Do Not Stand On My Grave And Weep
Do Not Stand ON My Grave and Weep, probably seems a strange title for a poem. After all, why would you want to stand ON someone's grave?
Of course the correct title of the funeral poem that you are looking for is Do Not Stand AT My Grave And Weep, but now that you are here it does present us with the opportunity of cheering you up by telling you a funny story about a funeral.
You may know, that there is a story in the Bible about Jesus going to his friend Lasarus' house on hearing that Lazarus had died, and the Bible tells us that when Jesus saw all the mourners and saw Lazarus, "Jesus Wept".
The story is quite well known, because Jesus went on to perform the miracle of bringing Lazarus back to life.
It is also well known because in a series of prayers used in Catholic funerals, in between each line of the prayer the priest says, "Jesus who wept over the body of Lazarus, have mercy on us". The Catholic Church has been using this form of words for centuries.
Anyway, to get back to Do Not Stand On My Grave And Weep.
One day, I was asked to share a funeral service with a priest, with him saying the prayer then stepping back, whilst I stepped forward to say, "Jesus who wept over the body of Lazarus, have mercy on us". Then I would step back whilst the priest stepped foreward to say another line of the prayer, and so on to the end, with us both stepping forward and backwards several times.
The funeral at the graveside duly got under way, and the point soon arrived where I was to step forward. As I did so, I said in a loud clear voice, "Jesus who LEAPT over the body of Lazarus, have mercy on us".
I looked down at the ground, wishing that the grave would swallow me up, as I immediately had this mental image of Jesus leaping over the body of the dead Lazarus.
I just could not get the image out of my mind.
The more I tried to get the image out of my mind, the more I thought about it, and the more I thought about it, the funnier it seemed.
So by the time I next stepped forward to say the same lines, it was all I could do to stop myself laughing! I daren't look at anyone, so I resolutely looked straight down at the ground and spoke the words (correctly this time). I managed this for the several times I was asked to repeat the words, each time struggling to stop myself laughing, as the seriousness of the situation I was in clashed with the silly image I had in my mind.
Sometimes, it doesn't pay to have a 'weird' sense of humour.
Anyway, at the end of the service, the priest put his arms round my shoulder and told me he was very impressed that I had managed to carry on despite being overcome by emotion. He had not caught my little slip, but from behind me he had seen me shaking with laughter as I tried to stop myself laughing out loud, and he thought I had been fighting back the tears!
After the funeral was over I told him what I had said, and I explained that I'd been shaking with amusement not shaking with sorrow.
I can't imagine why, but he never asked me to share a funeral service with him again.
He did though, soon after, become a hospital chaplain, and undertook a lot more funerals on a regular basis. He has told me since that I have ruined hundreds of years of tradition, as now, he is unable to use those words, "Jesus who wept over the body of Lazarus, have mercy on us" at a funeral service, without thinking of me, and without a mental picture of Jesus 'Leaping' over the body. In fact, he's since stopped using that phrase all together!
Do Not Stand On My Grave And Weep
You've looked for the wrong thing, but we hope we've cheered you up on your journey to the correct funeral poem.
If you still want to find the words of the "Do Not Stand At My Grave And Weep" funeral poem, you can find them by clicking on the above link.
