Ramon Escorcha died on June 7, 2021, of heart failure at about 90 years of age. He attended a local Pentecostalist church, but members of his family attend our mission church and his grandson, Emmanuel David Sanchez, and his great-grandson, Reiber Santiago Pirela, were baptized here. The family asked me to lead them in a novena starting with the velorio on June 8.
What do these terms mean? A novena (from novem, the Latin word for nine) consists of nine days of prayer, Bible reading and hymns for about an hour each day. The nine days are said to represent the time between the Ascension and Pentecost, when the disciples gathered in the upper room and devote themselves to prayer (Acts 1:12-2:1). The novena has been an important devotional practice in the Caribbean and Latin America, both among the native Indian communities who converted to Christianity under the colonial Spanish or Portuguese rule, as well as the millions of slaves and indentured laborers brought to the Americas from different parts of Africa and Asia. Novenas often are observed in memory of the departed, starting with the velorio or wake.
In Venezuela, the wake takes place just before burial with the body of deceased present before family and friends at home, in a funeral home or hospital. At present, velorios are not permitted when COVID-19 was the cause of death, but may be held for people who died of other causes, like Señor Ramon.
Señor Ramon’s Pentecostalist church took responsibility for the graveside service, although we pitched in to pay for burial costs, because the family could not raise enough money for total expenses, a common situation in Venezuela today. Funeral homes, cemeteries and other service providers in Venezuela expect to receive payment in full at the time of the funeral. The average total cost for an adult funeral is $7,775. This is based on the most commonly selected items for a traditional funeral including a casket and vault. However, it does not include cemetery costs in Venezuela. A grave space, a grave marker, and opening/closing the grave can easily cost another $1,500 to $2,500 in Venezuela. Therefore, a typical traditional funeral and burial cost is likely at least $9,000. Depending upon the quality of the casket, burial vault and other merchandise selected, a traditional funeral and burial cost could be less than $5,000 or exceed $10,000. A direct burial or direct cremation can be arranged for under $1,000 as in this case, although Señor Ramon was buried without a marker.
It is possible to save money through cremation, but shortages of natural gas mean that option may not be available when needed.
We have had discussion previously with members of the Lutheran Church of Venezuela as to whether there could be a “Lutheran novena”. My position was yes, minus invocation of the Virgin and prayers that the departed may be released from purgatory. This was an opportunity to put this position into practice.
In the Smalcald Articles, Luther states that there is no Scriptural command to pray for the dead (SA-II II 12), but throughout his other works inclines to a cautious toleration of prayers commending the departed into the hands of a just and merciful God. The Apology of the Augsburg Confession asserts: “We know that the ancients speak of prayer for the dead, which we do not prohibit” (XXIV, 94). While Luther and the Confessions vigorously oppose purgatory and attempts to gain forgiveness of sins for the dead, especially through such works as masses and almsgiving, Martin Chemnitz regarded ancient prayers for the dead as exhortations and consolations for the living (Examen Concilii Tridentini, III, Locus III: De purgatorio, Section II, vii, 12).
While we may be confident of salvation for those who lived and died professing faith in Christ, there are those of whose spiritual state at the hour of death we may be uncertain. Of such people, Luther said in a sermon written for Trinity Sunday, “Now since it is uncertain and no one knows, whether final judgment has been passed upon these souls, it is not sin if you pray for them; but in this way, that you let it rest in uncertainty and speak thus: Dear God, if the departed souls be in a state that they may yet be helped, then I pray that thou wouldst be gracious.”
For resources in planning the novena, I had a service for the velorio developed by Mark Kempff, former Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod missionary to Venezuela, director of the Juan de Frias Theological Institute and now faculty member of the Center for Hispanic Studies at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, as well as guidelines on consoling bereaved families in the Spanish translation of “Pastoral Care Companion” from Concordia Publishing House.
The emphasis at every session of our novena was that because Señor Ramon had received the gift of baptism as a child and died believing in the promise of eternal life in Jesus Christ, he now was with the Lord. Only because of that faith would he be judged, not on the basis of success or failure in his life. We gave thanks for his long life, while remembering that no one is guaranteed any amount of time on this earth. Life itself is God’s gift, and it is He who has numbered our days. Now is the time for those still living to repent, believe and be baptized. We gave thanks that Emmanuel David and Reiber Santiago had received the blessing of holy baptism.
Read, pray, sing
We continued to emphasize the importance of devotional prayer in the home, as well as regular congregational worship with a workshop on home devotions for youth and adults on Sunday, June 27. Participants were taught the basic structure of invocation, Scripture reading, meditation and prayer, with optional recitation of the Creed and singing of a hymn. Unfortunately, we do not have an abundance of printed devotional materials, such as the Spanish “Portals of Prayer” at this time (no, it is not practical to download and print from the Internet, because paper and printer ink is in short supply). But family devotions are excellent time to review and explain portions of the Small Catechism. The catechism is included in the Spanish Bibles that we distribute, thanks to the Lutheran Heritage Foundation.
“Law and Gospel” for deaconesses
Luz Maria has concluding mentoring deaconesses online in “Ley y Evangelio”, the third course in distance learning program from the Juan de Frias Theological Institute and Seminario Concordia El Reformador in the Dominican Republic. What remains for women enrolled in the four-year program is a series of “intensivos” or online workshops, and a year of practical application of what they have learned.
Patching the pipeline
After four years without a public water supply, the pipelines in La Caramuca are running again. But after such a length of time, the lines are not in the best of condition. So we had repair work done on the section that supplies water for our property and for the neighbor below us on the hill.
Restrictions on travel in country and borders continue to be closed because of COVID-19, particularly the Brazilian variant. Dulce Maria Herrera, another prominent citizen of La Caramuca has died of COVID-19, but praise be to God, none of the people involved in our mission have been affected yet.
Although borders are officially closed, there still are people seeking to flee to Colombia by the desperate and dangerous route of walking over the peaks of the Andes Mountains. They are called the caminantes (walkers) and we often see them on the way into Barinas with all of their worldly possessions in a backpack or suitcase. Many times they have children by their side. Mike Waskowski, a friend from Minnesota, is on the board of directors of Hope4Venezuela, an evangelical group working with Venezuelan refugees on the Colombian side of the border, about 8,000 feet above sealevel. You can see video here.
Shortages not only of food and medicine, but also gasoline and natural gas continue to hamper the work of our mission. Please pray that causes of these shortages be resolved.
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