Hey, Death: No Hard Feelings

On this last Sunday before many Christians around the world begin the six-week observance of lent, we are being challenged to consider one of the core reasons for this season of repentance and prayer: To remember that we are dust and to dust we shall return. For is there any relationship in our lives more powerful than that which we have with the knowledge of our own inescapable death?

In the first reading from Sirach, we’re told to pay close attention to the words we speak, for they reveal our inner selves and the “bent of our minds” clearly to those around us. We’re reminded to think before we speak and to base our praise of others on the words that come out of their mouths and not by the reputations (or political power) that proceeds them. In the second reading from 1 Corinthians, we come face to face with death and are asked to contemplate and pronounce for ourselves those two famous questions: “Hey, death, where is your victory? Where is your sting?”

Neither I (nor I think St. Paul) is making light of death. Death, especially when it happens to the innocent and to those we love, stings. It hurts. It can leave us broken and crippled, at least for a while. But Paul’s point, and one of the key points of Lent, is that for those of us who believe in the story of Jesus and his redemptive life, death and resurrection, death does not get the final say in our existence. Our faith in Jesus and our belief in eternity demands more of us.

Lent is a time to consider just how it is we are living our lives. It’s a time to measure the fruits of our existence and a time to honestly examine our lives and see how our words and deeds measure up against the length of our days.

If you’re still on the fence about your own Lenten observances, I humbly suggest beginning with these kinds of observations of ourselves. For making such an honest examination of our lives will no doubt lead us straight back into the lap of God, to the giver and sustainer of all life. It will lead us into the disciplines to which Lent calls us – more prayer, more fasting (less for ourselves), and more charity toward others. Perhaps the most important thing we can give up for Lent is our self-blindness.

I have been moved lately by the song below, written and performed so beautifully by the Americana group the Avett Brothers. It’s a call to face death in the way we live each day, in the words we speak, and in our honest considerations of the fruits of our existence. It’s a challenge to say, as the song begins:

When my body won’t hold me anymore
And it finally lets me free
Will I be ready?
When my feet won’t walk another mile
And my lips give their last kiss goodbye
Will my hands be steady when I lay down my fears, my hopes, and my doubts
The rings on my fingers, and the keys to my house
With no hard feelings?

Note: If you’re reading this is an email, you can enjoy the video for the song by clicking the link to my website.

No Hard Feelings