I have always wondered what’s the purpose of embalming? Is it a way of protecting ourselves from the ultimate truth that our bodies are mortal? Or does a “formaldehyde makeover” simply help us to look our “best” when we are really at our “worst”?
Let’s face it, our bodies die and they decay. Our earthly containers eventually rot in the ground or are consumed by fire!
The recent death of Kim Jong Il, North Korea’s former “dear leader” prompts my thinking here.
Over the past few weeks professional embalmers from Moscow have been busy at work on the body of Kim Jong Il. Like his father, Kim Il Sung, this latest North Korean leader to die is joining a legion of former communist patriots who have tried to defeat the finality of death. Here they have been embalmed and put on permanent public display.
In an effort to defy death once again, Kim Jong Il will be presented in the likes of Lenin, Stalin, Mao and Ho Chi Minh as his preserved body is placed in an elaborate mausoleum in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.
One could suggest embalming has something to do with communism. But history shows embalming was extensively practiced by the ancient Egyptians. Popes were embalmed. Jeremy Bentham was embalmed as was Eva Peron. The former Filipino dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, also entered this same status.
Christopher Kremmer, writing in the Sydney Morning Herald (17 January 2012), suggests the embalmed body “symbolises an enduring political order….it stands – or more precisely, lies – as a warning to anyone who might challenge a power that defies even death.”
In other words, Kremmer is saying embalming is an attempt to perpetuate a system or an ideology beyond the limits of death. According to some regimes, death simply cannot have the last word. It’s inconceivable. And the ruling elite in North Korea have big a stake here.
The focus of my Christian tradition is quite different. It’s not bent on promoting a well preserved body or a relic from the past. In contrast to the embalmer’s creation, people are driven by a witness to an empty tomb and to the indestructible spirit of love, mercy and compassion that is inspired and sustained by Jesus Christ. This spirit is lived out in the community Christ calls us to be.
UnitingWorld is part of this community. Here our commitment in North Korea is one of love, mercy and compassion. There is no need for an embalmed body and the power it tries to preserve and perpetuate. Rather, it’s a focus based on the impact of a humble prophet from Galilee who says ordinary people matter. Everyone has a place. Communities based on love and mercy have to be nurtured. The poor and the marginalised must be cared for. Compassion is at the heart of what we do.
Our personnel serving in North Korea know and embody this. Their commitment to this fledging, vulnerable country is one that stands firmly in what Jesus Christ calls us to do.
UnitingWorld supports important initiatives in North Korea. These include care for destitute children, ministry to people suffering from TB and the education of health care workers. It’s a significant commitment and we seek your ongoing support. See the UnitingWorld web site for details on how you can participate.
Love, mercy and compassion endure. These things are indestructible. They will abide forever.
No need for an embalmer here!
