For the third time in three weeks, I find myself walking through the end of life with someone I know. In all three cases, a close relative, a close friend and a new friend, I have been faced with the question of how I could be a blessing to the dying and others in this moment.
We as a culture do not handle death well. We avoid it as long as possible. Great sensitivity must be taken in not naming it too soon. Modern medicine doesn’t help by teaching us that death is in all cases the enemy. It fights it and refuses to acknowledge the rightness of a respectful end of life. I find that there is often a sense of relief when we finally name it. We can then begin the mourning process. We can deal with it straight on in a gentile and loving way.
I find that the church needs a better way to bless this final stage of life. We need to have a way of commemorating this transition. It should be a dignified time. A sacred time. We have the Ministration at the Time of Death, but what about the day or two before an eminent death, which may for a lay minister be the last visit that they have with the person? Is there some way that we could speak a blessing that could acknowledge an impending passing? Unfortunately, we avoid it until it is too late, and ministry opportunities are missed.
