The other day it happened to be at the funeral of Yakimenko's brother Sergei Yakovlevich. A well-known Christian pastor and leader of Russian Christian Radio gathered for his farewell dinner all the flowers of the evangelical community. There are ministers of independent brotherhoods and missionary unions, associations, unions, registered and unregistered unions, autonomous churches and missions. In peacetime, this entire meeting would be regarded as nothing but ecumenia, but death is not a place for theological squabbles. A sea of \u200b\u200bflowers complemented the picture of the great, common grief of loss and a demonstration of involvement in the cause and body of the deceased.
The departure of each such warrior is great loss... Irreplaceable. Tragic for a family. No less tragic for the church. Every speaker emphasized this. Everyone who did not have enough time silently agreed with the speakers.
The departure of Sergei Yakovlevich touched my heart especially. I understand with my mind God's providence and accept His holy will unconditionally. Our Evangelical brotherhood is small. The number of workers called by God is very small. The more painful is the feeling of loss. Great loss! With a serious understanding of the spiritual process, it is obvious for every Christian that along with kind words during burial, it is sometimes worth saying a few kind words during his lifetime. Otherwise, the price of words spoken to a dead body is the same as the price of a dead body. Words of love are not heard among the few still living Christians. We need an effort of will, a prayer to the Father of Love, and special lessons in love. “Show LOVE in your faith! Making every effort to this, show LOVE! "
This call makes you turn on the will. By the power of the Holy Spirit to mortify your self. Submit yourself to Him. Apply all diligence. Put on His love. Show love to your neighbor. Such a result is possible only in personal communication with the Lord. Reading Scripture. Prayer. Reflections. I want to emphasize. Not theological books, but only the word of God reveals Him to us. Not someone's experience described in books, but a personal appeal to God, a conversation with Him as with a father, frank, behind closed doors, one on one. Victory is achieved in battle. There are no spiritual victories in senseless trips to cinemas and cafes. There are no spiritual victories in parties, gatherings, gossip, even if it is “spiritual” gossip. Sergei Yakimenko went to the zones, went to the doorways to the boys, to the basements to drug addicts, to the offices of officials. He was a fighter in the army of love, he fought against sin on the front lines, giving himself, saving those doomed to death. This is how love works. His heart contained all divided and warring Christians. This is a heart filled with love.
Life has shifted to the Internet space. A tremendous opportunity to communicate and spread the gospel around the world. But the cold computer monitor spews out the poison of humiliation, condemnation and insult. Christian forums are full of cynicism and squabbles. This is the bitter truth that reveals the content of the heart. From the heart proceeds ... What is in the heart is poured out. An insensitive screen before your eyes. Cold buttons of dead letters in hands. Hiding in a mask, not seeing the tears of their neighbor, not seeing the lips of the painfully paralyzed, the brothers mercilessly beat each other. Everyone is a judge. Everyone possesses the truth. Everyone is above suspicion. This spirit of masks penetrates into church meetings, into family relationships. Now brothers and sisters do not know what to talk about. Face-to-face meetings become painful.
So important and inexpressibly valuable is lost, about which the apostle of love John writes: "I hope to come to you and speak mouth to mouth, so that your joy may be full." (2 John 1: 12) John understood and affirmed the importance of deriving joy from fellowship. He understood his task precisely to make his ministry bring joy. As he writes about this at the beginning of his message: "And we write this so that your joy may be perfect." (1 John 1: 4) In fact, this is the Gospel, “Good News”. Jesus Himself - the Word, Life, Way, Truth - says so: "I told you this, so that My joy may be in you, and your joy will be complete." (John 15:11).
When Jesus was not yet on earth, and the people walked in darkness, the prophets foretold by the Spirit of God: “And all who hope in You will rejoice, they will rejoice forever, and You will patronize them; and those who love your name will boast of you. " (Ps.5: 12) "And let the righteous rejoice, let them rejoice before God and triumph in joy." (Ps.67: 4) “May all who seek You, and those who love Your salvation, say incessantly:“ Great God! ”May rejoice and be glad in You! (Ps.69: 5) You can also add the text of the New Testament about what happened when Christ was born on earth: “Do not be afraid. I proclaim to you great joy, which will be for all people ”(Luke 2:10)
And I, looking around, peer into the faces of the saints. "I rejoiced when they said to me:" Let's go to the house of the Lord. " (Psalm 121: 1) No joy on faces. It is not in the words of the preachers. There are no saints in the words of the talking. Joy is forbidden. Joy is carnal. It's not even discussed.
