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The Philippine capital of Manila is so densely populated that some of the poorest people are now living in the city's cemeteries. They've set up residence as squatters on top of tombs, in makeshift shanties between graves and inside mausoleums, sometimes sleeping just a few feet from the dead.
Some of the people living in the graveyards have found work there -- maintaining the grounds, chiseling new grave stones, cleaning the mausoleums or emptying old above-ground crypts of bones when the relatives of the dead stop paying rent. That allows the slots to be reused to lay to rest newly deceased individuals (the removed remains are often transferred to bone warehouses within the cemeteries). With as many as 80 funerals a day taking place in some cemeteries, these "evictions" are deemed necessary.
But many more of the squatters either work elsewhere or have no work.
So many people are living in graveyards that some of the burial grounds have become, in effect, neighborhoods. "PBS Newshour," reporting this story last week, noted, "The Manila North Cemetery is currently bursting with life, home to more than 10,000 Filipinos who run businesses, raise families and live out their lives in between the headstones and crypts."
One family in the Manila North cemetery runs a stall selling noodles and earns enough to send their daughter to school. The family resides in a mausoleum in which they've installed a fan, refrigerator, rocking chair, microwave and mattresses. There are also six graves in their "home."
Those who first moved to the cemeteries -- some 30 years ago -- found them to be quiet, peaceful and much safer than the notorious slums of Manila. But now that many more people have moved in, robberies, muggings and gang activity have become common.
Still, one resident says his two-story mausoleum is the "best house" he's lived in: "the strongest, safest, with the best view."
Living people dwelling beside the dead brings to mind terminology used in some Christian denominations about "the church militant," composed of Christians currently living on earth who are fighting against sin and evil, and "the church triumphant," composed of believers from the beginning of the world who now rest from their labors. Those in the church triumphant are not fighting evil any longer, but now fully participate in the triumph Christ won for the whole church on the cross. This understanding views the church on earth as supported and surrounded by the church in heaven, but the church itself including both realities.
More on this story can be found at these links:
Dwelling Atop the Dead. PBS NewsHour
Philippines Cemetery Provides Manila's Poor a Place to Live Among the Dead. The Guardian
Living in Tombs. National Geographic (video)
We Live With Ghosts in the Cemetery. YouTube (video)
The Big Questions
1. What do we mean theologically when we say of a Christian that he or she has been "called home"? Does this mean that our world is in some way not home? Is it more likely that those who have less, those who suffer and struggle, might look forward to "going home," as compared to those who are comfortable in this world, who might think of this world as home? Where do you fit in this continuum?
2. Summarize the Christian understanding of death, resurrection and the life to come. Do you find it convincing all the time, some of the time, or not convincing? Why? How is your belief about these matters evidenced in how you live?
3. In what ways would Christianity be different if it had no belief in life after death? Would you be willing to serve God or stand by a crucified Jesus if there were no resurrection?
4. When a person becomes stuck in grief, we might describe that person as "living with the dead" in a life-consuming way. How might the Christian teaching about death be helpful to that person? How might it not be helpful? What other sources of help might be needed? Are words helpful or less helpful in walking with a person in such a situation? What has helped you when you've struggled with grief and loss?
5. In what ways, if any, does the concept of the church existing both on earth and in heaven speak to you? In what ways, if any, are Christians alive today in communion with Christians who have died? Leaving aside any question of intercessory prayers offered to our saints, as some churches practice, do you speak to those who have departed who are dear to you? What do you say? Does it help you? Do you believe our departed loved ones are listening? Do you think the conversation is one-way or two-way?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Luke 8:26-27
Then they arrived at the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As [Jesus] stepped out on land, a man of the city who had demons met him. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he did not live in a house but in the tombs. (For context, read 8:26-39.)
