Pain is an uncomfortable experience, but nothing trumps a pain of the heart. Grief-stricken hearts filled with sorrow and loss easily surpass any other pain one may experience, and often overwhelm the bearer to the point where they're unable to act, or in some cases bring out other emotions like anger or regret. Oftentimes with such deep emotions we try pushing them aside, doing other stuff to take our focus off of our sorrow. Such is the case with Achilles and his Achaean comrades as they work through the grief of Patroclus' death, a close friend of many of the men in the army, specifically Achilles. Instead of grieving and moving on, Achilles decides to hold "funeral games" to honor his parted friend, and the Achaean army compete in archery tournaments, chariot racing, and other sports. While we don't hold funeral games nowadays for loved ones who have passed, we still grieve and mourn for them with a deep passion. My question is this: why, as Christians, do we often mourn a loss and hold onto it for so long afterwards? As followers of Christ we believe in Heaven, and so instead of a loss being a sad experience, we ought to view it as a joyful one, because that person that we loved so much (if they also accepted Christ before their death,) has moved in to Heaven. I understand that we miss that person and miss the interactions we had with them, but to go so far as to hold funeral games like Achilles? It just seems like a bit much for one person.
PS: I commented on Clabo's post and Haylee Lynd's post. :)
I agree with your opinion on how we should view the passing of someone who was firm in their faith and identity in Christ. However, Achilles believed in a much different system of judgement where one's soul could either make the afterlife cut, or be sentenced to an unimaginable amount of pain for eternity. I believe the funeral games were how the Achaeans let their grief for someone go, it allows them to honor and then move on from the death.
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