However: “Because you did not serve the Lord your God, with joy and joy of heart, with an abundance of everything, you will serve your enemy, whom the Lord your God will send against you, in hunger, and thirst, and nakedness, and in any shortcoming; he will put an iron yoke on your neck, so that he will torment you. " (Deut. 28: 47-48) Really? Is this really possible?
“What to rejoice about?” - Ask the grief-stricken saved. “They left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing that for the name of the Lord Jesus they were worthy to receive dishonor” (Acts 5:41). It was not so long ago. And there was joy. True, there was dishonor. There was a beating. There was contempt. But there was joy! It still exists today, there are such unreasonable in our midst. But wise mentors and mentors will at once bring them to their senses and, frightening them with hellish torments, will introduce them into the ranks of the worthy sad ones. However, God's word says, "For the kingdom of God is not food and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Rom.14: 17) And again: "The fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, mercy, faith." (Gal.5: 22) And again, mortification of the flesh is needed. You need a radical rethinking of your Christianity. You need to immerse yourself in Scripture, in the Spirit of God, in order to bring yourself back from the dull bodily temple into the light of His church: “so that you too have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. " (1 John 1: 3) The fruit of the Spirit grows when the Spirit is filled. (Ephesians 5:18)
We often hear the words of the Lord: "and because of the multiplication of iniquity in many, love will grow cold." (Matt.24: 12) The words of the Lord are perceived by us as confirmation that the cause of the loss of love is outside our responsibility. There is an objective process of disintegration of the world, the growth of evil, hatred, lawlessness, and therefore love grows cold and disappears. Moreover, the Lord himself said about it. Almost an alibi! Nothing can be opposed. It is predetermined. Love will grow cold! However, in the epistle to the Ephesian Church, the Lord says: “But I have against you that you left your first love. So, remember from whence you fell, and repent, and do the first works; but if not, I will soon come to you and remove your lamp from its place, if you do not repent. " (Revelation 2: 4,5)
What does it mean? Objectively, love will grow cold. It's nothing you can do. But for the Church there remains the order of its head: “Repent! You have no right to leave the most important gift of God - love! " This is an order to me. This is an order for you. This is an order to everyone who reveres Jesus as their Lord! And no excuses. Turn on the will. Deny your self. Mortify your flesh. Put on love. Do deeds of love! You have fallen! This has already happened. You have fallen from the peak of glory. From the mountain of transformation. From spiritual heights. You are already in danger. If you do not repent, I will move your lamp. And where there was light, there will be darkness! And where there was a correct idea of \u200b\u200bwhat was happening, it will be distorted. The displaced lamp leaves us in darkness. And instead of joy - fear. A heart that is not illuminated by the light of God's love cannot love. Doesn't know how to forgive. Not able to condescend. Can't hear the groans of the wounded. Remember, come back, fix, restore love! Without love, you are ringing copper!
Our Savior and Teacher gave us an example: "He showed by deed that, having loved His own who are in the world, He loved them to the end." You know the sequel. He, the teacher and the Lord, washed the feet of his disciples! Then he said: “So, if I, the Lord and Teacher, washed your feet, then you should also wash each other's feet. For I have given you an example so that you also do the same that I have done to you. " (John 13:14,15) Comments are superfluous. Who among us does not know this text? Who does it? Who is fulfilling the word of the Lord? Yes, I know, we all know this and that, but we also know that and that, and this is nonsense.
Jesus' words are clear, the example is direct. What's the matter? The Apostle Paul wrote in Corinth that women should cover their heads, while men, on the contrary, should not cover their heads. In fact, men cover their heads, not hesitating, there are no problems at all. Tons of waste paper have been written about women's bedspreads. And the most relevant topic in the gospel world is the veil of women. How does God's word speak! The argument is indisputable. But why does God's Word speak, and speaks through the mouth of God, and an example is given, but we indifferently ignore it? I'm sure everyone thought about it. It suggests itself: To rule is a pleasure. Therefore, there are prohibitions all around! Serving is difficult. Therefore, washing your feet is just a symbol. Conclusion: The flesh triumphs. The spirit is in defeat.
