Born to Die, part twenty-one

Of the estimated 155,000 people who will die today, most will pass anonymously. We never know when death will come to someone in such a way that it will be communicated to the masses. When a pope or president dies, the world hears about it in short order. Arguably the most famous death in history, Jesus of Nazareth, was ironically antithetical to his teaching (insofar as we can decipher it) that every one is precious in the sight of her or his Creator and shares equally in the love bestowed. This is beautifully illustrated in the gospel account of the crucifixion wherein Jesus informs one being crucified with him that they shall enter paradise together. We revere the one death and know absolutely nothing about the other in spite of the Christ’s revelation. We are humans limited by finite understanding, and so it is understandable that we continue to project our own values upon death. We let ourselves believe that some deaths are more important than others, and in so doing generalize the same to be true of life. We let ourselves believe that some deaths are going to be rewarding while others will be punishing and again generalize this to be true of life. I still have no idea of what happens when I die, and the pursuit of an answer from scripture, tradition, experience and reason makes me none the wiser…unless, that is, I find a way to synthesize them all into something that I will call faith.