The Dash

I recently heard the Episcopal Bishop Michael Curry talk about how the old-time preachers in his community used to say – You look on a gravestone there are two dates – the date you were born and then a dash – and then the date that you die. And the old preachers used to say, the question is not, when were you born? You didn’t have anything to do with that. It’s not, when did you die? — you probably didn’t have much to do with that, either. The question is, what did you do with your “dash”? That’s the question.”

What did I do with my dash? What is the living legacy I want to leave? What do I want to do with the time I’ve been given?

He went on to say, “I want my dash on my headstone to say, “He may have made a lot of mistakes, but doggone it, he tried to live a life of love.” That’s what. Now, if you want to do that, then that’s gonna be a struggle. That’s not gonna be easy. You don’t believe me, ask St. Paul… Ask Mary Magdalene.”

It’s not easy – but it’s rich. And it’s meaningful.

In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul writes: “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;  it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth.  It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things…And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.”

This is the kind of love God has for us. In the time we’ve been given here on earth, let us try to love others in this same way.

Let us pray: You are gracious and merciful, O God. And we thank you for your unconditional love for us. I pray today especially for those who are hurting or weary or carrying heavy burdens. I ask for your healing grace. In some way, may each of us serve as an instrument of love and a vessel of hope to others. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.