A Great Relief?
Mon 11 Jul 2011 Filed in: Reflections | Grief Notes
It was watching the news that reminded me of a great Katharine Hepburn quote: Death, she said, will be a great relief. No more interviews. Of course, unlike many of today’s talking heads, Hepburn, who died eight years ago, was at least interesting to hear.
Death is an easy joke until it hits close to home as it did again this morning when I got word of the death of Joan’s Uncle Al. Death, particularly the death of someone loved and valued, scratches at the scars of previous losses and stirs afresh the strangely familiar strains of grief mingled with joyful memories.
It’s easy to respond to the idea of death being a great relief because we are used to thinking of death in terms of what it is not. For Hepburn, no more interviews. For others, perhaps no more pain. No more disease. No more-- (fill in the blank with your favorite human frustration). But I think that we often look at death backwards.
To be absent from the body (the no more view) is, Paul said, to be present with the Lord. I suppose it is harder, but more helpful, to think of death in positive terms as a great beginning rather than as a great relief. Doing so does not lessen the loss or end the grief, but it helps me understand a little more clearly what Paul’s words mean about the loved ones I have lost. Al’s experience (and Matt’s, Joan’s, and every other believer who has died) is best described not in terms of absence, but of presence. Great relief does not do justice to finding oneself in the presence of the infinitely holy and unconditionally loving Savior.
Death, Katharine, is far more than a great relief!
Death is an easy joke until it hits close to home as it did again this morning when I got word of the death of Joan’s Uncle Al. Death, particularly the death of someone loved and valued, scratches at the scars of previous losses and stirs afresh the strangely familiar strains of grief mingled with joyful memories.
It’s easy to respond to the idea of death being a great relief because we are used to thinking of death in terms of what it is not. For Hepburn, no more interviews. For others, perhaps no more pain. No more disease. No more-- (fill in the blank with your favorite human frustration). But I think that we often look at death backwards.
To be absent from the body (the no more view) is, Paul said, to be present with the Lord. I suppose it is harder, but more helpful, to think of death in positive terms as a great beginning rather than as a great relief. Doing so does not lessen the loss or end the grief, but it helps me understand a little more clearly what Paul’s words mean about the loved ones I have lost. Al’s experience (and Matt’s, Joan’s, and every other believer who has died) is best described not in terms of absence, but of presence. Great relief does not do justice to finding oneself in the presence of the infinitely holy and unconditionally loving Savior.
Death, Katharine, is far more than a great relief!
blog comments powered by Disqus