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One of the books that I used in a worship class years ago was
Thomas Long’s “Accompany Them With Singing”.
It is a book for pastors and churches on death and funerals. I was
always struck by the title, and have referenced this book many times over the
years. One premise behind the book is that the earliest funeral services
involved movement, procession, proclamation of the Word, and singing. If you’ve
ever seen a funeral procession through the downtown quarter of New Orleans
headed to the cemetery, then you have an image of Long is talking about.
Last Saturday I thought about this idea of “accompanying” again.
It was another funeral service already this year, this time for a Telford UMC
member. There is an element of “accompanying” that is always on my mind for
every funeral service that I officiate. It is my honor to stand beside and walk
with the body of your loved ones and my parisherners to their final earthly
resting place. It is with much care and prayer that I accompany them. As I
walked out of the funeral home that day with the casket was behind me as we
headed to the hearse, I led a processional of vehicles to the cemetery as I
prayed for the family and thanked God for his grace and love, and then at the
graveside I waited for the casket to be removed from the hearse, and I led the
pallbearers to the grave.
There is much accompanying in the funeral service. We never leave
our loved one alone.
And that is a reminder for where we are today, accompanied by God
who will never leave us alone.
And we sing. One of the early nicknames for the people called
Methodists was the “singing Methodists”, because of their lust and zeal to sing
their faith. We sing at funerals because singing is one way that we still to
this day, and even in these trying times, testify to our faith, and also a way
that we accompany one another in harmony as well as in life.
One part of the last couple of months that has been so hard is
that many people have felt alone. And we were never meant to be alone. God is
unity in Himself as the trinity, the 3-in-1 Godhead of the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit. And that example of unity is seen in God’s creation as well.
Isolation is not good for any species, and in fact togetherness is critical for
survival. Genesis 1 tells us that, “The Lord God said, “It is not good for the
man to be alone.” (Genesis 1:18a).
Maybe today you need to sing. And know that you are not alone. We
will accompany one another in person again soon, and in the meantime, the best
of all, God is accompanying us now.
So “Sing to the Lord a new song, sing to the Lord all the earth”
(Psalm 96:1), and know that God is accompanying you today, that He goes with
you this week and will never leave you. Your eternal accompaniment is secure.
