Day 46 - Issue 24
John 17:1 NLT
'Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you.'
I find myself wondering when precisely Jesus came to terms with his imminent death. Not in some theological manner, but in his humanity. We live in a society that finds it very hard to talk and deal effectively with death. Following the 9/11 assault upon the USA, the popular response was an increased search for personal security. There were also spikes in gambling, drinking and cigarette sales. The human response to mortality is to seek to relieve our fears, rather than face them.
I remember the many meetings we had with medics and social workers as Katey’s condition deteriorated. We just wanted some way of measuring the time we might expect to have together. On one occasion, as we asked Katey’s neurologist about a prognosis, he responded by addressing me and stating that I could expect Katey to outlive me. This may have been the answer he thought we wanted, but it terrified both of us. Katey, already in steady decline, was frightened at the thought of this continuing for many years to come and also at the thought of continuing without me. I, on the other hand, already struggling with my back from having to lift Katey to aid her getting comfortable, both reacted badly to the thought of caring into my grave and fearful that my body wouldn’t stay the course.
We disengaged from the medical route not long after that, finding little encouragement from the medics and even less pleasure hanging around in overcrowded and unimaginative waiting areas. We believed we were best off supporting each other and entrusting ourselves to God. What it did provoke was a healthy conversation as well as self-reflection around our mortality. Like St Paul we reached the place where we were able to say, “O, death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55, NLT) We were comfortable within our own flesh and also comfortable that this body was merely an interim stage en route to eternity with Christ. We had the joy and privilege of looking at our own death and then living life fully and freely in the knowledge and acceptance of our fragile mortality.
QUESTION: Do you fear dying? If so, why?
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, you said that you are the resurrection and the life; give me the confidence to trust you in this.