Trying to live as the Spirit of grace teaches, as the Savior's Word teaches, will inevitably cause a storm of anger and condemnation. And we all humbly fall silent. After all, the Apostle Paul also teaches us: "I will not eat flesh forever, lest my neighbor be offended." But, however, the apostles, even before the judgment and the danger of arrest, declared: "is it permissible for us to listen to you more than God?" Are we weak? Or are we simply not aware of God's will?
We Evangelical Christians-Baptists affirm as the first paragraph of our principles of faith:
"The Bible is the only, infallible divine authority in matters of faith and practical life!" In fact, this is the principle of the Reformation - only Scripture!
This principle means that at all times, in all cultures, accepted doctrines, we base our beliefs on the Word of God. This principle means that all questions that believers in different cultures and in different times, we are looking for answers in the Holy Scripture, and not in the books of theologians of previous years. This principle means that even if there are excellent theological works on all topical issues of faith, I base my relationship with God on the Holy Scriptures, and not on theological treatises. No matter how authoritative the authors are, they are my brothers. But my salvation is in the Lord. Through the knowledge of the Lord. His sacrifices. His resurrection. His grace! This means that the Lord and His Word are dominant for me.
Such an understanding leads us to the fact that every believer bases his faith and his salvation not on the theological works of past years, but only exclusively on the knowledge of the Lord, revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures. (Phil. 3: 7-21) I already hear: "But then there will be as many interpretations as there are people in the church." Maybe that's exactly what we need, so that every Christian reads the Scriptures, ponders the Scriptures, finds in It the Truth, the Way and the Life! Only in this way can we come to believe in God's grace: "For the grace of God, saving for all people, has appeared, teaching us that we, rejecting wickedness and worldly lusts, live chastely, righteously and piously in this age." (Titus 2: 11,12) The Word of God, which, following our stated principle: “ is the only, infallible Divine authority in matters of faith and practical life "!This Word states: "However, you have the anointing from the Holy One and know everything." (1 John 2:20)
We, who were born in an Orthodox environment, see how the assertions of people who lived almost a couple of thousand years ago have become an unbearable burden. Having sanctified their labors and their lives one day, the people of the church inevitably set aside the Word of God. It has become secondary. It fell silent for the church. Tradition became the main thing. New generations of Christians read and studied the works of the fathers with reverence, commented on them, and described in turn the lives of the saints. The gospel has become unnecessary. The generations that followed them only referred to the works of previous theologians who commented on the works of the previous ones, and references to the works of the church fathers have already become rare. The Tradition is also lost. Now their portraits, their belts and the remains of spoons, their perishable and imperishable relics... And the power to save now belongs to material principles !? And the language of the dead is the most holy. And the deadliest calendar. Orthodoxy has many internal conflicts. The forces preserving traditions are great. The forces that call for renewal with the gospel are weak. Their development only stems from Orthodoxy. And this is the tragedy of the Church. We are witnesses of how the dead letter kills the spirit! No sarcasm, with deep pain.
For we, Evangelical Christians-Baptists, do not have a vaccination against danger, we were able to slide into traditionalism. Councils, pastors, leaders, leaders became the main governing body. However: "In the beginning, there was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." (John 1: 1) Not heard: "Thus says the Lord." It is heard: “So the brothers decided. This decision was made by the council. So the presbyter decided. "
We began to discourage creativity in the churches. We began to condemn any differences in the practices of our brothers and sisters. We do not accept elements of other cultures in our environment. We are cruel towards young people, towards our children, if they are trying to sing new songs, especially if they are trying to master new genres. Trivial divisions are a sign of deep defeat within our community. We are more often superstitious than holy. We are more often filled with fear than strength. We are more faithful to our ideas than to the Word of God. We are not able to conduct a theological dialogue with people who have different views on some theological issues. Thus, we doom ourselves to extinction.
But brothers from different churches and unions can meet not only at the tomb of another minister. Eliminate enmity. Forgive insults. Terminate the trial. Declare peace and love. Stand up in prayer unity for God's truth. And the world will come to local churches... And peace will come to the hearts of people. And the Lord in glory will shine over Russia. "For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world."
