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In the previous episode, we have discussed about the issue of ancestral worship. There are various motives for ancestral worship – some people want to benefit from it, others want to be known for being filial and the rest are afraid that their dead ancestors will return to bring trouble upon them. Thus, in ancestral worship, they conduct rituals for the souls of their ancestors so that they will not be lonely and become wandering ghosts. In the traditions of Confucianism, they see ancestral worship in terms of carefully attending to one’s parents’ funeral rites and keeping them in remembrance. When they drink water, they think of its source. They long for the loved ones who were gone! This is good.
What is the stand of Christianity on ancestral worship? We do not worship the ancestors, so many people dislike us. They think that Christians, who believe in Jesus, do not want their ancestors and Christianity is a western religion. Therefore, we have a bad reputation. As Christians, how do we see this issue? Why are Christians not involved in ancestral worship?
The reasons for not participating in ancestral worship. The ten commandments in the Bible tell us very clearly that the Creator God is the Lord whom we worship. As for our parents, we should be filial and respectful towards them. The first four commandments give priority to God. We should worship Him. The next commandment is on human relationships: it highlights honouring our parents. Our parents give birth to us, bring us up and educate us. However, the heavenly Father created us and feed us with the living creatures. He is the very first source of our origins so we should worship Him.
There are other reasons for not being involved in ancestral worship after our parents and ancestors have passed away.
First of all, there are two meanings to the Chinese word “Ji”. In the Kangxi dictionary, it is to “offer a sacrifice of meat to the spirits with both hands.” It also has the same meaning in Shuo Wen Jie Zi, the original Han dynasty dictionary.
On the other hand, the Guang Ya dictionary also interprets it as “to offer a sacrifice”. Qiu Ri said that “The person, who offers a sacrifice, is also having a contact with the spirits.” It means that the living person is offering a ritual sacrifice to the dead spirits. When a person is in contact with the spirits, it involves “communication” too.
A person will be with our Father in heaven after his death. It means that when a person departs from earth, he will go on his separate ways so we do not have any more reasons to continue building any relationship with him. This is the Christian perspective. From the revelation of the Word of God, the Christians know that we should only worship Him as He is the absolute One who deserves our worship. Our parents or ancestors cannot become ghosts or spirits after death – a human will still be a human even after death, and will not be transformed to be a ghost or a god. Therefore, we will rather bear the name of “turning our backs against our ancestors” and stand firm in not being involved in ancestral worship.
Christians pay respect to their ancestors rather than be involved in ancestral worship. We emphasize on the respect for them while they are still alive rather than worshipping them after their death. In the Song dynasty, the monk, Ouyang Xiu, mentioned that: “Filial piety should be timely, and the rich sacrifices after our parents’ death is not as good as the modest providence for them while they are still living.” We may offer abundant food for ancestral worship but it cannot surpass our providence for them and taking care of them in a good and simple way while they are living.
The ESV Bible clearly tells us that: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honour your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), “that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.” ”(Ephesians 6:1-3) In other words, we must not only provide for our parents while they are alive, but also be extremely respectful to them. Proverbs 23:22 in the ESV Bible says: “Do not despise your parents”; “Do not revile your parents, do not dishonour them.” (Matthew 15:4 and Deuteronomy 27:16). It is our responsibility as Christians to respect our parents. We are expected to do so unconditionally as it is the right thing to do. Therefore, how can they say that Christians “turn our backs against our ancestors?” It is a misunderstanding.
On the anniversary of our ancestors’ passing on, we can gather our elders, children and grandchildren for a memorial so that the whole family can commemorate our ancestors and give thanks to them for bringing us up and being role models for us to love God and people. On every second day of the Chinese New Year, my wife, family and I will be at the cemetery to pay respects to my father-in-law and mother-in-law. We will come together for a memorial at the tomb, meditate verses and offer flowers. The children will start to narrate the interesting stories or stories about the good role models of their parents while they were still alive. The grandchildren will stand at the side to hear the stories. How interesting it is!
On the other hand, some Christians will have engraved memorial plaques of their ancestors in replacement of ancestral tablets. I had once led a person to believe in Jesus Christ but her husband was reluctant to become a Christian together with her. I discovered that it was because of the ancestral tablet. One day, I brought an engraved memorial plaque for ancestors to his place and told him, “The purpose of ancestral tablet is to commemorate our ancestors. Now, I have made a new memorial plaque for you to replace the ancestral tablet. Is it fine for you?” As a result, he acceded to it and passed his ancestral tablet to me. We prayed together for him to receive Jesus Christ into his life.
