We would not typically visit a cemetery on a sunny afternoon. However, as much as we would like to avoid it, the cemetery is a landscape we will visit sometime along our journey. The critical question is will we discover God’s fingerprint while there?
With the popularity of cremation, the cemetery may become an artifact of the past. However, it is still an essential reminder of our link to history and that we are part of something much bigger than our current moment on the stage of life. Something is engaging about a cemetery, with its headstones marking the life and death of real people. The Vietnam Memorial honors those who gave their lives for our country. Still, it did not have the same impact on me as visiting Arlington Cemetery in Virginia and seeing all those headstones in the ground.
Death is a topic that makes us uncomfortable. Substituting euphemisms for death or dying does not take away its painful reality. None of us want to sit in the front row of chairs at a graveside service. But eventually, we all will.
In the emergency room, we face the possibility of our mortality, but in the cemetery, we face its certainty. A memorial service can celebrate the life of the one lost, but the cemetery is a place of sober finality. It is a place where we do not want to linger but pass through as quickly as possible. We may have a potluck at the church but not at the cemetery. Cemeteries do not hide the reality of death but make it soberingly visible and memorable. Cemeteries honor those who have died but also remind us that death is real and permanent.
There is something uniquely important about the cemetery. In writing the Apostle’s Creed, the early church fathers included the crucifixion and death of Christ and also his burial (think cemetery). Death and burial are not redundant. Paul writes, “For I handed down to you … that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4 emphasis mine).
Cemeteries remind us that death is not part of God’s original plan. Along with grief, it carries the feeling that this is not how things should be. Even with the hope of eternal life for those in Christ, death creates confusion, sorrow, and grief. However, in our grief, our Good Shepherd is with us–not to explain away the why questions but to bring comfort and hope.
The place of exchange
For the Christian, the cemetery is not a “dead end” but a place of exchange. While it is true that the cemetery involves letting go, it also involves taking hold. We release one thing to gain another. It is the exchange of mortality for immortality, a physical body for a spiritual one (1 Corinthians 15:12-26).
Using the concept of the cemetery to illustrate our spiritual journey, Jesus described the “cemetery” as being like grains of wheat that must fall to the ground and die so they can bear much fruit (John 12:24). Clearly when our old self dies, it is not the end but the beginning of a fruitful life.
Paul described this same process in his letter to the Galatians. “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20). Since we exchanged the old “I” for a new “I,” let’s have a funeral and place a headstone in our “cemetery.” Then each time we visit and see our headstone, we say, “Yep, that’s the “I” that was crucified with Christ. Thank God that “I” no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
The problem is that we sometimes hang on to the old “I” because we fear losing something important to us. We forget what Jesus taught: “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (Matthew 16:2). “Until we are willing to lose, we will never find what God has for us” (AW Tozer, The Crucified Life, p 164).
In Luke chapters 9 and 14, Jesus said a defining mark of his disciple is the person who takes up his cross daily and follows him. Some things continually need to be put to death and buried. The author of Hebrews expresses it this way. “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (Hebrews 12:1).
Repentance is a form of cemetery exchange. Repent means to change direction or perhaps even do a complete about-face. It includes letting go of something (burying it) in exchange for something better, such as:
- Exchanging self-rule for Christ’s rule.
- Exchanging self-merit for Christ’s merit.
However, along our transformational journey of becoming his image-bearer, the buried old self still influences our daily walk. Like barnacles on an ocean-going ship, we daily tend to pick up barnacles of self-rule and self-merit. Perhaps part of what Jesus was referring to when he said we should take up our cross daily and follow him is to walk daily through the cemetery. We must recognize the barnacles that have collected and repent of all self-rule and self-merit. Our daily devotional time offers the perfect opportunity to do just that.
The landscape of the cemetery is life-changing. It will always involve letting go of something. The pain involved relates to how tightly we have been holding on. Corrie Ten Bloom once said, “Hold everything in your hands lightly; otherwise, it hurts when God pries your fingers open.”
God promises to show up in the cemetery. But we need to be careful not to miss him in the grieving process. When Jesus came to the cemetery of his friend Lazarus, he joined the grieving process with the family. The Scripture simply says, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). Even though Jesus knew that death was about to be abolished, he was saying that he understands that death is painful. In the grief of the cemetery, we have a landscape in which to experience God’s multifaceted nature. He will be there and we will see him if we look for him through the lens of faith.
For Reflection
1. Reflect on when you had to walk through a cemetery. How did you feel? How did God show up?
2. Reflect on when God took something out of your hand. How did you respond? Was it a loss or an exchange? Explain.