I went to church this morning and, while there, picked up this week's
edition of "The Lookout", a weekly magazine from Standard Publishing
distributed to independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ
throughout America.
Bro. Bob Russell, the Senior Minister at Southeast Christian Church in
Louisville, Kentucky (one of the largest congregations in the country), has
a weekly column in "The Lookout". This week his column was entitled "A
PROPER RESPECT FOR THE BODY".
Bro. Bob told the story of Joseph, whose father (Jacob) died while with
Joseph in Egypt. Joseph had his father's body embalmed (a 40-day procedure
usually reserved for Egyptian royalty). After a 70-day mourning period,
Joseph took his father's body back to Canaan to be buried in the family
cemetery. [Genesis 50.]
Four hundred years later, when Moses led his people out of Egypt, they took
with them Joseph's embalmed remains so they could also be buried in the
family cemetery. [Exodus 13.]
Even in that early time, they showed much more respect to the dead than we
do today.
Bro. Bob's article warns us not to "overemphasize the importance of the
body. . . The body is like a glove. When the hand is removed, the glove
still has the form of the hand, but it is lifeless. The body is but an
outward expression of the person who animates it."
But, he advises that a person's body should be treated with DIGNITY AND RESPECT:
"For the believer, the body has been the temple
of the Holy Spirit. It will be resurrected one
day by the power of God."
Bro. Bob concludes by very succinctly stating:
"If scientists can identify a person by using the DNA
in one cell, surely God can recreate a perfect body
out of even the smallest of remains. If people are
burned at the stake, are eaten by cannibals, or have
their ashes scattered at sea, they will still be
resurrected by God's mighty power 'in a flash, in the
twinkling of an eye' (I Corinthians 15:52). But that
doesn't negate the responsibility that rests on the
shoulders of loved ones to respect the wishes of the
dying and to TREAT THE BODY WITH RESPECT. [Emphasis
added.]
"William Gladstone said, 'Show me the manner in which
a nation or community cares for its dead and I will
measure with mathematical exactness the tender mercies
of its people, their respect for the laws of the land,
and their loyalty to high ideals.'"
I don't wish to upset or offend anyone by spouting biblical quotations but I
think Bro. Bob has stated a very powerful position.
I have several times used the above quote from William Gladstone, who was a
contemporary of Benjamin Disraeli in Victorian England. In fact, I have a
copy of it on my desk at work to remind me of this mission.
Just wanted to share this with you. Can't wait to meet some of you in
Indianapolis next Monday.
Lois
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Have you signed an Indiana Pioneer Cemetery Restoration Project
PETITION TO THE INDIANA LEGISLATURE calling for revision of current
state laws regarding protection and maintenance of pioneer cemeteries?
See
http://www.rootsweb.com/~inpcrp
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Next meeting of the Clark County Cemetery Preservation Committee:
Saturday, Feb. 6, 1999 at 2 PM at Pleasant View Methodist Church on
Highway 60, near entrance to Deam's Lake, south of Borden
Website:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/5881
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