Words of Comfort: the Apostle Paul

I recently re-discovered these words from St. Paul the Apostle (circa 5 - circa 65 AD/CE), in his letter to the church in Corinth (located in modern-day Greece), written sometime around 55 AD/CE.  The passage is from 2nd Corinthians, chapter 5, verses 1 through 10. It is taken from the New Living Translation of the Holy Bible.  I have found that the Apostle Paul has the rare gift of getting us to look beyond our present difficult circumstances and have us take the longer view:

"For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. ² We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. ³ For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies.^{[a] 4} While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. ⁵ God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.

⁶ So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. ⁷ For we live by believing and not by seeing. ⁸ Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. ⁹ So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. ¹⁰ For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body."

Videos That Have Helped: Navajo Beliefs About the Afterlife

The YouTube channel Navajo Traditional Teachings features videos from Navajo elder Wally Brown.  Several of his videos deal with the Native American tribe's beliefs about death and the afterlife.  In one of the videos, Wally explains that we grieve because we love, and that grieving is not something we are to do forever: we are to continue on in our life journeys while honoring those who have passed on.

Words of Comfort: Lorna Byrne

Mystic and author Lorna Byrne describes a profound near-death experience (NDE) that she had in her book "A Message of Hope from the Angels."  According to her, our deceased loved ones continue to be a part of our lives just as much as they ever were, maybe even more:

"I know one of the reasons people fear death is that they are concerned about those they will leave behind.  At the moment of death, you will realize that you can do much more for those you love in Heaven than you can ever do for them on this earth.  I know this is hard to understand.  When a soul has gone to Heaven, it is in a position to intercede with God in a much more powerful way, on behalf of family and loved ones, than it could when it was here on earth."

Beliefs About the Afterlife: the Ancient Egyptians

Sam Tetrault, a contributing writer for Cake, has an article about the ancient Egyptians and their beliefs in the afterlife.   For historical reference, most historians regard the "ancient" period of Egypt as lasting from circa 3100 B.C.E. (when the first pharaohs reigned) to 332 B.C.E. (when Egypt was conquered by Alexander the Great).  Tetrault points out that death was not something the ancient Egyptians were afraid of:

"[The] Egyptians didn’t have much fear surrounding death. Because death meant continuing on to the afterlife, which was very similar to the life they knew—this wasn’t a reason to be sad. Daily life in ancient Egypt focused on living to the fullest, whether that meant joining festivals, gaining wealth, or appreciating moments with friends and family."

One aspect of Tetrault's article that I find particularly intriguing is the concept of a confession and "final judgement", which predates the beginnings of the great monotheistic religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam):

"The first stop for departed souls is to the Hall of Truths. This is where they wait in line for judgment from Osiris, the god of the afterlife. In front of Osiris and the Forty-Two Judges, the soul makes what’s known as their Negative Confessions. This is a list of 42 sins one can commit against one’s self, the gods, or others....From there, the judges discuss the confession and present the heart to Osiris. It’s weighed on a scale against the feather of truth. If the heart is lighter than the feature, the soul goes to the afterlife."

Many other interesting facts and tidbits in Tetrault's article, including the Egyptians' belief that not burying a body would cause that person to return as a ghost!