Funeral - Tents

Tents - Assurance for Troubled Days (General)

1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—

he who watches over you will not slumber;

4 indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—

the Lord is your shade at your right hand;

6 the sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—

he will watch over your life;

8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore[1]

I’m sure most of us are familiar with tents and tentages.

They are the temporary dwellings we build when we are out camping, or for some of us who were involved in uniformed groups when we were growing up or even when we were serving our national service when we were out in the fields.

As for our younger generations who are growing up in this concrete jungle, the chances for them to experience sleeping in tents in the outdoors are really quite limited, because unlike people living in Australia, or the United States or Canada, the areas that we can pitch a tent is very limited…

Nevertheless, perhaps because of the books that they read, or the movies and shows they see about people from overseas, many children are still familiar with tents, and for a stage in their lives, my children, nephews and nieces were similarly fascinated with tents…

And because we do not stay in place with a garden, my children would create their own indoor tents…

And they do this by throwing their blankets over chairs

Use cloth-pegs to secure them and sleep within their home-made tents…

Well, at least they usually start out that way…

but the so-called tents usually do not last very long and usually half-way through the night, the blankets would usually end up wrapped around the kids,

and my children would end up squeezing on the bed between my wife and I…

The make-shift tents my children made were not made to last very long…

And my children know that even as they their so-called tents were to fail, they can always jump into bed with their parents…

there is always somewhere they can turn to…

Their make-shift tent is not a permanent place, but a temporal abode…

In the same way, even the commercially-made tents that we use when we go for camping trips, in the uniformed groups as well as in the military, are not meant to last for a long time…

It was just to be used for the period of time when we were out in the fields,

When we are in the process of journeying…

Therefore, the tents while being able to function somewhat in keeping out the rain and the animals, but is subject to wear and tear…

And it is always assuring to know that at the end of the journey and the camping trip,

There is always a concrete house that we can go back to and keep warm and dry…

This is why I thought that the use of the tent as a metaphor for the body is so appropriate, because it reminds us of the reality of the frailty of our bodies…

And it also reminds us that this world is not our home…

but we are but on a journey on the way home…

When we are young, and when everything is going well around us, most times we think we are invincible,

Just like when you get a new tent from the stall, it seems like it will last forever, being shiny and new,

but it is a matter of time when it will start to get old and break down…

and sometimes holes start to appear…

Likewise, as we age, we realise that we get a little weaker,

we need help to get around, we get sick and take a little longer to recover…

eventually sickness will eventually overtake us…

And when that happens, it’s wonderful to know that there is something greater that had been prepared for us and we know that there is more than the things that we see in this world…

This is the heart of the Psalm that we read today, which is sung by the Israelites when they were on their pilgrimage to the city of Jerusalem,

going to the temple to observe their sacred holidays and feasts,

a journey that is filled with dangers and hazards because of the rough weather, robbers, thieves and murders, lack of adequate food and housing…

yet not matter where they are,

they always looked to the hill on which Jerusalem was build on…

looking towards the end of their journey so that they will be free from all these hazards…

and that is where Mdm Wong is right now…

she is as described by the Apostle Paul as having run the good race… fought the good fight…

and now she is enjoying the rest she deserves,

she has reached her destination…

and is at a place of bliss…

which the bible in the book of Revelation 21:4 which declares that there are no more sorrows, no more mourning, no more crying, no more pain, no more infirmities, no more weakness, no more disappointments, but rather, Mdm Wong is now in a place of pure delight, a place David described in the Psalm as “in the house of the Lord” and the duration of the dwelling as “’forever”, no longer need to be bound by our weak and limited body, but able to fully enjoy life… life as how we were supposed to enjoy, before sin came into this world, and we know that this journey is sure…

And how do we know that?

Because verse 2-3 of the Psalm tells us that “He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber” and the one who promised that is none other than the Lord who is the maker of heaven and earth…

And in this, we know that our God is not just a God who is an impersonal God who after creating the world, decide to leave the world as it, but rather, our God is one who is very much interested in our lives and in fact, our scriptures tell us that so much did he loved us that when we were hopelessly lost,

When we have turned away from Him,

He didn’t leave us as we are…

But decided to send His very son down to earth to die on the cross for our sins so that we who are lost would be able to find our ways back to Him once again…

He was leading His people home when they were lost in the wilderness after He had delivered them out of Egypt…

He was leading His people home when his people were on their way to the temple at Jerusalem…

He is leading His people home today…

And this is a story of how he continues to do so today…

The president of a Christian university found himself on a flight where a little lady asked him to exchange seats with her so she could sit by a friend.

He did and soon found himself engaged in conversation with an off-duty pilot and soon realized that he was seated next to Captain John Testrake, who had been hijacked by terrorists in the Middle East. When the university president asked Captain John, “What was the most life-changing development to come out of the entire incident for you?”

Without any hesitation John said, “I knew the presence and the power of God unlike any other time in my life. I felt his presence in the cockpit. In fact, it seemed like there were two of me there. I could see myself standing and talking and making decisions and could feel another me across the cockpit. I knew that God was in that plane.”

John then related that during the hijacking, he had plenty of time to read the Bible in the cockpit and had discovered Deuteronomy 31:6, which encouraged him: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

When the hijacking ended, John traveled to meet his wife in Germany and when they got to their room, his wife showed John the verse that sustained her throughout the ordeal.

She opened her Bible and turned to Deuteronomy 31:6 the very verse that sustained John throughout the difficult times.

Despite being thousands of miles apart, John and his wife were led to the same passage, and they also realized that God had led them to look to same passage at the same time. Not for one moment will you be left alone.

In the same way, while we feel sad that Mdm Wong is no longer with us because she is such a big part of our lives and it is natural and ok for us to miss her dearly…

But we can also take comfort in the words of the Psalm we read, who points us to a God that loves us deeply, cares deeply for us, and will never leave us or forsake us…

And we take comfort in the fact that there is a much greater place, waiting for us at the end of our journey…

A place much greater than the temporary tents that we live in…

Where there is no pain, no sorrow, no tears…

A place prepared for us… a place of bliss… a place where we are meant to be…

and we will get there as assured by God…

And we thank God for the life of Mdm Wong who had finished her journey and is already at that place…

A place where she is in tangible communion with God…

And we know that for us who hang on to this truth…

we will get there too… and we look forward to the day when we can see Mdm Wong once again…

But in the meantime, let us keep looking to God and lift our eyes to the hills from which our help comes from… Amen…

[1] The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ps 121:1–8.