About That Dying Business...

3:24 AM Elizabeth Seckman 19 Comments


Funerals are big business.

And have been throughout history.

The record for costliest funeral ever is held by...drum roll...Alexander the Great in the 300's BC. His was a gala event ringing up to a whopping $670 million (adjusted to our AD level) dollars!  Part of the high cost was the need for special road construction to accommodate the jewel encrusted hearse that was so heavy it had to be pulled by 64 horses.

Then as time passed...the shrine, the lavish tomb of Alexander, was lost.

How exactly does an entire mausoleum with such a famous corpse just get lost?

And Alexander's wasn't the last to get lost. There was another tomb, the tomb of a king with billions of faithful followers, that didn't just get lost over time...it was never marked.

And his burial was far from impressive. There was no official procession, no lush robe to bury him in. But that's not surprising considering in life, this king's crown was made of thorns, his throne was a wooden cross, and his tomb was never his own...it was borrowed from a friend. He was laid to rest, not with fanfare and grand expense, but with loving care.

This man with his pauper's burial never had a shrine; never had a marker to be lost. Historians aren't even sure where the tomb might have been.

But for him, it doesn't matter. For this king, death was not the grand finale. The tomb doesn't matter, because he isn't there. He and his believers are yucking it up in Heaven. Dying was nothing more than a necessary step up the stairway.

Because with Christ, it's never good bye~ it's more like Bon Voyage.

Happy Holy Week :)







19 comments:

  1. $670 million? Sheesh, that is insane!

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    1. Yep, all that money and no one remembers where he's buried! Makes you wonder why we waste the money.

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  2. Thanks, Elizabeth. Just proves we should never judge a book by it's cover.

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    1. So true! The lasting impact of the guy with the pauper's funeral is way bigger than the million dollar affair.

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  3. Yeah funerals are definitely big business. You can a big one when 'product' is guaranteed. *Sigh* And yes with Christ it isn't goodbye.

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  4. Loved this post. The last line is perfect.

    HAPPY EASTER, ELIZABETH!

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  5. Happy Easter, Elizabeth! He is RISEN!

    And stories say Alexander was actually buried in Alexandria up until Cleopatra's time. The thread gets lost after Augustus sacked the city once she and Marc Antony died - no doubt he stole all the gold away for Rome's treasuries.

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    1. Thanx! I guess that's the downside of being buried with treasure...looters!

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  6. Wow. That's expensive!

    Happy Easter!

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    1. I know it is. I could find a better way to spend $670 million!
      Happy Easter to you too. :)

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  7. To know that death has been conquered and all the people we have loved and lost will come back to us is a miracle!Happy Easter!

    One a funny note...Have you ever heard the Jim Gaffigan bit about Easter?
    "Easter, that's a weird tradition.
    Female voice: Easter, the day Jesus rose from the dead. What should we do?
    Male voice: How 'bout eggs?!
    Female voice: Well, w-what does that have to do with Jesus?
    Male voice: Alright, we'll hide 'em.
    Female voice: I don't...I don't follow your logic.
    Male voice: Don't worry, there's a bunny.''

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    1. LOL! Love it. Beats my answer to my kids for the Easter bunny...'just ripping from the pagans sweetie'

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  8. This is a fantastic post for Easter. I love it.
    Pretty amazing about Alexander the Great too. Yikes!

    Have a blessed and safe Easter.

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    1. Thanks. And I hope your Easter is blessed as well.

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  9. Words to remember. Happy Easter :-)

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