Saturday, November 20, 2010

Christian Funerals Are Annoying

These non-religious views of mine make formerly easy things difficult sometimes. I was at a funeral this week of someone I didn't know very well. I know her husband better. So I'm sitting through the funeral service and I realized about half way through. They've turned this whole thing into something entirely about Jesus. Why does it have to be about Jesus? Why can't it be about the deceased? Why can't we take some time here and focus on this person we've lost?

Near the end 3 individuals were able to get up and briefly reminisce about this person. They talked about who has been lost to the world, what she was like, what she enjoyed, how she treated others. Kind of giving this person, who I barely knew, a lot more depth in my mind. And it was in fact beautiful. Probably 15 minutes of about a 90 minute service were truly devoted to focusing on this person and remembering her rather than infusing every statement with something related to Catholicism. Down to your knees. Doing the cross thing. Taking the bread and wine. Singing hymns about Jesus consoling us and our future in heaven. This is wasted time in my world.

Of course it's not about me, and if this is the service the deceased would have wanted and I knew that then it would have been easier to sit through it. Not knowing though I tend to suspect it was being hijacked by religion to make it about religion instead of what I think it should have been.

I'm going to be a difficult person if and when I lose a close loved one. I would be so annoyed if anyone tried to console me by telling me that we will see them again in heaven. And I'm going to want the service to be about them rather than about whichever God the mourners happen to believe in. It might be a problem.

1 comment:

HispanicPundit said...

Yep - did you hear about what Pat Tillmans brother told, I think Jon McCain, when they tried to infer religion at his wedding?

Probably what you will be like at a funeral. :-)