The say death comes in threes – if that’s the case, I’m good for a while. I’ve taken part, in one way or another, in three funerals in the last few weeks.
As a pastor, I get a unique view of these events. I get called to the hospital to sit with a man as he watches his wife pass away. I get called by a family when their loved-one who has been battling cancer for years finally ends the battle. I get to sit with my wife when a close family friend passes away.
I also get to be the one to proclaim a word of hope in the midst of sorrow. I get to be the one that asks the difficult questions about what scriptures were important in a loved one’s life.
I get to be the one who witnesses love shared by friends and families. I get to be the one who watches loved ones laugh and cry as they remember their love one who has just passed away.
I also get a lot of quiet time to watch and contemplate death.
At a recent funeral I was talking with the funeral director about that very fact. I think more than anyone funeral directors contemplate death since they face it every day – not in an unhealthy way (though for some it may be) but in a way that they are constantly reminded that we all are on a journey in life and no matter what science discovers and finds there is no changing the fact that our journey through this world ends in death.
As I thought about death recently I discovered how very inconvenient it tends to be.
Death doesn’t wait for us to make all of our arrangements. Death doesn’t make sure our calendar is clear of other engagements. Death doesn’t allow us to make travel plans in enough time to get the best discounts and rates. Death doesn’t always allow for us to say goodbye to those we love and care about.
Yet, in the face of the inconveniences of death, we drop the less important and replace them with the more important. We drive across country to be with the ones we love. We cancel appointments and pass on opportunities that conflict with the scheduling of funerals. We don’t worry about the details, there’s always tomorrow for that. We simply run to the people that are important to us and we spend time with them – often doing nothing more than sitting together and being present.
As I think about it, maybe the best thing that death does for us is help us to re-prioritize our lives. It helps us to finally say no to things that we don’t really need to be part of. It helps us to remember that family and friends are important and they won’t always be with us.
In a 24/7 world where the stores are open for our every whim, where our calendars are beyond full because of all of the “important” things we need to accomplish, it is probably good for death to enter our lives at inconvenient times to remind us that being inconvenienced is good.
