Voidness and lostness – it’s getting personal

There is no denial that despite all scientific achievement, depth of knowledge and breadth of creativity, humans have no dominion over life itself.

Losing someone dear today is probably no different to 1,000 years ago, or 5,000, or the day the first human appeared.

If we believe (or have the scientific basis to maintain the proposition) that humans have always existed, i.e. the notion that the “first human” does not make sense, that the feeling of losing someone dear is an experience that spans eternity. Note “eternity” is a function of time, which means that previous sentence does not stand. But that’s a different subject.

Leviticus 6 maintains the forgiveness formula from previous chapters; but it starts (Leviticus 6:1-7) a notch higher: the text is getting personal. Crime towards a neighbour; value of property and reimbursement; telling lies to another person, etc. Such ritual provisions catered for the outward expression of inner recognition of wrong.

As we lose someone dear to us, berevement hit us in a way we would not have expected.

To begin with, while they were still with us, we lived in the hope and faith that the person would continue to be with us.

The moment they passed away is a tremendous heart-wrenching and physically disabling experience that the bitterness no words can express.

The following weeks and months is a period where a great amount of things needed to be done, somewhat on behalf of them, to bring their “earthly matters and bondage” to an end.

Here, we referred to them in both present and past tense, and maybe a bit of future.

As we lose someone dear to us, berevement hit us in a way we would not have expected.

From memories of good and bad times, to physical objects and places.

From shared years of happy childhood to how we struck out days of bitter arguments in teenage years.

From discovery of independence (relative) from parents to how we helped each other to walk, ride bicycle, defend from enemies, encourage each other to stay up late to revise for exam or stealthily social media and watch TV.

The past is past: but that means there would be a time you will come home, or meet online, or they will message a sibling about something, or buy take-away for late dinner.

Now, the past is past in a completely different “past”. When the person is no longer with us, the past takes on an all-the-more wider and deeper spectrum of void. We feel we are still connected with them in a spiritual way; but there is no hiding from the fact about the depth of lostness in the connection.

Quality relationship is so important with our loved ones. Repairing relationships when it goes bad is an artistic exploration and a scientific adventure, and we get better in pushing the other one to their edge, and still restoring the relationship afterwards.

We might not necessarily know the other person very well to have misunderstanding, argument or some form of “bickering”, in the open or “silent” or some mixture. It also does not require a deeply intimate and personal relationship with someone to have an argument (or laughter). Inevitably, problems will come in personal terms, and that’s what angers, hurts and troubles us.

That’s why we have arguments. It could well have been things to do with

value of things or property,
lies or white lies of some kind,
some matters of half truth, delayed or out-of-sequence facts that amount to deceit, or
misusing / abusing another person’s faith or trust for our own gain.

As Leviticus 6:1-7 sets out that the scripture is relevant to everyday activities for everyone, God has provided means for which we can sort out our relationships, to restore with those we have wronged, and also to be faithful to God.

As we reflect on Leviticus 6:1-7, hold on to dearly loved ones because we are “created images” of God. On this side of reality of “life”, while we are limited in our senses not to be able to perceive or understand the other reality of “risen life”, God’s word provides for refinement of our relationship with others. It will not be (always) perfect always. When we are in the reality of “risen life”, we would have plenty of “practices” that we would recognise what an always perfect always relationship is. It will then be very personal without voidness or lostness. Because we are with God.

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