Death

The famous saying goes that there are only two things certain in life and those things are death and taxes. Whilst the later may only be true to those of us who do not belong to the super rich elite or multi-national corporations the former is most certainly true for all of us.

Death, the final frontier, the greatest of all adventures, awaits us all at the end of our days. It is inescapable, inevitable, finite and most, if not all people, spend a lot of time at least thinking about, if not fearing their inevitable deaths.

In this country, this fear of death has lead to a culture where we so rarely talk about it. We refer to people who have “fallen asleep” or “who’s sun has set” as if saying that they were dead was an insult, or taboo. In the medical profession the death of a patient is seen as a failure, and there is constant debate over the right to die for patients which asks the questions about life over death and the rights of the patient which do not include at the moment the right to die. The two most recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were the first conflicts since the Second World War where this country suffered significant casualties and each service man or woman who died was publicly mourned and we were shocked and surprised at each flag draped coffin that was brought back as if we thought that death could not possibly occur so frequently here.

All of these things show our uncomfortable relationship with death here in the west. It is alien, unknowable and unstoppable and in our current scientific age where humanity is desperately trying to understand and control everything death remains the ever present reminder that we are nothing but dust and to dust we shall return.

As Christians however we should not have to suffer under the constant threat of death. The Bible recounts the whole story of humanity’s salvation from death through the acts of God. In the Old Testament we hear how God saved His chosen people from the act of dying, he saved them from the venomous snakes and the Egyptian army. And then in the New Testament God saves us from what comes after death through the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ Jesus. 

And yet, there is still something that holds us back. In our modern age of scientific and rational understanding we find anything that can not be proved or witnessed difficult to take on. People have attested to the life and miracles of Jesus, his death and indeed his resurrection through the eye witness accounts. Unfortunately eye witnesses of the great beyond are few and far between and so we are reluctant to even try and explain what happens when we die let alone believe in it.  

People more readily believe in what they can see working, and so it is no surprise that the brazen serpent from today’s reading is eventually worshiped and glorified by those whom it apparently saved. People could see and touch the, albeit temporary, salvation of the bronze snake and so fully believed in its power. It is not so easy for us to put trust in the saving power of the Cross and the promise of life after death if we can not see or touch it.

Yet we do not need to know what happens after death to believe that it is not the end. As Christians we know that because Christ died upon the cross for our sins we are saved from death and so there must be something yet to come, a world unknown, a life ever after.

Like all humans Jesus had to die but it was through his inevitable death that the rest of us gained eternal life. This great paradox is the crux of our Christian faith, our life in return for his death.

The life we have been given through the cross is not the same as the life granted to those who gazed upon the serpent, which was only temporary. It is a life free from pain, suffering and an ending. It is eternal life. And though we do not know exactly what it is, we can all be prepared, rather then lonely or scared at the end of our days knowing that there is something yet to come.

However we must first all die, like Christ, before we can receive our share in his life.