Entering the annual season of remembering the death and resurrection of Jesus, each of us carries our own experiences of bereavement and mortality. Openly speaking about death, as disciples of Jesus, helps us acknowledge our mortality, prepare for the last of our earthly days, and take peace and assurance from the victory over death that we share with Jesus.
From a liturgy from Every Moment Holy entitled An Exhortation Making Space to Speak of Dying posted at the Rabbit Room
…death is a present and
unavoidable reality, and one
through which we—the people
of God—must learn to openly
walk with one another.Yes, it is cause for lament. Death is
a horrible and inevitable sorrow.
It is grief. It is numb shock and
raw pain and long seasons of
weeping and ache. And we will
experience it as such.
But it is more than all of that.For it is also a baptism,
a prelude to a celebration.Our true belief that Christ died
and was raised again
promises this great hope:That there will be a newness of life,
a magnificent resurrection that
follows death and swallows it entirely.Death will not have the final word,
so we need not fear to speak of it.Death is not a period that ends a sentence.
It is but a comma,
a brief pause before the fuller thought
unfolds into eternal life.Read the whole liturgy at The Rabbit Room.
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