"Dune", or "Judeo-Christian burial customs of North America"

I finished the book that is on the top of lots of lists of best sci fi novels. In the Car on the way to NJ for my Grandfather's funeral.

On Dune, water is life, and is not to be wasted. A man's life belongs to himself, but his water belongs to his tribe. Crying at a funeral is the highest honor, as it "gives water to the dead." The legacy of each person is passed down to the tribe, divided up among those who must claim friendship with the dead, even if they were the cause of death in single combat, even if in life they were enemies. The dead are honored, and all their water is reclaimed to perpetuate the life of the tribe.

As I prepare to commit my Grandfather's empty body to the ground, I can't help but draw some comparisons to the customs that surround this sad, yet happy occasion. The legacy of my Grandfather lives on in the entire tribe, and his water, his life, has affected us all. All of the kids and grand kids are here, and we spoke his memory tonight. All of us share pieces of his life, and we shared those pieces with each other in our time of loss.

Yet one of our customs differs from any in the world. We do not grieve as those who have no hope. We grieve because we have lost a loved one, but have not lost forever. For we believe in the resurrection of the dead, and in the eternality of the soul. I believe that we will see him again, in the life to come. For we have hope, because the same Messiah who was raised by God from the dead by the Spirit of power, will raise all who trust in him at the last day.

Yet now we have loss, and pain, and sorrow, and are weighed down by grief. Now we see in a glass, dimly, one day, we will see face to face.