This is the beginning of the account of Jesus healing a man "who had demons" and was too irrationally violent to live among the general populace. Thus he dwelt "in the tombs." In a land occupied by Jews, that was doubly significant -- in a negative way -- for not only was a graveyard a place most people of any religion would spend little time in, but for Jews, such places were associated with Gentile uncleanness. In fact, tombs were often whitewashed (see Matthew 23:27) so that one would not accidentally come into contact with them. Some people also considered tombs the dwelling place of demons (just as some people today do).
Read the whole story and you'll see that Jesus not only restored the man to sanity, but also brought him to such good mental health that he could return to his home in town (v. 39).
Questions: The man Jesus healed lived in a graveyard only because his behavior made him unwelcome around others. Many of the people living in cemeteries in Manila find it an improvement over the slums, but still far from ideal. How can the demons preventing their earning a better living be expelled?
Do you think of cemeteries as "unclean"? Spooky? As a young person, were you nervous about cutting corners and walking home if it meant going through a cemetery? If your church has a cemetery, is it a place where you go walking on occasion? Why or why not? Why might cemeteries elicit feelings of unease for some people and feelings of peace for others?
Romans 8:38-39
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (For context, read 8:31-39.)
These lines from the apostle Paul are a good summary of what Christianity teaches about death. And it's noteworthy that although burying martyred believers was a growth industry in the first century, there were always new Christians ready to risk everything for the sake of their faith. They believed that "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." They viewed the grave as a connecting link to eternity.
Questions: In what ways do these words from Paul speak to you today? How do you express your love to those who have gone before you?
2 Corinthians 5:1 (Good News Translation)
For we know that when this tent we live in -- our body here on earth -- is torn down, God will have a house in heaven for us to live in, a home he himself has made, which will last forever. (For context, read 4:16--5:10.)
The verse above is another clear statement of Christian belief about death.
There is a story about John Quincy Adams that can be seen as illustrating this verse. At age 80, this mature Christian was hobbling down a street in Boston, leaning heavily on a cane. A friend slapped him on the shoulder and said, "Well, how's John Quincy Adams this morning?"
The old man turned slowly and replied, "Fine, sir, fine! But this old tenement that John Quincy lives in is not so good. The underpinning is about to fall away. The thatch is all gone off the roof, and the windows are so dim John Quincy can hardly see out anymore. As a matter of fact, it wouldn't surprise me if before the winter's over he had to move out. But as for John Quincy Adams, he never was better ... never was better!"
John Quincy Adams was a great one for talking about his death and often writing poems on the subject. This is probably what gave him the courage to stand up against slavery in the House of Representatives during the final years of his life when the subject was often forbidden on the floor of the House. It angered people that gentlemen were forced to hear about slavery.
Questions: If you were conducting John Quincy Adams' funeral, or advising the pastor who would conduct it, what might you say about the answer he gave about how he was? Do your beliefs about life hereafter give you courage to stand up for unpopular causes?
Hebrews 12:1-2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith ... (For context, read 11:1--12:2.)
Hebrews 11, which precedes and leads into the verses above, contains an enumeration of many people from the Old Testament who lived and died in faith. Chapter 12 then, begins by referring to all those now-deceased faithful as "so great a cloud of witnesses." The imagery is of these departed faithful having run their race of life and now sitting in the bleachers to cheer us on as we run our race.
This is one of the biblical sources for the concept explained in the "In the News" section above of the "church militant" and the "church triumphant." Our more recent ancestors may have understood this better than we do, for up until a few generations ago, independent or community cemeteries were rare. Most graveyards were also churchyards, creating a community of the "quick [old word for "alive"] and the dead" -- the quick inside, the dead outside.
For believers it was important to be buried within the borders of sanctified ground from which rose both the church building -- the center of the living Christians' worship life -- and the communal cemetery -- the final resting place for all past generations who had lived and died as believers.
One TWW contributor says, "When I was a kid, we'd visit friends who lived in a parsonage next to a church with a cemetery. The cemetery was a common playground for us. The only scary thing that ever occurred was when my sister accidentally pulled a tombstone down on her leg and broke it (the leg)!"