In other words, we commemorate our ancestors rather than worship them. This is the original meaning of the Chinese saying in Confucianism - “carefully attending to one’s parents’ funeral rites and keeping them in remembrance.” Therefore, Christians are not a community of ungrateful people who “turn our backs against our ancestors”. Definitely not. Christians stress more on filial piety towards our parents while they are still alive, rather than being filial to them after their death. While our parents are still healthy, we should treat them well and bring them to eat Hakka bean curds as they have no teeth! If you give them a big pig head, birds’ nest and abalone after their death, it is meaningless. There is a Taiwanese saying：it is better to be a bean when one is alive rather than be a big pig head after one’s death.
Let us explore how Christians should handle the funeral of family members who are non-Christians.
First of all, before the funeral, we should express our stand in such matters with gentleness and firmness to our family members in order to prevent clashes during the funeral. In other words, if an elder in my family has passed on, I need to make a stand to the person who has the most authority in the family. For example: “Father, grandpa has passed away. I am a Christian and I cannot offer incense. I cannot be involved in such a ritual with all of you.” We should explain clearly our stand before our family members in a gentle way before the funeral so as to avoid making our father lose his face and become angry if we do not participate in their rituals. It is not good to have conflicts during the funeral.
Secondly, during the funeral, we should distinguish between those rituals that we can participate in and those that we cannot. We should not reject totally. If not, the others will be repulsive against Christianity. For example, we can put on garments for mourning, keep watch over the night and even stand solemnly to pay our respects to the dead, mourn and offer flowers to replace those superstitious religious rituals. Therefore, inform the family members before the funeral that: we cannot offer incense and bow down. It is extremely important to tell them clearly about it. We should also stand firm to tell them which parts of the funeral we will not participate in but we should express it in a gentle manner.
If our family members still do not understand our difficulties, we need wisdom to put it across to them, saying: “When the funeral ceremony is going on, I need to attend to the guests as my Pastor and a lot of brothers and sisters are coming to the funeral.” Or we can also say: “I will collect the condolence money and the gifts for the funeral.” In this way, we do not need to participate in the funeral ceremony.
Thirdly, if our family members still do not understand our predicaments, we can express the stand for our Christian faith politely to the Taoist priest or the monk before the funeral so that they can understand our perspectives. Nowadays, the Taoist priest and the monk are very open-minded so you can make a stand for your faith to them and request for their help to convey to your family members about your stand. This is a very effective way to deal with this issue. When my sister’s father-in-law passed away, I suggested that she informed the Taoist priest about her difficulties. During the funeral ceremony, the Taoist priest announced publicly, “The Christians in our midst do not need to offer incense!” What the Taoist priest says is very effective and carries a lot of weight.
Finally, remember to inform your Pastor and brothers and sisters in the church immediately that you need their support. Thus, the church has to provide the support. When more Christians attend the funeral, the opposition from our family members is lesser. This is an extremely important point to take note of.
May the Lord help us to have courage to face the difficulties that we have during the funeral. In the same way, our family members will also reflect on what Christianity is under such pressures. Why is my child so firm in his stand? Brothers and sisters, it is worthy for us to pay the price for defending our faith.
Finally, I will like to talk about how Christians can be set free from the shackles of the taboos of folk customs.
First of all, we must trust in Jesus Christ and know that the debts of our sins have been paid. We are a new creation in Jesus and are no longer under the control of Satan’s authority. We have freedom in Jesus. If we still have sins in our lives now, Satan will keep us in bondage through our sins. Our fleshly desires will be means that he uses to tempt us to go back to our superstitious practices in the past.
We must keep the commandments of God and must not return to the previous mode of living. When the Israelites were about to enter Canaan and inherit the Promised land, the Lord warned them solemnly (Deuteronomy 18: 9-14 ESV Bible):
a) Do not burn their sons or daughters as an offering or to Molech (the idol) (Leviticus 18:21)
b) Do not practice divination
c) Do not be involved in interpretation of omens
d) Do not be involved in sorcery
e) Do not inquire of the dead
f) Do not be a medium
As for the interpretation of omens, we should not participate in any religious ceremony related to the evil spirits and worship of idols.
We rely on the Holy Spirit and the precious blood of Jesus to overcome all the disturbances of the evil one and experience the peace of Jesus. Thank the Lord. We are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ! In doing so, we have peace in our hearts and God will watch over our coming in and going out.
Let us pray together.
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you. Through Jesus Christ, we are no longer under the control and disturbances of the taboos of folk customs. We are now set free in Jesus and experience the peace that comes from you. We thank God for His grace! May our Heavenly Father continue to help us and lead us to return to your Word and to your teaching. May we bring our loved ones and friends to salvation in Jesus so that they can experience the true freedom and peace in the kingdom of God. Lord, bless our parents so that they are healthy in their bodies, souls and spirits, know of your salvation and part take in your blessing. We pray this in the holy name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!
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