Memento Mori

Ed (he’s 11) asked me a tough question yesterday – “What if time stopped?”  I tried to explain to him that his query is unanswerable, that time flows irresistibly.  But, then I considered eternity which is timeless!  In the Presence of God, time does not merely stop, it does not exist.  Everything I know is conditioned by time. Days begin and end, life is passing by.  Yesterday’s gone, tomorrow is inaccessible! At age 56, I am much more aware of time now.  When I was 36 the future stretched out without apparent limit.  But, with the death of friends, then parents, the boundaries of time moved closer, giving a greater sense of urgency to today. There are many things to do and less time (which God only knows for sure) in which do them. For me, pondering the limit of my earthly life is without dread. There is anticipation of the wonder of timelessness;  of just being with no hurry, no moving to the next stage, no leaving.  

Many tombs in churches in Europe during the late Middle Ages and early modern age included memento mori  (Latin for “Remember death”).  These paintings or sculptures included a skull, or at least bones, vivid reminders for the surviving family members that they should prepare for their own inevitable demise. What a contrast to our way of life in which we do everything possible to avoid the idea of mortality.  We sanitize death and worship youth. The dying are removed (in most cases) from our homes, placed in the care of medical professionals.  We move quickly through rituals of death and grieving  to resume ‘life.’  But without memento mori, we tend to superficiality, spending inordinate amounts of time and resources on things that are quickly gone!

Those who are in Christ need not be gloomy or dark. Memento mori can be cause for living a richer, nobler life of service and worship. It can move us beyond the worship of our bodies and give us the motivation to master the appetites that might otherwise destroy us. The Word says "All our days pass away under your wrath; we finish our years with a moan. The length of our days is seventy years— or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away. Who knows the power of your anger? For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you. Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:9-12, NIV)

Here’s a word of hope from the Word.  "For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:53-58, NIV)

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When The Battle's Over

Am I a soldier of the cross,

A follower of the Lamb?

And shall I fear to own His cause,

Or blush to speak His name?

And when the battle's over

We shall wear a crown!

Yes, we shall wear a crown.

Yes, we shall wear a crown.

And when the battle's over

We shall wear a crown

In the new Jerusalem.

Wear a crown, wear a crown,

Wear a bright and shining crown.

And when the battle's over

We shall wear a crown

In the new Jerusalem.

Isaac Watts

Public Domain