“Walking Like the Egyptians?”
Rev. Carrie Kreps Wegenast
September 26, 2004

The ancient Egyptians have a reputation for their funeral rights and burial practices. In a society where religion influenced each part of life and death, the Egyptians practiced a highly ritualized burial. They believed the deceased entered a new and better life upon death. The tools of this life would be needed in the next life and to ease the transition. The tombs of the deceased would be filled with the tools of the person’s occupation, as well as clothing, food, furniture and possibly even carved statues or jewels. Model sized tools were often used, because they took up less space and were cheaper, and were believed to morph into the real size in the after-life. Pictures of food drawn on the tomb’s walls were expected to magically transform into real food, thus providing continued sustenance. The Egyptians firmly believed possessions followed them from one life to the next.

This tradition of burial and the afterlife is found in other ancient societies. The Egyptians are not alone in this practice.

Watching the news one day I was startled to see a modern example of Egyptian burial. A woman’s final request was to be buried with her true love, her pink convertible. As the news reporter highlighted the woman’s life and accomplishments, I was spellbound as I watched the car being lowered into the hole with the woman’s casket. Her husband, the reporter informed, had even had the car cleaned, serviced, and filled with a full tank of gas. She left this world prepared for the after-life. In the midst of the more modern images of death, including heaven and hell, some are attracted to the hope and security found in possessions. There is a desire to take those things that we have loved on earth with us into the unknown of the afterlife.

In an age when books are written on the details of heaven and everyone claims to know what will get you there and what won’t, was this woman on the right track? Will she be the only one driving in heaven because the rest of us did not think to pack our cars for the journey? Did the Egyptians and other ancient societies have it right? Do we need to fill our caskets and tombs with essentials for the next life?

We, as Christians, exist in a different time and place and follow a different set of guidelines. The Bible gives us snippets of details on what happens to one when death comes.

My childhood images of death were influenced by two places I understood as real, heaven and hell. Heaven was a place where angels walked on fluffy, white clouds, playing harps or flutes and helping God with the thunder and rain. Hell was a place of fire, torture, and pain. My images adapted slightly when I read Dante’s Divine Comedy. His graphic images of monsters, people of the past tortured for their sinful lives, and the levels of punishment influenced my image. Through study of other religious traditions, I assessed my earlier beliefs. Is my heaven comparable to Nirvana or the heaven of the Muslims? Will we all be together in heaven or is heaven only for those who repent of their sins and believe in Jesus Christ? The images of heaven and hell vary from person to person and even from Bible passage to Bible passage. In the New Testament, heaven is both a place and a time. The author of Matthew announces the entrance of the kingdom of heaven, a time of equality and justice. Heaven is also the place where God resides, where Christ came from, and returns to in the accounts of Mark and Luke. We could spend all day talking about heaven and hell and the depictions of each throughout the centuries. However, we do have a 3:15pm Packers’ kick off time so I will try to keep this short.

The story of the rich man and the poor man, Lazarus, describes the chasm between heaven and hell. The rich man, in life, refused to feed or care for the poor man sitting at the gate of his house. When both died, the rich man ends up in Hades, while Lazarus sits in the lap of Abraham. The rich man calls out to Abraham with the hope that Lazarus could come to hell to ease the thirst on his tongue. Abraham defines the criteria for entrance into hell and into heaven. He says, “Son, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish.” The distance between the two places is divided by a chasm. One from the other cannot reach into the next. The “great chasm has been fixed,” Abraham announces to the distraught rich man.

First Timothy, chapter six further illustrates the chasm fixed between heaven and hell. The emphasis in this part of the letter to the close co-worker of the Apostle Paul is to illustrate the chasm, not between heaven and hell but between heaven and hell and this life. The author reverses the Egyptian ancient burial practices by stressing this point, “we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.” The things, the tools, the furniture, the food, the clothing, the jewels, will not matter. In fact, they cannot be taken with us. Even the desire to be rich can lead to ruin and destruction. As we heard in Sam’s sermon last week on the verses at the beginning of this same chapter, we cannot serve both God and mammon. We cannot have two gods.

