It's a little more difficult to remember the context of the shortest verse in the Bible. It occurs when a friend of Jesus, Lazarus, had died. In the story Jesus calls to Lazarus, who has been in a tomb for four days, and Lazarus comes forth: resuscitated, alive again. In the story, Jesus wept because he loved Lazarus. At least that is the interpretation of those who observed Jesus weeping. Then, in response to his grief, Jesus pulls off the implausible, not to say impossible, act of the resuscitation of a corpse.
It all takes place in the context of a complex discussion about life and death and what happens to people when they die. The story allows Jesus to tell his disciples that those who believe will never die. The resuscitation of Jesus' friend Lazarus seems to point to that conclusion: have faith and the dead come alive again. But not really, because presumably Lazarus died again. What happened to him then? We are left with the same imponderable. What happens when people die?
Most likely the story was never meant to to be taken literally, but rather as a parable about the mystery and inevitability of death, with a message of hope. Don't worry about. It happens to everyone. And life is more than death. The mystery of life is that it never ends. It merely changes, transforms, becomes life in a different way.
When I was younger, I was very confident in what I believed about life and death, more specifically life after death. Life would continue in much the way as I have known it, but in some other realm, some better, more perfect realm. I am not so sure now. I don't dismiss the claims of those who say they know, who say that they are sure. I just don't find myself among them. I have no way of knowing what happens "after death."
In my explorations on human nature and morality with students, using the Harry Potter saga as a lens through which to look, we have discussed life and death quite a bit. The villain of the Potter story (as most everyone knows) is Tom Riddle, aka Lord Voldemort, who seeks to preserve his own life at all costs. He learns of magic that will keep him alive for ever by splitting his soul and preserving it in seven "horcruxes." He is desperate to keep on living.
In the Order of the Phoenix, in a dialogue with Professor Dumbledore, Lord Voldemort snarles, "There is nothing worse than death." Dumbledore replies that Voldemort's greatest weakness is to fail to understand that there are things far worse than death. The story moves on without telling us what might be worse the death. We are left to guess, or perhaps better, to ponder.
With my students I have pondered. If for Voldemort, the goal of life is "not dying," and according to Dumbledore this is wrong-headed, then perhaps the goal of life ought to be something other than doing all you can to extend life.
My own musings have led me to think that rather then the extension of life, the quality of our relationships in the life we have ought to be the most important focus. What would be far worse than death? A life lived without love, without kindness, and without beauty. A life filled with love, and kindness, and beauty is truly life. A life without love, and kindness, and beauty is a shadow of life—not really life at all. Such would be far worse than death.
+Ab. Andy