My First ‘Cry Die’
There is something here called a ‘cry die’. From what I can tell, it would be comparable to the visitation in the States. Well, today I went to my first one. It is customary for many of the people in the neighborhood to come by and say they are sorry for the loss of the family. Now there are many things I could write about this experience, but one stuck out above the rest.
The new pastor at the local church was also at the ‘cry die’ and he interrupted the mourning, which consists of loud wailing of many of the female members. After getting everyone’s attention, he proceeded to tell everyone not to cry. That the woman’s soul is not going to come back because of their crying, but that it is going to heaven to be with God. And that all of us will die one day, facing heaven or judgment. Then he prayed.
Now the thing that strikes me about that interaction is how culturally poignant it was. From what little I know about the culture surrounding death, the crying is meant to show the departed soul that they miss them and not to come back later to haunt them. This is what I have heard from others and will, no doubt, learn more about their beliefs in the future. So what he was actually telling the people is, ‘The spirit doesn’t linger. You don’t have to be afraid of the spirit to come back and haunt you. We all will die and either pass into heaven or judgment, but either way, it is final.’ In his short little mini-sermon he spoke directly to the cultural belief and brought truth to the situation.
