Hi,
Why do we need to die a physical death if Jesus has forgiven our sins and death is the result of sin? Why not fly into the sky like Jesus or all be assumed like Mother Mary into heaven? I am not afraid to die, just doing some thinking…
GodHeals
Sin has many meanings, levels and repercussions.
Many people think “sin” is purely “moral” - that is, only at the level of intention. Therefore if the offended party forgives (also at the level of intention) then all is well again.
This limited picture may be the cause of your question.
As the Fall makes clear, personal moral sin also impacts lowers levels.
It affects us at the level of our “substance” (it can change the very structure of our soul and body) and this can be either temporary (self repairable) or permanet (not repairable by ourselves). And because human nature is shared the sins of one may also damage others in similar ways even if completely innocent or removed from us. Finally the mineral/animal world/cosmos itself is somehow connected to the human spirit and it too gets damaged in some way as well (and not just by means of “mechanical” causality as in global warming).
Physical death (along with the general “entropy” of life in general) is a consequence of original sin. And yes, the Incarnation has forgiven/healed the sin and removed our intrinsic connection with death that was not present when Humanity was created in Adam/Eve.
There seem to be two theological reasons for explaining why we must still die physically and why “entropy” is still at work in the fabric of the cosmos.
(1) We still carry the stain of original sin which God for his own reasons has seen fit for us to endure despite us being forgiven. I liken it to a “penance” which keeps us on the straight path and reminds us of our fragility. Or again it might be like St Paul’s hidden ailment which God would not heal despite his sincerest prayers so that he would not become proud wrt the great spiritual gifts he had been given by God.
(2) Temporal effects of sin: God expects us to make complete our forgiveness and give effect to genuine contriteness of heart by doing what we can to repair the damage we ourselves have caused by dint of reparation/restitution. Somehow, by lovingly and faithfully enduring the weak and painful condition we ourselves caused ourselves, we become whole and repair ourselves and each other. This is an aspect of justice that others may explain better than I.
Also, it witnesses to the fact that we are all linked by a shared human nature (we “sacrifice” for each other) where mercy/compassion is also at play. Thus the Mother of God was also bound to suffer the consequences of Adam/Eve’s sin even though she was without both original sin and even the stain of original sin. She too grew old, got wrinkles, sore joints and so forth. This is due to the causality/power of our shared human nature (whether for good or bad). However her Dormition (technically I believe she did not really “die”) still declares that there were some temporal effects that her purity (and God’s singular grace) protected her from. This is a tangible confirmatory sign (as is Jesus’s Resurrection/Ascension) that “proves” what you say - we have been forgiven/restored at all levels of the instrinsic effects of sin.
This latter paradox is known theologically as “realised eschatology” (the end times are starting now) which is well worked out in John’s Gospel where we are already living the intrinsic Life that God has forgiven and given back to us (with much more added) … its just that time hasn’t caught up with that reality yet. Death no longer has its sting, its just an “illusion” we must pass through to see the Life we already possess. For the purest “creatures” (Jesus and Mary) this future “breakthrough” could not be prevented from “executing” even in there own historical lifetimes. For lesser great saints we still see small signs of this “future reality” breaking through now (i.e. into present history) as well in lesser ways (e.g. incorruption).
.You where doing some thinking.