The Almost Dead
The Monty Python
movie, The Holy Grail made the phrase, “I’m not dead yet” famous. The plight of
the real, almost dead, is woefully visible and tragic.
Each
day as I drive through the streets of my city there are the cold, barely
breathing, almost dead, wrapped in dirty blankets and greasy soiled cloths.
They lie broken on
the sidewalks in the vacant lots and in the alleys. They are visible to all who
walk, run or drive by. They are so close to eternity’s curtain, one breath away
from passing through death’s mysterious veil. Are they aware of the peril?
The living and thriving are on these same
streets. They fare better, being in motion longer, carrying the sparks and
flames of heated dreams and hopes. Their steps are varied strides apace with
their mind’s desires and their body’s needs. Vision and vitality press them to
work and love and play. They are the more free and fortunate ones.
The fully dead on the street are tidied up
quickly by the ambulance and the police. These dutiful servants string yellow
barrier tape looking like horizontal rays of sunny ribbon adorning and heralding the gift
of a disappearing life that has left earth and entered eternity. The dead are
attended by a coroner, concerned police asking questions, some family (if they are aware of
the death) or perhaps an Imam, Priest, Pastor or Rabbi who offer prayers for
whomever may remain of the deceased’s estranged clan.
The almost dead don’t receive as much
attention. They have to wait their turn to be noticed.
My hope for the
almost dead is that somewhere in their lives they may have had the magic moment
of experiencing God’s touch of grace and believing He cares for them and knowing that He loves
them.
However broken and
downcast a human may be, he is never far from the love of the Maker. Another
hope is that living, thriving humans may awaken to the reality that the almost
dead are their responsibly to love and to care for. For in that act of loving
and caring for life’s most vulnerable, are we truly found to be human and
alive.
