Jan 1 - Death

Okay, why on January 1st, a brand new year, when many slates are wiped clean, why would I want to talk about death.  My friend and former pastor was called home to God this past week and later on today this January 1st I am going to join with members of his former flock to bury him.  I am not going to say much about him here because he was a man who served God and God's people his whole life and I know that today Father David is in heaven with his God. So while I mourn for him, I also am happy for him. He had been stricken with a disease akin to Lou Gehrig's disease and had been confined to a wheel chair for many years.  So his death, for him, was a release.



We are all afraid of death.  Death is the great unknown, a step into blackness for some, a ascent into light for others and for some an end with nothing to follow. 



Do you remember when you were a child and you went to the amusement park and rode the Merry-Go-Round.  First there was the wait in line after your parents bought your ticket. Then there was the excitement of mounting your horse and the thrill of the music and lights as you proudly rode your steed around and around.  Then it was over.  The music stopped, the ride glided to a stop and you got off of your horse and rejoined the crowds.  The ride on the carousel is kind of line our journey through life in microcosm.  The purchase of the tickets, well, that's Mom and Dad arranging for you to come into the world.  The wait in line is the time you waited to be born. The ride of course is life and when the ride ends would be death.  But think back, when you were young and the ride ended you were saddened a bit because your turn was over.  I propose that this is one of the things we hate about death.  Death is the point in time where your turn on the ride of life ends.  



I do not think that we can bear the thought that life on this world will go on without us being present on it.  I believe that is where the fear of death begins.  In hospitals, hospices, homes, and battlefields the world over people are going through the process of death.  Some go through it for a long period of time, some die in the blink of an eye.  But in the moment when life ends and death takes over I believe in that fraction of a second, all humans have the regret that their turn is over.  The regret is short lived.  I believe as well that when our life ends around us will be those that we have loved and have gone before us. I believe that God Himself will help us make the transition and ease our way into eternity.  That second of regret will dissolve as we are born into a new world. What happens then, once we arrive, we will discuss in our next posting.



Until then, Happy New Year to all of you.