The Perfect Funeral

If you want to wonder what ran through the disciples’ minds as they walked with Jesus, wonder what you would wonder. That is why I frequently imagine the perfect funeral.

“Friends, we have come here to mourn the loss and celebrate the life of Erford Underdunk. However, things are going to be a little different today. I have been directed to make a slight change.”

I step to the casket and place my hand on the hands of the deceased.

“Erford, it’s time to get up and get out of this box.”

Incredulous silence fills the room. The family is embarrassed. Two seconds tick by. Three...

The body twitches.

Someone in front gasps.

The body rises.

Someone in the second row screams and the small room explodes into a chaos of people in various stages of being, as the popular expression goes, freaked out. No one sees Erford smile as he hoists himself onto one elbow. Bedlam is not conducive to careful observation.

Now put yourself outside the Israeli village of Nain. You, the crowd and Jesus approach weeping people following two men with a stretcher and a body. You have been with Jesus long enough to guess what may happen as he veers toward the group; but your heart still races. Maybe you nudge the newcomer next to you and point to the mourners. Then you alternate between glancing at him and watching the action.

Jesus stands in the way of the procession. That may have caused some momentary irritation. He pays no attention as he steps up to the stretcher, lifts the covering and speaks to the boy.

My guess? Mourning is replaced by mayhem. The fellow beside you disappears from your peripheral vision. You look...down. You kneel and smile knowingly as you wait for consciousness to return. You anticipate his wonder. You revel in your own.

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