Let’s play a game called:  Find the spiritual analogy (there are no right or wrong answers so don’t be afraid to take a risk)

A Jazz funeral is a public event.  Once a family has memorialized their loved one they then take to the streets.  Often times the casket placed in a carriage and family, friends and a brass band march alongside as they make their way to the cemetery.  At this point the band is playing somber versions of songs like, “Just a Closer Walk with thee.”

As the “Main Line” of family, friends and the band march home, the atmosphere and tempo changes drastically.  The band swings with songs like, “O When the Saints Go Marching In.” Handkerchiefs wave, colorful umbrellas twirl and people dance their way through the streets.
Music and the mood  are so infectious that a “Second Line” of people form and join in the festivities.  Folklorist, Nick Spitzer, calls the Second Line a “funeral without the body.”  
Join the Groove:  Get creative, can you turn this into a spiritual analogy for Holy Week specifically and/or the Christian life in general?


More from Beliefnet and our partners