Have you ever thought about preplanning your funeral? I’m not trying to be even slightly macabre. Preplanning can be very helpful to loved ones who will have to deal with all the details after you die. Someone has to do it. Why not you?
As a liturgist, I have often thought about what I want done at my funeral Mass. But I have resisted writing anything down because I have too many favorite scriptures and songs to choose from. Have can I narrow it down?
Over the last few years, I have become increasingly touched by the image of the Lamb of God. This feeling grew as I better understood the origin of the title from the Exodus story. When Moses led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, the people were told to put lamb’s blood on the doorposts of their houses. That night, the final plague took place. The angel of death entered into the houses without the blood on the door and took the first-born son. That lamb was killed to save the people from slavery. Jesus is the new Lamb of God, crucified to save us from the slavery of sin and death. I am also intrigued that Jesus is both Good Shepherd and Lamb of God.
I treasure the times that the title Lamb of God is used in the texts of the Mass, but none more so than at the Invitation to Communion. “Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.” I have celebrated and received Eucharist on countless occasions in my life. I hope that I am called to the Banquet of the Lamb in the next. This image is powerful for me because of a lifelong struggle with weight issues.
The Lamb of God image took on added meaning in the song, I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light by Kathleen Thomerson. “The Lamb is the light of the city of God” pairs the lamb image with light. Jesus brings light into darkness. Light came from the mouth of God when “the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss.” Jesus overcomes shadow, gloominess, depression, obscurity, evil, and sin. In the world to come, all will be light and truth.
And so, I have chosen one song (see above) and one of my funeral readings: Rev. 21:1-5a, 22-24. Here is part of the passage. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth . . . The city had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and to it the kings of the earth will bring their treasure.
I have helped many people try to choose readings and music for a funeral. Sometimes, they have no clue what the person may have wanted or what message he/she may have wanted to leave behind. It is a kindness to leave planning notes, even incomplete ones. For me, it is a good exercise in uncovering my own truth.
