{"id":759,"date":"2017-09-12T10:41:48","date_gmt":"2017-09-12T16:41:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/?p=759"},"modified":"2019-03-13T12:34:13","modified_gmt":"2019-03-13T18:34:13","slug":"funerals-body-soul","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/759\/","title":{"rendered":"Funerals: Body or Soul?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>Today&#8217;s post from Craig Mueller, pastor at Holy Trinity in Chicago, IL.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>With cremation growing more common, so are memorial services. For many people today, having a body present for a funeral is considered unnecessary. Families may want some time with the body of the deceased immediately after death, but then they want the body taken away so they don\u2019t have to deal with it anymore.<\/p>\n<p>Most people today feel that the \u201csoul\u201d is the essence of a person, making the body of no significance after death. Yet the bodies of the faithful are washed in baptism. Bodies receive the laying on of hands at confirmation and anointing with oil in rites of healing. And most importantly, the eucharist is a meal which involves bodily eating and drinking.<\/p>\n<p>I sense an absence when at a memorial liturgy that has neither the body or the ashes of the deceased present. To say the words of commendation\u2014\u201cInto your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant, Jane\u201d\u2014to the air suggests that it is a soul, not an embodied person that we are commending to God.<\/p>\n<p>I would highly recommend a significant book on funeral practices by Thomas Long: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Accompany-Them-Singing-Christian-Funeral\/dp\/0664239706\/ref=mt_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&amp;me=\"><em>Accompany Them With Singing: The Christian Funeral <\/em><\/a>(Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009). Long acknowledges there are plenty of situations in which a body, coffin, or ashes cannot be present for a memorial liturgy and that Christians can certainly \u201craise the resurrection song,\u201d but questions this as the new norm. Despite a biblical anthropology that does not divide body and soul, Long wonders whether a body seems of lesser importance at a funeral because \u201cwe esteem the spirituality of the mind over the materialism of the body.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Even though we talk about the body as a \u201cshell,\u201d we go to great lengths to recover a body or even some of the remains when someone is lost at sea or crushed in the World Trade Center disaster, for example. By paying attention to these deep human responses to death we might rethink why the presence of a body, or at least the ashes from cremation, should be present at a Christian funeral or memorial service (Long, pp. 33-44).<\/p>\n<p>Though a pastoral case for the presence of the body at worship is going against the grain of societal practice, I urge religious leaders to have these important conversations: not necessarily when a family has already decided what they want to do following the death of a loved one, but in less anxious contexts such as sermons, classes, and other congregational settings. For example, I would encourage a family to have the ashes of the deceased present at a funeral\u2014perhaps along with photographs\u2014to emphasize the importance of the body of their loved one.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Pastor Mueller\u2019s recently released book, <em><a href=\"http:\/\/wipfandstock.com\/any-body-there.html\">Any Body There? Worship and Being Human in a Digital Age<\/a>, <\/em>includes further reflection on the importance of the body in worship. For further resources on funeral planning, see the newly released\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.augsburgfortress.org\/store\/product\/23224\/In-Sure-and-Certain-Hope-A-Funeral-Sourcebook\"><em>In Sure and Certain Hope: A Funeral Sourcebook.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Today&#8217;s post from Craig Mueller, pastor at Holy Trinity in Chicago, IL. &nbsp; With cremation growing more common, so are memorial services. For many people today, having a body present for a funeral is considered unnecessary. Families may want some time with the body of the deceased immediately after death, but then they want [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":241,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Funerals: Body or Soul? - ELCA Worship<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/759\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Funerals: Body or Soul? - ELCA Worship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"&nbsp; Today&#8217;s post from Craig Mueller, pastor at Holy Trinity in Chicago, IL. &nbsp; With cremation growing more common, so are memorial services. For many people today, having a body present for a funeral is considered unnecessary. Families may want some time with the body of the deceased immediately after death, but then they want [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/759\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ELCA Worship\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-09-12T16:41:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-03-13T18:34:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ELCA Worship\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ELCA Worship\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worship\\\/759\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worship\\\/759\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ELCA Worship\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worship\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/825990f0de4af532a635ae352e576668\"},\"headline\":\"Funerals: Body or Soul?\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-09-12T16:41:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-13T18:34:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worship\\\/759\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":519,\"articleSection\":[\"Post\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worship\\\/759\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worship\\\/759\\\/\",\"name\":\"Funerals: Body or Soul? - ELCA Worship\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worship\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-09-12T16:41:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-13T18:34:13+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worship\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/825990f0de4af532a635ae352e576668\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worship\\\/759\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worship\\\/759\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worship\\\/759\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worship\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Funerals: Body or Soul?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worship\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worship\\\/\",\"name\":\"ELCA Worship\",\"description\":\"Resources, stories and news from the ELCA Worship Office.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worship\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worship\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/825990f0de4af532a635ae352e576668\",\"name\":\"ELCA Worship\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7f226a543506049fbc2ff5a3bc95d2a004984cf8e5979c3c8bda935005afabed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7f226a543506049fbc2ff5a3bc95d2a004984cf8e5979c3c8bda935005afabed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/7f226a543506049fbc2ff5a3bc95d2a004984cf8e5979c3c8bda935005afabed?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ELCA Worship\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.elca.org\\\/worship\\\/author\\\/legacy-241\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Funerals: Body or Soul? - ELCA Worship","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/759\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Funerals: Body or Soul? - ELCA Worship","og_description":"&nbsp; Today&#8217;s post from Craig Mueller, pastor at Holy Trinity in Chicago, IL. &nbsp; With cremation growing more common, so are memorial services. For many people today, having a body present for a funeral is considered unnecessary. Families may want some time with the body of the deceased immediately after death, but then they want [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/759\/","og_site_name":"ELCA Worship","article_published_time":"2017-09-12T16:41:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-03-13T18:34:13+00:00","author":"ELCA Worship","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ELCA Worship","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/759\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/759\/"},"author":{"name":"ELCA Worship","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/#\/schema\/person\/825990f0de4af532a635ae352e576668"},"headline":"Funerals: Body or Soul?","datePublished":"2017-09-12T16:41:48+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-13T18:34:13+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/759\/"},"wordCount":519,"articleSection":["Post"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/759\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/759\/","name":"Funerals: Body or Soul? - ELCA Worship","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-09-12T16:41:48+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-13T18:34:13+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/#\/schema\/person\/825990f0de4af532a635ae352e576668"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/759\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/759\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/759\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Funerals: Body or Soul?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/","name":"ELCA Worship","description":"Resources, stories and news from the ELCA Worship Office.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/#\/schema\/person\/825990f0de4af532a635ae352e576668","name":"ELCA Worship","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7f226a543506049fbc2ff5a3bc95d2a004984cf8e5979c3c8bda935005afabed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7f226a543506049fbc2ff5a3bc95d2a004984cf8e5979c3c8bda935005afabed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7f226a543506049fbc2ff5a3bc95d2a004984cf8e5979c3c8bda935005afabed?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"ELCA Worship"},"url":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/author\/legacy-241\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/241"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=759"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1281,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/759\/revisions\/1281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/worship\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}