John 19:38-42 (NLT)

Have you ever thought about your own funeral? I am by nature an organizer, and since I serve in the church, I attend many funerals. So I must admit that there were many occasions while sitting in these services, where I would secretly decide that I would want the simple lavender hydrangeas set atop a dark chocolate wooden casket and would want “It Is Well With My Soul” lightly fluttering on the piano keys. No flower stands everywhere and no haunting, solemn sounds of the organ, please.

In our culture, and in most cultures around the world, we go to lengths at arranging a proper funeral and burial. There are elaborate funerals with limousines and gourmet meals. And even a family with little money would do all it can to prepare an honorable funeral for their loved one. The Jewish custom of Jesus’ day was no different. When someone died, mourners would come to the house to wail and cry, sometimes for several days. Some would display their grief by donning sackcloth and ashes. Whether by inexpensive or by fancy materials, the body would be carefully wrapped and put on top of a stone slap in a small cave, the tomb. After a year, the tomb would be reopened and the bones left of the decomposed body would be collected and put in a box or a jar. It was an extensive and detailed ritual. When Jesus died, no ceremony was arranged. His friends, His very own disciple, scattered and watched His death from a safe distance, fearful of being associated with Him.

From the hiding comes one particular man, Joseph of Arimathea. Deciding that his desire to honor Jesus was greater than his fear of persecution, Joseph captured what he thought would be the last chance to honor his teacher. With courage, he asks Pilate for Jesus’ body and carrying 75 pounds of powdered spices with his friend, this once secret follower of Jesus Christ offers Jesus a proper burial—the burial from which Jesus would later rise only to leave the trace of linen cloths in an empty tomb.

Reflection:
There will come moments in our journey with Jesus Christ when we are given a chance to experience deeper intimacy with God because of the cost of discipleship we are willing to pay. What are you willing to give up because it is your desire to honor God, who has shown you His grace and friendship?

Posted: April 10, 2007
*This devotional first appeared in Encounter Monthly Journal, February 2006