I will tell you the most useful advice about how to preach at the funeral of a stranger who I heard: "Do not preach about the dead in heaven and do not preach about him in hell, but preach for those who listen." This principle allows us not to forget our main task at any funeral. Although we focus on the memory of the deceased, funerals are still held for those who attend.
When preaching, it is important to proclaim the gospel clearly. Only if we are personally confident that the deceased was a regenerated person, then we can calmly talk about the reward that the deceased received in heaven. If you have the slightest doubt - and this will almost always be the case when you preach at a stranger's funeral - the most important thing is to present the gospel to your listeners and resist the temptation to give them confidence in something you are not sure about.
A funeral sermon should be no longer than 20 minutes and should cover each of the following topics, preferably supported by scripture:
1. Recognize the need to grieve for the deceased
The 11th chapter of the Gospel of John is very useful here, in which the author talks about how Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. If Jesus cried for a dead friend, then we need it too. I often tell the story of how my dad sat down with me and my wife when we found out that we had a miscarriage: he said that it was important for us to mourn our child, and taught how to do it.
Do not assume that people know that grief is appropriate or that they can handle grief simply by talking about the dead. In fact, many do not want to talk about the deceased because of the pain of loss. But many pastors know that often only years later, through pastor counseling, people realize the value of grieving.
2. Explain the hope the gospel gives us
When we grieve, we cannot have any hope other than the hope that we have in the gospel. Therefore, it is important to devote the second and third third of the sermon to Christ and His ministry. It doesn't matter what text you preach to, but reveal the main components of the Gospel: the holiness of God, the sinfulness of man and the deserved punishment for sin, the ideal life of Christ and His atonement for us from sin, and our duty to repent of our sins and believe in Christ.
3. Challenge Your Hearers to Obey the Gospel
To do this in a way that does not create an awkward situation and for it to be effective, you need to learn as much as possible about your audience and the deceased before preaching. You must be prepared for both Christians and unbelievers to be there. You must assume that those present already have some opinion on how they will receive eternal life. For example, I led one funeral in which 90% of the audience were serious Catholics, another, at which the majority were Mormons, and another, at which there was not a single person who had ever been to church.
At each of these funerals, I clearly explained the Gospel, called on the listeners to repent of their sins, to believe in Christ and trust in Him. But in each of these situations, I did it differently, depending on how they envisioned the good news. Encourage them to grieve for the dead. Preach the gospel simply and clearly. Help them see how much they need Christ, especially when death is so close. Challenge them to repent and believe.
Death is mysterious ... In front of her, our weeping and grief become too small for the mystery before which we stand, and therefore so solemn and so full of faith and hope, so full of love and reverence is the funeral service for a person. Every word in it is a word of faith; her first words - "Blessed be our God." How much hope and confidence in God is needed to, turning to the soul that departed from us, say: "Blessed is the path you are walking on today, soul, for the resting place is prepared for you ..." Each word of our worship is strong and true only by this truthfulness. our faith and this unshakable hope, and this divine service is alive with reverent, warm, affectionate love with which the Church of Christ, God incarnate, surrounds the body of a person who is now orphaned for a while, until the resurrection, from his soul.
We worship the human body with reverence and love; with this body a person entered the world, with this body he perceived everything that the world is rich in - both terrible and wonderful. With this body, he joined the Divine mysteries: Baptism, Confirmation, Communion of the Holy Gifts, Unction - all the miraculous actions with which God materially imparts eternal life to the human body, soul and spirit. Affection and love were shown through the body, the body fulfilled Christ's commandments; body we met face to face with each other.
That is why we surround this body with such reverence and are confident in the calm, deep confidence of the Church that this body, which was inextricably linked on earth with the eternal destiny of man, and will rise in glory in eternity.
That is why we, with faith, hope and Easter confidence in the universal resurrection, stand at the grave of the dead, that is why the words that Christ once said to the widow of Nain - "Do not cry!" - addressed to us. Yes, do not cry: after God became flesh, and was resurrected, and ascended, death to a person is no longer a limit, but a door that opens into eternity. And we must be able to forget ourselves, forget our grief, tell him: "Get away," and contemplate the great things that are happening now in the eternal destiny of the deceased servant of God. He is now entering the path of all flesh, the path of every soul, stands before the living God, in Whom he believed, in Whom he trusted, in whom he loved, in whom he worshiped, from whom he received life. This should now be the content of our thoughts and our experiences, and anything less than this should be at least partially removed. Through tears, we must be able to see the radiance of the resurrection, and through our pain - Christ's victory over death and eternal life, revealed to the departed.
