The Leftovers
This is my response to the death of Jay Cook. I've always asked myself what life would be like if we could all be more encouraging, and if we could tell people what life would be like without them. This is my answer to the question: if I were to die today, what would you say? I believe that we don't have to wait until people are gone to tell them how much we love them, and what they mean to us.
If you have ever met me, then you know that I am one of the most obsessive The Lord of the Rings fans out there. I am the kind of person that reads the series every year, not to mention The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. I own at least one copy of every one of those books, and I�m constantly lending them out to people. I just finished the Silmarillion again last week, and it was a really enlightening experience. A lot of people just like the books or the movies because they�re full of action, and because they inspire. But when you read into them a bit deeper, and get into the depths of Tolkien�s world, you understand a lot of things about society, both now and in the past. That is what I love about his work - it�s timeless.
To most readers, N�menor is a word that means almost nothing. It is vaguely mentioned in the first movie in the line: �The blood of N�menor is all but spent, its pride and dignity forgotten.� Even in the novels, all that can be known is that it was a great kingdom of Men, and that only the Rangers of the North and a few Gondorian people have any connection to it. However, those who understand a bit more about it feel real pity and sadness when they read the story.
Mortality was supposed to be a gift that the other peoples would envy when they got tired of living thousands of years, but the N�menoreans had such a lust for power and glory that they wanted to enjoy life forever. Even though they lived hundreds of years, much longer than we do today, it simply was not enough for them. So they spent their days in towers late at night, trying to find the secret of immortality, though it was a quest that was doomed to failure in the beginning. Suddenly, they found themselves building houses for the dead, grander than those of the living. Since their lives had been spent brooding over their own deaths, it was there that all of their energy was put. All of the wonderful knowledge that could have been used for the good of people was instead put to use for those that could not benefit, for they were already gone. And those that were alive got only that which was left over.
Il�vatar, the One, whom we would call God, surely intended the skills that people were born with to be used for the betterment of their lives, and for the lives of those they loved. Instead, they squandered these gifts in an attempt change the fate that they were given, and to twist it to their own desires.
What was the outcome? I would not want to ruin the entire story for you, but, suffice to say, things did not exactly turn out for the best. The story of N�menor is Tolkien�s take on the legend of Atlantis. All that was left of the island of the N�menoreans was the summit of the tallest mountain; everything else disappeared into the depths of the sea. And so all of the dreams of endless life and bliss amounted to nothing in the end. Had they been thankful for what they had been given, they would not have been ensnared, and the course of events would have been very different. In fact, the entire desperation of The Lord of the Rings could have been averted but for the folly of these people.
As always, this work of Tolkien has hidden meaning. Like any great writer, each time his words are read, a new lesson can be learned. What I would like to put forward is that as people, as Christians, and as friends, we have a great deal in common with these fabled people. It is, of course, quite obvious that we are afraid of death, which is at least in part unjustified. For those of us who believe in Jesus Christ, death is the transition into a new life that is so glorious that our human minds cannot possibly even begin to fathom it. Yet we are still afraid of letting go. The world has come up with many ingenious methods of prolonging our days, past the increase of quality of life and health, and it seems that there will be no end to the search.
I believe that beyond this fixation with death goes farther than most of us would admit. There are, of course, some very obvious examples of this kind of obsession. The alchemists of several hundred years ago spent all their time trying to find the secret to the Elixir of Life, granting the drinker immortality. Then there are the great houses for the dead, the most famous of which, the Taj Mahal in India, took tens of thousands of workers twenty-two years to build. Though this is a unique building, it represents the preoccupation that people, past and present, have had with their own mortality.
What about today, though? What do the people of this age do to show that they, too, are afraid of what comes next? The human race has become more advanced, more subtle as it has progressed towards some goal in the future, however close that goal might be. With this new degree of shrewdness, we have in many ways shed off the blunt demonstrations of our obsession with death. Save for a few scattered state funerals here and there, and the obituaries in the newspaper, there are few signs that people do reach the end of their days. It is hidden.
The fact that something is invisible does not mean that it does not exist. If our fears about death do not shine through the things that we make and in the passions that drive us to succeed, then perhaps the truth can be seen in the way that we live our lives.
Though there are undoubtedly many ways in which we show our affinity with our own mortality, perhaps the most important one is in the way we treat each other. The N�menoreans put all of their energy towards prolonging their days, and so there was nothing left for the people who were alive. They got the leftovers. Are we any different? Have you ever been to a funeral, and smiled at the beautiful words? Did the eulogy stir your heart, and make you truly thankful that you knew the person lying the casket in front of you? Imagine, then, how wonderful it would have been if the person had heard these words while in life. If the words in honour of this person brought tears to your eyes, think for a moment what it would have done for them to hear how treasured they were. What would it have done for you?
This is the question we must ask ourselves: why is our greatest praise reserved for the dead? What good does it accomplish, save words of remembrance? Will they move those left behind to action? Imagine the strength that you could draw from hearing those words of appreciation, today. Imagine the wrong that would be made right. Imagine the words of praise and thanksgiving that would overflow to the glory of God!
Everybody has their up and down times. Everybody needs to know how much they�re loved. There is absolutely no reason for us to hold back on telling our friends - and our family - how much they mean to us. There is no point on saving the best words for last, because, by then, who will get anything out of them? �Last words are for fools who haven�t said enough.� You have the power, right now, to make someone know that they are worth loving. You can make them understand that were they to die today, the world would be a better place because they had made it one. You can encourage them by the Spirit of God, and that is something that is excellent and worthy of praise.
|
�Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.�
|
|
Philippians 4:8-9 |
Back to the top
|