The word Cemetery means ‘sleeping place’. Many people think that death is the end of everything. Not so for Christians, but death is the return to God. In the Gospels, Jesus calls death ‘sleep’. Our body rests until the day of resurrection. The word ‘cemetery’ is derived from the Greek word ‘koimeterion’.
The common abbreviation found in tombs is ‘R.I.P.’, which means rest in peace. There are quotations in the Bible that link death to the words rest and sleep. In the event of rising the girl, Jesus calls death to ‘sleep’. “Go away! The girl is not dead but sleeping. They ridiculed him. When the crowd was put out, he came and took her by hand, and the little girl arose.” (Matthew 9: 24-25).
When it comes to the resurrection of the body, St. Paul, too, calls death ‘sleep’. “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of Lord, will certainly not precede those who fallen asleep. For the Lord, himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and in the dead in the christ, will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)
These verses remind us that every Christian should understand that death is terrible but not the end. Recognizing the fact that death is the return journey to Christ, we can live with more hope and face death.