Both lectionary texts offer advice to the wealthy. And, lest you think that you can tune out at this point, please remember that America is a ‘rich’ country. In the story of the rich man and the poor man, the rich man begs Abraham to send Lazarus to the houses of his brothers that they may have time to repent and be saved from the torments of Hades. Abraham provides this answer, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if some one should rise from the dead.” Meaning, the scriptures are sufficient. If they are rejected, not even a miracle or a resurrection will make them believe. We make our choice in this lifetime, not at the start of the next.

The author of First Timothy offers a plan. “As for the rich of this world, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on uncertain riches but on God who richly furnishes us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good deeds, liberal and generous, thus laying up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life which is life indeed.” In other words, if we are more like the rich man should have been, giving Lazarus food from his table and clothes from his closet, we too can end up in the bosom of Abraham.

So there are two kinds of wealthy people. The first is like the rich man in Lazarus’s story. He ignores the prophets. He ignores Moses and finds himself in anguish. The second is the one described in First Timothy. This person is wealthy in good deeds. Instead of placing hope for security in money, this person relies on God. The author promises abundance for this person because through these liberal and generous deeds, a foundation is being laid. This is not a foundation for a new house, or the first stocks purchased for a financial portfolio. Rather, this is a foundation for a new kind of life, one which is a true life given only through God.

This new life begins now. It is a choice that we make in this lifetime. Many of you may be thinking, I’ve heard this all before. It sounds nice and doable as I sit here, but something happens when I leave this meetinghouse. The desire to do something is still there, but do what?

In the recent weeks I have found myself without the usual things that made my life full. I no longer have papers to write or readings to finish before class. I miss my commute from Evanston and my busy weekends here. Instead, other things have begun to replace these. As my schedule slowly filled up this Fall, I decided that I needed to incorporate certain things that had gone too long neglected. The first item was service. I decided that I need to exit my comfort zone once in awhile to do something for someone else. Many of you have heard me talk about the Nehemiah House here in Milwaukee. In fact it is just down the street at 25th and Vilet. Their mission statement reads, “The mission of the Nehemiah Project, Inc. is to promote healing in the Greater Milwaukee Area through programs that support youth, forgiveness and interracial dialogue.” The House, itself, is home to 8 boys assigned there by the state. Through programming, the Project opens its doors to the community offering hope in an area in need of hope. Why do I mention this from this pulpit? The Nehemiah House is an old funeral home. For the last thirty-six years it has been a group home for boys in need of care, affection, and hope. When the Nehemiah Project took over the Home two years ago it was in sever disrepair. While they have remodeled the two upstairs floors, parts of the basement are unusable. This is where we come in. The Pilgrim Fellowship has already agreed to help paint and do other tasks. Dry wall needs to be hung, some electrical work and carpet laying are priorities, and a bathroom needs to be made usable. In the next couple of months you will hear more about what they need and how you can help. Working with the Nehemiah Project to restore their basement as a meeting place and activity center and to help support their mission is something I feel God is asking me to add to my schedule. In many ways it is an expression of my thanks to God that I have something to give and serves as a way to return a portion of the blessings I have received. Could God be calling you too?
What kind of wealth do you have? Are you like the rich man in Lazarus story or do you fit into the second category? You can still decide. As Christians, we do not walk like the Egyptians. While they believed their wealth assisted them in the next life, we prepare ourselves to leave everything behind. We seek God for the possessions that will travel with us. Our wealth, our hope, our security is in the foundation we are building in the life that is indeed life.

Please join me in prayer,

Dear Lord,
You have given each one of us so much, monetary sustenance, places to live, clothes to wear, food to enjoy, and a community in which to share our blessings. Guide each one of us as we explore our role as the rich man. Help us to discern the places we can serve or the gifts of time, money, specialized skills or attitude we can offer. As your chosen children we pray, Amen.