Therefore, let us hear with our hearts, and not only by hearing, the words of the Apostle: “I don’t want you to be in ignorance and that, as lack of faith, you should be grief-stricken ...” (Compare: 1 Thess. 4, 13.) We are not facing death but the beginning of eternal life.
Not a single people left the bodies of their dead without care - for all the law on burial and the corresponding rituals was sacred. The touching rituals performed by the Orthodox Church over a dead Christian are not just solemn ceremonies, often invented by human vanity and saying nothing to the mind or heart. On the contrary, they have a deep meaning and significance, since they are based on the revelations of holy faith, which were bequeathed by the Lord Himself, known from the apostles - disciples and followers of Jesus Christ.
Funeral rites Orthodox Church bring consolation, serve as symbols that express the idea of \u200b\u200ba general resurrection and future immortal life. The essence of the Orthodox burial rite lies in the Church's view of the body as a temple of the soul consecrated by grace, of real life - as for the time of preparation for the future life and for death - as a dream, upon awakening from which eternal life will come. At the end of the funeral service, the body of the deceased is escorted to the cemetery. All positions of the deceased have in the burial rite symbolic meaning... The houses of the deceased are placed with their heads against the icons, with their feet against the doors as a sign that he leaves everything in this world. In the temple, during the funeral service, the deceased is laid as he always stood in the temple - with his face (that is, respectively, with his feet) to the altar, the throne of God, which expresses his readiness to appear for judgment before the One Whose gifts are transformed on him. And the deceased is placed in the grave with his face and feet to the east, where he turned with prayer all his life - this symbolizes the departure of the deceased from the west of life to the east of eternity (the Lord is called "the East from above" in Holy Scripture). The cross is placed at his feet as a sign that after the general resurrection, having risen, he will be ready to take the cross with him as proof of his calling as a Christian, which he wore on earth.
A special funeral service is performed over the baptized babies: the Holy Church does not pray for the remission of their sins, but only asks to grant them the Kingdom of Heaven - although the babies themselves did nothing that could deserve eternal bliss for themselves, but in Holy Baptism they were cleansed of their ancestral sin (Adam and Eve) and became blameless. The Epistle of the Eastern Patriarchs (ch. 16) says: “The blessed fate of those who were washed with water and the Spirit in Baptism and received the Holy Spirit in Confirmation”.
“No one has ever doubted,” says Dogmatic Theology, “that baptized babies will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. True, there is a false and fairly widespread opinion that those who died in infancy are worthy of a special, highest degree of bliss. This thought is false, it has no grounds in the patristic teaching: the bliss of dead babies, naturally, is less than the bliss that people achieve through free self-determination and personal exploit. Babies are sinless, but at the same time they do not have "positive fulfillment", since they did not acquire any virtues through their own free will. "
A funeral service is not performed over unbaptized infants, since they are not cleansed of their ancestral sin. The Church Fathers teach that such babies with the Lord will neither be glorified nor punished. A funeral service according to the order of an infant is performed over children who have died before the age of seven (from the age of seven, children already confess, like adults).
After the burial, and on other days too, you should not arrange a feast with drinking alcoholic beverages in the cemetery, when the central moment of the commemoration is not the prayer memory of the deceased, but the "pouring" of grief over his departure to another world. This is a pagan custom, in ancient times it was called "funeral feasts". And, of course, the observance of pagan customs brings great harm to the soul of the deceased - as you know, his soul is being tested at this time, and it is better to aggravate prayers at this time than the amount of alcohol drunk. Given the harmfulness of this custom, one should try to get rid of it, although, due to established traditions, this is not easy to do.
The pious custom of commemorating the dead at a meal has been known for a very long time. Traditionally, a memorial meal is held after the funeral, as well as on memorable days. It should begin with a prayer, for example, with the rite of the litia performed by a layman, in extreme cases - at least read the 90th Psalm or Our Father.
