Joseph Lewis D’Silva
Every individual is sure to die; when it will happen depends on the call of the Creator. As age advances and years pass by, we notice that fewer and fewer neighbours and friends, survive. As Time slips away, and with advancing years, thoughts of death become more frequent.
Most of us worry about death; whether it will be painful? Will it come sudden; peaceful or violent or after a long illness in a hospital bed? What will happen to our near and dear ones once we leave this Earth? What if, we become completely dependent on our children or other, care takers, for simplest daily tasks?
On our death day, the sexton tolls the passing knell! And community becomes aware that someone has expired. For relatives and friends, emotions, frustrations and grief may become overwhelming. But God heals their wounds of the heart and gives them the strength to face the loss; and what will happen to the eternal soul in the eternal world, depends on the actions it had taken during the temporary stay on Earth using free will.
The funeral cortege, gives back the body to the Earth from where it came from; and the spirit returns to God, who gave it; for Him to judge. The soul is the energy of life, it can neither be created nor destroyed. It is indestructible. So, it lives eternally as per the sentence it receives from its Creator.
On the last march of the corpse, only relatives, neighbours and friends can accompany our body up to the burial ground. But only our good deeds go with our soul and speak for us before the Creator. As Joseph Hartz mentions in his Daily Prayer Book, this truth has been shared here in brief, and in my own words.
For a few days after the funeral, people visit the mourning family’s house for prayers. After the devotion, they often share memories of the departed soul. A garland photo of the deceased hangs on the wall, watching silently over the gathering, as if lost in thought.
Musing old folks wonder, if life will ever be the same for the ones left behind. Yes, the living must go on. The laws of nature continue to govern the universe. Friends and strangers restart their routines, and move on in their own circles; working, running and exercising --- life does not pause.
We all know that ‘Death’ is undeniable fact of life, which makes no exceptions. It comes for kings and beggars, saints and sinners. But some are obsessed to prolong one’s lifespan. This is because “God has planted eternity in the human heart.”(Eccl.3:11). Although, our physical body is mortal, and subject to decay and disease; yet we cling to it very much; we cannot overcome the fear of losing it. But life is much more than that. It is beyond the body; it is the spirit.
Death, though feared and sorrowful, it is not the end but a passage into the eternal kingdom. It reminds us to live meaningfully, with love and with acts of kindness; as this life is a preparation for the eternal life. While our bodies return to the earth, our deeds follow us into eternity. Let us therefore, live in a way that, when the Creator calls, we are ready --- at peace with ourselves, with others and with the Divine.