So I don't know why I started thinking about this this very foggy, dreary morning, but I was thinking about my funeral and whether I wanted to be buried or cremated [although by the time I die, I wonder if anyone will be able to be buried anymore]. I know that once I die that my soul will no longer be in this body, but this body is such a big part of who I am here on earth. When people think of me, they think of this body which I inhabit. I find strange that it should weather away in a box for the rest of time. If I am buried, I think I have decided that I want to be buried naked. There are two reasons for this. One being that I don't find it right that a perfectly good outfit that could clothe someone who would need it more than I be wasted on my corpse. The other reason is a little more symbolic. When we first enter this world we are in the womb. This dark, small, tight space big enough only for us. It is filled with liquids that nourish us and help us to grow. And we are naked. There is nothing there to clothe us, we have all we need in the womb. Well when we die and are buried, it is a very similar situation. We are put into a dark box that is big enough only for us. This box is not filled with liquids however. It is filled with nothing but air. The soul that inhabits the body is no longer in it, so the body no longer needs to be nourished. Well if we are naked in the first, having everything we need, then I think we should mirror that in the second. It seems only right to do so. But that is if you are buried. What about cremation. Well your body is burned to ash. Symbolically speaking, this almost seems more appropriate than a burial. ''Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.'' We all have heard that saying. While it is true that if buried our bodies will EVENTUALLY turn to dust it takes quite a while. And for recent generations it may take quite a bit longer because of all the preservatives that are in the food we eat and the drinks we drink. But if you are cremated, then this earthly shell is immediately returned to whence it came. [Is it weird that the more I think about this, the more comfortable I am becoming with the aspects? I think so.]
Now we get to why I titled this blog as such today. Enoch and Elijah are the only two people in the Bible to never have died, so they didn't have to think about whether or not they wanted to be boxed in forever or burned to ash. Now they might not have even had the option to be burned to ash, I'm not entirely sure about funeral customs in their time... Both were taken up by God, well one was technically taken up by a chariot of fire, but that was most definitely God's doing.
Here is each of their stories: Enoch - ''When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. And after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived 365 years. Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away."-Genesis 5:21-24. Now this makes me think of the ''rapture.'' When most of God's children will be taken home to Heaven before the epic battle for the earth ensues. [Also slightly makes we want to watch The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King, not entirely sure why though. I think it may have something to do with the fact that I said epic battle. Which consequently, I don't get the chance to say on a normal basis.] Here's Elijah's story - "As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind."- II Kings 2:11. This may sound way cooler than Enoch's story at first, and while it is pretty pretty freakin awesome, let us not pass over the fact that Enoch was walking WITH God and God TOOK him away. God himself took Enoch away, woah. This would of course be my first choice, to be walking with God and God himself take me up to Heaven with him. Second choice would of course be God sending a chariot of fire led by horses of fire to take me up to Heaven in a whirlwind. Either of those would be way intense. But I had a revelation today. Yes this body is my earthly shell, it's how people that I know now think of me. But one day, when I am gone from the earth, I don't want them to remember me by my body. I want them to remember me by my soul, by my spirit. By who I am inside of this body. I hope they remember that I laughed like no other, and I cared about people way too much for my own good. That I was probably the one of the strangest people they had ever encountered. That I believed in humanity and kindness and love to the point of naivete. I want them to remember that I always had a good time, and that I was so thankful for life. I want them to remember that I loved life. Most importantly I want them to remember that I was a child of God, and that I tried my hardest to reflect God's love to the world. So in conclusion, I don't really care about whether I am buried or cremated. Because when it comes down to it as long as people remember me for who I am, and I get to be at home in Heaven with God, then it's all good.
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