On the morning of May 31, our family got into our minivan and headed to my parents’ funeral. They were not, however, actually dead.
We drove to their village for what is known as a “living funeral”; a celebration which allows people to experience the appreciation of family and friends directly. It is not common to have a living funeral in Japan, but I had proposed it to my father. He had been making plans for his funeral for a long time, holding family meetings about it many times.
At one meeting, I said, “If you are so concerned about your funeral, why not have it while you are still alive?” He accepted the idea, and so the event was organized for him and my mother, both in their eighties.
On this momentous occasion, there were eighty guests sharing their memories. During the funeral, my parents asked me to give a speech and to play a song. When I asked them about the content of the speech and music, they said that anything would be okay. So, that day, in front of all the guests and family members—some Buddhist, some Communist, some agnostic, some atheist, like my father and mother—Cory and our sons and I sang a song of worship to Jesus. I quoted Philippians 1:21: “For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain”, explaining that for those who trust in Jesus, death is not the end. The crowd of not-yet believers listened eagerly, and even applauded at the end.
It was an amazing and strange experience.
Since then, there have been good conversation opportunities with my parents. Recently, I asked my mother, “What do you think is the meaning of life?”
“That is a difficult question,” she replied. “We are born, we live, we die. How would you answer? I suppose you would say something about God?”
After some back and forth, I asked if I could read what the Bible says about the meaning of life. To my surprise, she eagerly agreed! We read from the first two chapters of Genesis, and afterwards she was able to retell the story in her own words.
“What can you tell about God from this story?” I asked.
Immediately, she answered, “God loves all that he made—people, plants, animals.” My heart filled with joy at her answer.
Please pray that my parents will continue to have deep encounters with Jesus—now, while they are still alive.