The first dish of the memorial meal is kutia (kolivo). There is a special rite of consecration of kutya; if it is not possible to ask the priest about it, you yourself should sprinkle the kutia with holy water. Pancakes and jelly are considered traditional memorial dishes in Russia. Then other dishes are served, with the indispensable observance of the requirements of the fast, if the commemoration is on Wednesday, Friday or during a multi-day fast. During Great Lent, commemoration can only be held on Saturday or Sunday. And once again I would like to remind you that the dead are not commemorated with alcohol. “Wine makes a man's heart glad” (Psalm 103, 15), and funerals are not a reason for fun. It is known what the abundant use of alcoholic beverages by guests at the memorial meal sometimes leads to. Instead of conducting a pious conversation, remembering the merits and good deeds of the deceased, the guests begin to conduct extraneous conversations, argue, and even sort things out.
To a Christian invited to a commemoration loved one into an unbelieving family, it is better to decline the invitation under a plausible pretext, so as not to sin by breaking the fast and drinking wine, thereby giving the temptation to others.
This job - not a collection of sermons in "pure and finished form", but a collection of thoughts, united by one big, one might say, the most important topic - death. And this is not just reflections on death in the spirit of elegies or funeral sobs. These are thoughts intended to be spoken aloud in a prayer meeting or spiritual fellowship.
The special benefit of such conversations and reflections can be seen in the fact that the everyday and wandering gaze of our contemporary often sees in the Church only a branch of the funeral office. An attempt to speak deeply where nothing deep was expected from us - Christians - can also serve to destroy such a stereotype and to catch cunning in the network of their own cunning.
This is not a finished work, but just a cry in the night. Whoever hears fraternal warmth in the notes of this voice will undoubtedly continue the sweet and dangerous work of witnessing and preaching. But Christ, who promised to be in the midst of two or three gathered in His name, is able to multiply small labors and bring them to great benefit. The ability to turn small into great, as well as great into small, cannot be taken away from the All-Sneak of the Word. Glory to Him with the Father and the Spirit!
Farewell and meeting
In death, there is goodbye and there is a meeting.
Who says goodbye to whom? A person says goodbye to everything that surrounded him: with the house and things in it, with neighbors and relatives, with the place where he was born and the place where he ended his life. He says goodbye to the craft he was busy with and the clothes he wore. Will remain unread open book and the cooled tea will remain unfinished. "For a man departs to his eternal home, and the mourners are ready to surround him in the street" (Eccl. 12: 5)
Christ speaks of the "narrow gates and narrow paths" leading to life (Matt. 7: 14). These gates are really so narrow that the body will have to be put aside and left for a while. Only the soul enters the afterlife, and this order will remain until the Second Coming of Christ and resurrection of the dead... And after the resurrection, the resurrected flesh will also take part in eternal life. “Your dead will revive, your dead bodies will rise! Arise and be triumphant, you who are overthrown in the dust ”(Isa. 26:19)
But today, a person leaving the world will have to look at the clothes that have been taken off and left without movement. Truly, a person will have to say goodbye to everything that he knew and saw in temporary life.
But there is also a meeting in death.
With whom will the soul that has left one world and come to another meet? With Christ Jesus, who died for our sins and was resurrected for our justification.
This will be a great meeting! Not every soul will boldly look up at the Savior, but only the one to whom love for Christ will betray courage and boldness. Many will want to disappear somewhere, hide, just not to look at the One who loves you, Who did so much for you, to Whom you were so criminally ungrateful. And it is not for nothing that Revelation says that on the day of the anger of the Lamb, people will say “to mountains and stones: fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb” (Rev. 6:16)
Meeting Christ face to face is the Last Judgment for an individual. No need for lawyers, witnesses and prosecutors. The book of conscience reveals secrets, a person finds himself in the Kingdom of light, and this light begins to burn some souls, while others wash and delight.
"Kingdom of Light". Let's listen to this wonderful phrase. Let's look at the candles burning in our hands. Here it is - a simple and visible indication of our faith. This is an indication that "God is light and there is no darkness in Him" \u200b\u200b(1 John 1: 5) This is also an indication that human life is weak and tender, like a candle flame, that it must inevitably go out here, but not to disappear, but to ignite there, in that Kingdom of light and in that “new earth on which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:13)
Thus, in the rituals of the Mother Church, there is nothing accidental or arbitrary, but everything is born of faith and everything is capable of edifying.
