Leave to the dead the care of burying their dead

7. He said to another, “Follow me,” but he responded, “Lord, first I must go and bury my father.” Jesus replied,  “Leave to the dead the care of burying their dead; as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom  of God. (Lk. 9:59-60).

8. What could these words mean: “Leave to the dead the care of burying their dead?” The preceding considerations show first that, under the circumstances in which they were spoken, they could not express criticism against someone who regarded it a duty of filial devotion to go and bury his father. However, they entail a deeper meaning that can only be understood with a more complete knowledge of the spirit life.

Life in the spirit world is in fact the true life; it is the normal  life of  the  spirit,  whose earthly existence is  only transitory and passing. It is a sort of death when compared to the splendor and activity of the spirit life. The body is nothing more than a coarse garment that temporarily cloaks the spirit, a true fetter that holds it imprisoned to the earth, and from which it is happy to be delivered. The respect one has for the dead is not bound to the physical matter of the body but to the remembrance of the absent spirit. It is analogous to that which we have for the objects that belonged to the deceased and were touched by him or her, and which are kept as remembrances. This is what this man could not understand by himself. Jesus teaches him by stating: Do not worry about the body, but think first of the spirit. Go and teach the kingdom of God. Go and tell others that their homeland is not on the earth but in heaven, for true life is found only there.