Sacred, Ancient, and Deep

On her work car, my wife Robbie has a bumper sticker that reads, “I brake for old graveyards.” And indeed she does. She loves old graveyards and it is one aspect of her work in the field of archeology. And so over the years, I’ve tagged along from time to time.

We visited the grave of Zora Neil Hurston while in Stewart Florida. We’ve taken our girls to see the stark contrast between Evergreen and a neighboring old African American cemetery in West Augustine (side by side and vastly different). We’ve walked the cemetery grounds all over Scotland and France, looking at dates. And sometimes when I’m out there, I feel like I’m standing on the edge of somewhere sacred, ancient, and deep.

When I was right out of college, I took a job teaching high school Spanish on the outer banks of North Carolina and actually stayed for a while in a small travel trailer parked behind a Methodist church in their old graveyard. I remember the pastor saying, the day I moved in, “Hey, at least you’ll have quiet neighbors!” At that stage in my life, old graveyards felt creepy…

Little did I know!

I can remember also a time in my early thirties, standing by the bedside of a parishioner just at that moment of death. You could almost sense his spirit leaving the body. It was a holy moment. And again I felt I was on the brink of somewhere ancient and deep…

I know we don’t like to think about death. However, many of the great faith traditions, including Christianity encourage some measure of contemplation on the end of life. I know for me when I remember that one day I will be here no longer, that reflection makes me love more fiercely, appreciate more deeply the people around me, and feel more fully the beauty of life here and now.

The psalmist prays, “Teach us to count our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12) Teach us to count our days that we may gain perspective. Teach us to count our days and remember what is truly most important in our lives. Teach us to count our days that might put our trust again in the One to whom we belong.

Let us pray: Eternal God, we thank you for the gift of life and for the beauty of living. We thank you for family and friends who make life rich. Today, we remember how uncertain and fragile it all is, and we rest our hope in you. Today we recall that in life and in death we belong to you, and our hearts are grateful; through Christ our Lord. Amen.