Ex-Church of Christ Support Board

Bullies with no sense of personal boundaries.

Ivy wrote:Just wondering how many of us here have been preached into hell at a cofc funeral?

I've heard the flip side too being preached into heaven at a funeral...

gladILeft wrote:

Ivy wrote:Just wondering how many of us here have been preached into hell at a cofc funeral?

I've heard the flip side too being preached into heaven at a funeral...

oh...well, but that is cool. right?

A little off-topic here, but there's something about funerals . . .

I remember when my mother-in-law died several years ago. She was Catholic, and the funeral was in a small Catholic church, but most of the attendees were protestant. Father WhatsHisName was a stuffy sort, and you could just tell that he considered this a rare opportunity to give the heathen a good going-over.

He got about 5 minutes into his remarks when, lo and behold, a fellow Priest intervened. About all I remember is that the guy was kind of Hispanic, middle aged, and had the look of somebody you wouldn't want to mess around with. He'd been sitting behind Fr. Pompous, but he stood up, moved to the microphone and literally elbowed the other Priest aside, with something like "Thank you, Father, for those words; now, in conclusion. . . . . "

Priest no. 2 then gave us a 10 minute reflection of the nature of death and suffering in this life, this "veil of tears", taking the Old Testament book of Job as his focal point. To paraphrase broadly (and it's been many years, but I remember the essence):

"What we have here before us in the passing of Mrs.(name) is a MYSTERY. Death is beyond our full comprehension, and will remain so till the end of time. But that doesn't mean we must despair -- far from it. Consider Job, who experienced every kind of pain, suffering, and loss -- horrible! And all out-of-the-blue, for no apparent reason. He very reasonably cried out to his God, 'WHY such suffering?? Why ME??!!!

And he was answered. Answered in a way that sounds inadequate only at first blush.

"God replied, more or less, 'Some things you can't know right now; but trust Me, and I'll take care of you.'

"He did.

"And He did."

The family still remembers that day. Thank you, Father.

Thanks for sharing that great memory and account. There were many times I wished an elder or older person would have elbowed a few preachers away from the pulpit.