1 Corinthians 15:54-57 — So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Myra and I were reading Numbers 19 this morning. It is the mysterious account of the sacrifice of the red heifer and the burning of ashes to create the water of purification, to be used to remove the uncleanness caused by death.
I was wondering about why such a strange process was needed.I realized that most — if not all — societies have death rituals, usually organized by faith communities.
For example, according to Wikipedia:  The Benguet of Northwestern Philippines blindfold their dead and place them next to the main entrance of the house, while their Tinguian neighbors dress the body in their best clothes, sit them on a chair and place a lit cigarette in their lips. The Caviteño, who live near Manila, bury their dead in a hollowed-out tree trunk. When someone becomes ill, they select the tree where they will eventually be entombed. Meanwhile, the Apayo, who live in the north, bury their dead under the kitchen. 
Another example — Traditionally in the Russian Orthodox church the body lays uncovered in state for the three days until burial. Then there is a special memorial dinner. On the ninth day, when the soul is believed to leave the body, a special church service and dinner are held. On the fortieth day, the soul is said to depart for the other world, and a service and dinner party are again held. At each party, a glass of vodka covered by a piece of black bread is left for the deceased.
As I explored this, I found many fascinating traditions! But why — why do we need these rituals.  It’s because, although they are familiar, death and life are the ultimate mysteries. We do not really know how the divine spark of life comes, not why it really flickers out. We understand the immediate causes but the mechanisms of life and death themselves are mysterious. being mysterious they are frightening, and being frightening they need to be mysteriously defeated.
For Christians though, the matter is surely different. We know that we will die … but we need not fear death.
We know that death is the natural consequence of sin. Adam sinned, and death ensued as part of our fall from grace. We pursued that fall to it’s desperate end on Good Friday, exercising our free will choosing to kill Jesus … kill one of the persons of God. The Father chose not to interfere. And then, gloriously, on Easter Sunday He chose to exercise His free will and defeated death, reclaiming His Son from the grave. The sting of death is drawn, the grave is defeated. No Christian need fear the final mystery. It has been defeated.