Death and Life

Very truly, I tell you,

unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain;

but if it dies, it bears much fruit. John 12:24

Dear Friends,

Today is Ash Wednesday. It is the beginning of Lent and is called “Ash Wednesday” because the tradition and practice of the church is to have our baptismal cross traced on our foreheads with ashes. The words that accompany this ritual are, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” As such, it is a rather morbid day because it reminds us in a very dramatic fashion that we are mortal and that we will die.

Ernst Becker, back in the 70’s,  observed that many in modern society live in a denial of death. As opposed to more primitive societies, we tend to “sterilize” death by having most people die in hospitals (not at home). The bodies of the deceased are usually quickly removed to a funeral home. The end result is that our normal lives do not have much death around. He suggested that the preoccupation with “looking young” and grasping for the latest “staying young” remedies are part of this tendency to deny that we are really going to die.

I must confess that I haven’t revisited this hypothesis with the proliferation of violent deaths portrayed in movie, TV shows, and video games. I do still think that there is some truth to this denial-of-death theory… We really would rather not like to think about our own mortality.

I am not advocating for obsessing about death but I do believe that being reminded of our mortality has a way of bring LIFE into focus. You’ve probably experienced this when a loved one has died. A lot of the pettiness tends to melt away and the really important questions about life, relationships and what is really important come into focus. Lent—and particularly Ash Wednesday—is a time where we have the opportunity to intentionally focus on the important things in life. It is an opportunity notice the ways that we have “fallen asleep” to life and the gift that it is. It is a chance to notice the “dead” aspects of our faith life and enliven them. It is a chance to remember that we are human and God is God.

May this Ash Wednesday and this season of Lent be a time where you seize the life that God has given you and choose to live it abundantly!

Peace,

Pastor Phil