Now that we are in the month of November our thoughts turn towards those
that we have known, and sometimes loved, who have died. Our society is now less comfortable
than ever with death. This is a natural consequence of the move away from organised religion and
the decrease in faith. We are encouraged now to use language that softens the starkness of death.
We speak of ‘his passing’, ‘she crossed’, ‘they have gone before us’, indeed recently I heard
someone who had just died as now having their ‘final sleep’. This is very understandable and
indeed some of this language has its own beauty, but if it feeds a denial in us regarding the finality
of death that may not be healthy.
I was recently concerned to hear from a bereaved family that a relative had
sought medication to get them through the ‘trauma’ of the upcoming funeral. Again I intend no
judgement here but we need to gently face loss as a natural part of life. We need to help each
other in such difficult days. At times we are only postponing the effects of grief. Sometimes I meet
people who are investing far too much time in the dead, often to the neglect of the living. This is not
to say that we should not pray for our beloved dead, of course we should. Similarly it is good to
tend to our graves, to recall, to remember, to give thanks. However some times how we behave in
the face of death does not appear to reflect a faith rooted in the living hope of Christians.
I love to remember the words of John Donne, ‘ Death be not proud though
some have called thee mighty and dreadful, for thou are not so’, or the courageous, faith-filled
taunting of Paul, ‘Death where is your sting? Death where is your victory?’
What do we, as followers of Jesus, believe about death? Can we be precise
about this? Do we accept that with the death of Jesus, no death would ever be the same again?
The death of Jesus changes death forever. The death of Jesus takes the real sting out of death
itself. The power of death is beaten by Jesus. There is no trick here. As part of our creed we state
that ‘Jesus suffered death and was buried’. The nub of the question for those of us who form part
of the believing community is, are we Good Friday people or Easter people? I suppose a clever
answer might be that we are of course both. It is a pertinent question though. Do we find ourselves
talking with conviction about the suffering and death of Jesus and then finish with questions about
the after-life, or the catch all comment about the Risen Jesus: ah well sure it’s all a mystery! Of
course it is a mystery, and Paul reminds us we now can only glimpse it ‘through a glass darkly.’ The
promise ultimately is of the beatific vision which Aquinas glimpsed before his death, and though a
giant intellect and master of language he struggled to express its sublime beauty.
As we turn into November my thoughts and prayers turn towards my parents.
Joe is gone over thirty years, Bridie just ten. I miss them both. My belief based on both the life, and
the promises, of Jesus, is that I will come into their presence again. I believe I will know them but
they shall be different, because they will be sinless, having shed the fragility and the limitations of
the human condition. I will encounter them in the beauty in which God made them. Meanwhile I
pray for their peace, and I try to bring them honour.
Fraternally, JoeMcD 01. 11. 25