Thanks in part to Halloween and horror movies, many people no longer think of graveyards as holy ground. By moving our burial grounds away from our worship centers, we have lost one of the representations of the fellowship of the faithful. And we forget, perhaps, that the majority of the church is under ground.
The old church graveyards were a kind of in-your-face reminder that death was a normal part of the human journey. You walked among the tombstones on your way into the building each Sunday.
Questions: What, if anything, represents for you the communion of saints today? Who is in your cloud of witnesses? Who influenced you for the good but is no longer living? Are you a member of the communion of saints, as you understand it?
For Further Discussion
1. Rev. Stan Purdum tells the following: "For several months before I went into the ministry, I worked as an assistant in a funeral home. I quickly learned that certain words were not to be used in that business. In the first week, a delivery of burial boxes arrived and while I was helping to move them to the storeroom, I referred to them as 'coffins.' The embalmer, who was helping me, immediately corrected me. 'We call them caskets,' he said. 'Coffin sounds too cold.' Soon after, I learned that the long, dark-colored Cadillac in the garage was not a 'hearse,' but a 'funeral coach.' There were no 'undertakers,' but only 'funeral directors.' We didn't hold 'wakes,' but did have 'calling hours.' The dead person could be referred to as the 'body,' the 'deceased' or the 'remains,' but never, never, never the 'corpse.'" Does this softening of the language surrounding death help those who grieve? What does it suggest something about how we view death?
2. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was born in Epworth, England. At the time, his father, Samuel, was the priest at the local Anglican church. As an adult, John, too, became an Anglican priest, and he had a heartwarming encounter with God that made him an ardent evangelist. He preached that people ought to embrace their Christianity with enthusiasm.
All this enthusiasm was a little too much for some of the reserved clergy, including the priest who served the Epworth parish after Samuel's death. It happened that one of John's travels took him near his hometown on a Sunday, so he offered his services to the Epworth pastor to either preach or read the prayers of the day. That pastor not only spurned the offer, but proceeded to preach a sermon on the dangers of enthusiasm.
John's father was buried in the graveyard that adjoined the church. His tomb was a stone vault that rose about three feet above the surface of the ground. So that evening, as people were coming to the church, John climbed up on his father's tombstone and preached to them about joy and peace through the Holy Spirit.
Do you think John's father would have been pleased to help his son in this way? Do you have a sense that we who follow Jesus are one in faith with those who have gone before us? Why or why not?
3. Read together and discuss 2 Timothy 4:6-8.
4. Comment on this, from the apostle Paul in Philippians 1:21: "For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain."
5. Discuss this, from TWW team member Frank Ramirez: "Personally, I've always thought it odd that we take people out of the church directory when they die. The idea of the communion of saints is that there are people on both sides of the great divide who are part of one great fellowship. At one point in Revelation, we see those who have died in heaven and all is well with them. There is this great celebration going on. We are told that the prayers of the saints, those who are living, are part of the celebration, the smoke as I remember. This seems to me to mean that we are all part of some great heavenly worship and that what we're doing in our own Sunday service, no matter how humble or simple, is part of something greater and grander."
6. Respond to this, regarding our theology about death: There was a house that was plagued with rats in the garage. The father, after several unsuccessful attempts to eliminate them, put a bounty on the rats' heads. He promised his children $2 for every rat that they were able to kill. Thus, the next day, Johnny was in the garage, hunting rats. Unbeknownst to Johnny, the minister stopped by to visit his mom and dad, and was sitting in the living room. A few moments later, Johnny came running into the room shouting, "Dad! Dad! I got one! I saw a rat run into the corner of the garage. I sneaked up behind him and dropped a cement block on his head. It was great! His brains splattered all over the floor!" Just then, Johnny noticed the minister sitting there and quickly added, "And then the good Lord called him home."
Responding to the News
This is a good time to think about the question "To whom do you ultimately belong?" and about how your life today shows that allegiance.
Closing Prayer
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