My family had the difficult task of informing my grandmother that my grandfather, her husband, had passed away. Together with our close relatives, we gathered at her house to share with her the sad news. We knew it wouldn’t be easy, considering that they had been together for 50 years, so we did our best to explain to her that he wasn’t really gone. We emphasized that it was just the physical body that died, but his soul lives on. To our surprise, however, she exclaimed, “But it’s his body that I want!”
While we couldn’t help but laugh a little, there was truth to her longing. She wanted to see him, touch him, and hold him like she did before. It’s good to know that the soul lives on, but there are so many things you can’t do with an invisible soul.
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I knew that I would also miss my grandfather in a similar way. I would long to hear his laughter again. I would miss seeing him embracing and loving my grandmother.
Would we ever see him like that again?
As someone raised in a Catholic family, I knew that I would find comfort and hope in my faith. Looking towards the Bible for answers about the next life, I found consolation in various verses about the resurrection of the dead. Just like Jesus’ resurrection, we hope to see our departed loved ones again in both body and soul.
I found comfort in these Bible verses that either foreshadow our resurrected life, or tell us about the kind of life God will one day impart to believers.
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body by the power that enables him also to bring all things into subjection to himself.” (Philippians 3:20-21)
Our current physical body was called lowly compared to the glorified one God will one day bestow upon us. This body gets sick, grows old, and dies. But the one that the blessed will possess is a body that will never die.
This means that we will not only get to see my grandfather again. But we will see him young, strong, and full of life!
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“Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” (Luke 24:39)
Jesus clearly distinguished his resurrected body from ghosts. We can hope for a body that we can touch and feel, not an invisible soul that cannot be touched.
When that time comes, my grandmother would finally get to embrace her dear husband once again. She would not talk to a mere spirit but to a man with both body and soul.
“While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ They gave him a piece of baked fish; he took it and ate it in front of them.” (Luke 24:41-43)
The glorious body that the saints will have will not only be able to be seen and touched. It can also eat! Jesus knew our fears, and he made himself an example to give us a glimpse of what our resurrected body would be like.
How wonderful it would be to enjoy a meal again with our departed loved ones! It would be a day of true joy and celebration.
“‘Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.’ Thomas answered and said to him, ‘My Lord and my God!’” (John 20:27-28)
As though it were not enough for his disciples to see him eat, Jesus even consoled Thomas by letting him see his wounds. The resurrected body of Jesus is his own flesh but healed and glorified. It was not another person’s body.
I can’t imagine the joy we will have someday when we can embrace and kiss our grandfather again!
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“As for me, I know that my vindicator lives, and that he will at last stand forth upon the dust. This will happen when my skin has been stripped off, and from my flesh I will see God: I will see for myself, my own eyes, not another’s, will behold him…” (Job 19:25-27)
This same truth can be found in Job when he clarifies that he will see God with his own eyes, even repeating it!
We can still identify each other in the new heaven that God will make. This means that my grandfather will not be in another human body. The same eyes that looked at us with so much love will look at us again and words would never be enough to express our joy!
“…creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:21-23)
St. Paul specifically mentioned the redemption of our bodies. He even compared our current state to the state of corruption and decay we see in nature today. One day, God will deliver us and even our physical bodies will be redeemed.
Jesus suffered in his physical body and rose again with the same body to show us that we need not fear being another person, forgetting who our loved ones were, or floating like ghosts who can neither touch nor hold each other’s hands.
It doesn’t mean that we will no longer grieve. In the case of my family, we will continue to miss our grandfather so much, yearning for his warm presence and voice of wisdom. But with this assurance, we can have hope. Death will never have the final say. For in Christ, we can hope to rise again and embrace each other with the warmth of his redeeming love.
