Cheng Meng (in Chinese Language: 清明节)

Most Chinese will go to the cemetery during the first two weeks of April each year due to the festival of Cheng Meng (FYI: Cheng Meng has just passed on 4 April 2012). For Christians, we would just clean up the graveyard and probably place some flowers to show our respect to our parents while the Taoist or other Chinese traditional religions will go to offer up prayers or offerings to the dead by presenting paper money, baby pork, incense etc, because they believe that their deceased loved ones are still living in the natural world and are thus able to influence the future and fortunes of the living relatives or as an attempt to portray filial piety. To the latter, ancestors’ spirits are also thought to act as mediators between the living and the Creator. Not only that, the ancestors are believed to influence the lives of later generations by blessing or cursing them, essentially acting as gods.

It is true that the dead are in the spiritual realm but sadly, unable to influence the future and fortunes of the living relatives or loved ones…Refer to Luke 16:20-31, New King James Version (NKJV)

But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

“Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

“Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”

You may also want to ask, why Christians should not pray and offer incense or sacrifices to our ancestors or relatives who have passed on? It is simply because the Bible says:

“You shall have no other gods before Me."

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

[Exodus 20:3-6, NKJV].

And the Scripture also says:-

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,

[1 Timothy 2:5-6, NKJV]

Thus, if we pray and burn incense or offer food or other material as sacrifice to the dead, do you think the Lord our God will be pleased?

May I challenge you today to find out what is acceptable to the Lord (Ephesians 5: 10, NKJV) and living in His will.

In Him
Yit Mun (aka IP Man)

Images taken from:
http://photottana.blogspot.com/2010/04/cheng-meng-chinese-annual-ceremony-of.html
http://www.visualphotos.com/image/2x3532644/burning_incense_sticks