... factor in The Puritan theology of mourning this shift was the increasing prominence at midcentury of jeremiad themes in sermons and other texts By the s, the gap between the ideal and the real ... to the absurdity of weeping for a Savior in heaven and for those who followed him there When they eulogized their dead, they felt that they were obeying Christ’s command to shift the focus of mourning ... the dead to the disciples in his instructions for the mission: “And, as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise The Puritan theology of...