Remember you must die

This writer continues to suffer grievous pain, resultant from my beloved wife's death and fond memories of a marriage of 50 years' duration. Philip of Macedon gave a standing order to his slave to come into the King's presence every morning regardless of what the King was doing and say, “Philip, remember that you must die.” We all die without exception. Modern humanism considers death only as an intrusion into our plans and an illusion.
At the graveside, an artificial layer of grass covers the earth with its biblical symbolism of the body returning to the earth. The shedding of tears is a healthy reaction. It's just as non-Christian to pretend that we don't grieve for the loss of a loved one as it is un-Christian to mourn too long. Our Lord does not teach that death is unreal, but Christianity does teach that its pain, loss and heartbreak can be overcome by faith in Our Redeemer. St. Paul puts it into these wise words, “Neither death or anything else can separate us from God's love in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Christ's teachings support my abiding faith that death is not the end of everything. “The body is committed to the ground; earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust; in sure and certain hope of the Resurrection to eternal life, through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Anglican Book of Common Prayer.)