We are going to pray for the deceased in order to ask Christ for mercy to the deceased person. The secret of the relationship between the soul and God is closed to us. Namely, the eternity of man depends on this secret. But love and faith, prayer and compassion have not been taken away from us. We dare to ask the One who suffered for us, so that He would increase mercy and not remember the sins and iniquities of His newly departed servant.
If the Lord wants to punish, then he will punish everyone, and there will be, for what. The Prophet says that "not one living will be justified before You" (Psalm 142)
But if the Lord has mercy, then we will have mercy. And in evangelical history We are encouraged by those examples where Christ heals a demon-possessed daughter through the prayer of a mother, a relaxed person through the faith of those who brought him before the eyes of Christ. Some pray, others receive mercy. This is what encourages us and makes us ask: Rest, Lord, the soul of Thy servant who has fallen asleep.
The wisdom of one of the Christian nations has formed a saying. And it says that when a person is born, he cries, and everyone rejoices and says: hello, dear. When a person dies, he should rejoice, and everyone around should cry and say: goodbye, dear. Goodbye, because “we all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ” (Rom. 14:10) We will all see each other in the light of His face. Therefore, with the sweetness of faith, let us mix the bitterness of separation and multiply our prayers that the meeting of the soul with the Righteous Judge would be the beginning of endless joy for the soul.
On a rare day, there are no funeral services in our church, usually one or three coffins, but there are more, at most, if I am not mistaken, I served ten funerals at the same time. People standing at the tomb, as a rule, are not churchly at all, only a few go to church and have the experience of prayer, you can always recognize such people by their eyes. The hearts of the loved ones of the deceased are crushed with grief and are open to words of comfort and help. I try to reach out to them, slowly and distinctly reading the texts of the burial order and delivering a sermon. I usually say three words, before the funeral service for the mood for prayer, briefly before reading the permission prayer with an appeal to forgive and ask for forgiveness and last words I pronounce it after the surrender to the earth, admonishing and offering my loved ones to change something in themselves for the sake of the deceased.
Word before the funeral service.
Brothers and sisters, today you are going to pray for your deceased loved ones and relatives. We are used to helping our dear people in all sorts of earthly ways: care, attention, materially, sympathy, advice, support. When a person dies, very often we reproach ourselves that we did not do everything for him, were forgetful, did not say to each other some important and important words. Now all earthly means of help are no longer needed by our departed loved ones, but we can still help them. When people do work, they tense their muscles, doing something hard, or will, making a decision. Now we need to strain our hearts and let the prayers that we will sing and read now be the main words that you didn’t have time to say, let those attention and support that may have been lacking before in your relationship with dead. We live not only by obeying government regulations or the laws of nature, there are also spiritual rules of life, one of them says: how you treat people, so they will treat you. It is similar to the law of iridescent vessels in physics. And the Lord judges the dead and according to what they left in our hearts. Figuratively speaking, He looks at us all from above and thinks: how much they love this person, it means he deserves such love and my grace. Therefore, strain your hearts and let us pray.
Word after the funeral service.
You are crying, but these are tears about ourselves: how will we continue to live, how we now lack our loved ones. One woman, who tragically lost her husband, somehow confessed after the memorial service: I have been waiting for three years for someone to say to me those words that would ease the grief, but I never heard them. Then I thought that there really are no such human words, only the Lord can give relief to exhausted hearts. Therefore, people most often do not want to think and talk about death, they try to quickly forget, to get involved in work, in the hustle and bustle. But look at how true Christians relate to death, take a look at the church calendar, the days of remembrance of saints are almost always the days of their death, and since most of the saints are martyrs, then it is difficult, cruel, violent. Once the relatives of the murdered martyrs also suffered and cried, time passed and these days began to be called for us not mourning dates, but holidays. If we pray for our dead, then in time and for us the dates of their dormition will not be a time of mourning and sorrow, but meetings and consolations.
But all the same, the human heart wants to help the departed in earthly ways, then look around, how much grief, misfortune, and need there is on earth. If we help someone for the sake of our loved ones, then we will help them. But I think the biggest sacrifice for them is ourselves. Maybe they wanted us to change for the better in some way and correct in the bad, why not fulfill their will now. And if you even sometimes visit the church, then maybe you can start this correction with a sincere confession, open yourself to the Lord, so that he would accept this sacrifice of ours and give consolation to all, living and dead. Amen.