Today I’m at one of the many very beautiful cemeteries of the Hurunui. We the family and friends of one who has died, have gathered here in Waikari to bury him.

When we gather for a funeral, we are confronted with the reality of death. The one we have known and loved in life, now lies dead in a coffin before us, and we lay him to rest in the earth.

When we gather for a Christian funeral we are focussed not so much on the person has died, but on the eternal reality which gives hope to the present…