded it can be difficult to balance our grief at the loss of a loved one from our lives with joy that they have gone on to their final reward. 

 

Many people believe that funerals and related activities are strictly human endeavors.  Yet I recall seeing a documentary about meerkats that would seem to indicate otherwise.  One of their troop had been fatally wounded, and the troop lined up one by one to say goodbye. It seemed obvious from their behavior that they understood, at some level, that their friend was leaving them.

 

Over the centuries different cultures have said their good byes in many different ways.  In New Orleans the funeral procession takes the loved one to the cemetery in a sad, slow march with suitably morose music.  Once the dearly departed has been laid to rest the tone and tempo become more joyous and upbeat, to celebrate the life that has left them.

 

In many ways funerals and cemeteries also say to the mourners, he hasn't really left.  There is a reminder that the spirit in some way remains as long as we keep them in our hearts.

 

Early funerals included many objects with the burial intended to be used in the afterlife.  Everything from the mundane, such as favored dish wear, to the sublime, such as beloved jewelry, was sent off with the deceased for their personal use.

 

Cemeteries are full of expressions of love for those missing.  Some of the most beautiful art work adorns cemeteries. From headstones with simple, inspiring images and text, angels, and head stones shaped like trees.

 

There are also many stories in the garden of good and evil.  There are stories of children who passed way to early, and stories of couples with long full lives together.  Saints and sinners lie together, awaiting their final judgement.

 

Of course, one of the most important religions today had it's beginnings in a cemetery.  As important and inspiring as the life and words of Christ are, it is his rising from the dead that is the central mystery of Christianity.

 

It is also very natural that many cemeteries are part of the grounds of a church, especially in rural areas.  The relationship between the church and the people, between the grounds and the land, speaks volumes about the life, the hopes, and the fears of the people.  Many people in rural America, even 30 or 40 years ago, were baptized in the local church, and laid to rest years later in the cemetery next to it.

 

And here is where I will rest my point.  Funerals are for the living, and so are cemeteries.  They provide people with that something tangible that is so important to hold on to in our grief.

 

A place, unchanging.