The Line Between the Spiritual and the Physical

There's just never a good time to talk about death.

In the West, we tend to have a sense of the finality of death.  Of course, in church we acknowledge that in Christ we never die spiritually, but we still draw this very distinct line at death.  In my experience, this line is as much about the difference between the physical realm and the spiritual realm as it is about the difference between life and death.

Probably because of the tendency to make things very black and white, western Christians have a propensity to draw a sharp distinction between physical and the spiritual realities.  We may recognize that spiritual beings such as angels or demons or whatnot have an effect on the world we live in, but they are still two very separate spheres of existence.

The east, on the other hand, has a much more inter-connected view of the physical and the spiritual.  Yes, the physical world we live in is fallen - our flesh is corrupt - but we are spiritual beings.  There is no wall between these two worlds, the spiritual realm is all around us.  It is in us.  We reside in the spiritual realm everyday.  Our actions affect the spiritual world, and the spiritual world affects us.  There is no separation.

In the west, there is this sense that once someone dies, they go to this other place - totally separated from us until we die and join them.  Western Christians often speak of being with loved ones again 'some day.'  The eastern perspective on this particular situation has been of great comfort to me as of late.  There is a freedom and a joy in realizing that when a friend or family member dies, the deep and true parts of our relationships don't change.  It is true that we won't be able to sit down and have a cup of coffee with that person, or give them a giant hug like we may wish, but we are not separated from them in any spiritual sense.  We can still pray for them, and they can still pray for us.  As members of the body of Christ, nothing changes.  To echo the words that Father Victor Potapov spoke in a conversation with his mother on her deathbed, "We remain members of the one Church of Christ. While we will no longer be able to kiss you or hold your hand, we will, through our prayers, be able to kiss you and be kissed in return."

It is a beautiful thing to be able to kiss and be kissed.