The anniversary of a loved one’s death is particularly poignant and deserves to be marked, but how? What do we do or say? This short graveside service reminds those grieving of the hope of the resurrection and marks the occasion with the sharing of memories and the laying of flowers. It also provides scripture that could be read by different individuals who are present.
Opening Words
Friends and family, we are gathered here today to claim the hope of the gospel for [name], our beloved, [personal description like: wife, mother, and friend] and for ourselves. And what is that hope? Our hope arises from our faith that one day, on the day Christ returns, [name] will be resurrected.
Scripture
The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15:51–57 NRSVUE,
Look, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When this perishable body puts on imperishability and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:
“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Song
Let us sing of our hope, expressed so poignantly in the last verse of this hymn.
“How Great Thou Art” Boberg, trans. Hine
Scripture
It is customary to view gravesites as places of loss and defeat, places where cancer or heart disease or mental illness triumphed. But when we turn to God’s word, we are taught that these defeats, while heartbreaking, are only temporary. We learn that Christ’s love for us can never be lost. Paul writes in Romans 8:31–39 NRSVUE,
What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son but gave him up for all of us, how will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ who died, or rather, who was raised, who is also at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? As it is written,
“For your sake we are being killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than victorious through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Song
Let us sing the beauty of Christ’s love:
“In Christ Alone” Getty and Townend
Communal Remembering
Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labor, for their deeds will follow them.”
—Revelation 14:13 NRSVUE
Let us pause, remember, and aid each other in remembering the deeds of our beloved,
giving thanks for their legacy. [Invite those present to share their memories.]
Prayer
Oh, God, we thank you for the legacy that [name] has left us. Make us mindful of the truth that with our words and actions, we too are creating a legacy. May ours be one that testifies to your love and your mercy. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Placement of Flowers
The flowers we place today will certainly fade; indeed, they will decay in a matter of days. Yet their color and vibrancy point us to the new heavens and the new earth, where the flowers only become more glorious with time, and more numerous. Paul paints a picture of the new heavens and the new earth in Revelation 21:1-5.
Scripture
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“See, the home of God is among mortals.
He will dwell with them;
they will be his peoples,
and God himself will be with them and be their God;
he will wipe every tear from their eyes.
Death will be no more;
mourning and crying and pain will be no more,
for the first things have passed away.”
And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.
—Revelation 21:1–5 NRSVUE
Closing Song
“Soon and Very Soon” Crouch
Parting Benediction
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
—Hebrews 13:20–21 NRSVUE
