In the course of my life he broke my strength; he cut short my days. – Psalm 102:23

Today’s Scripture Reading (July 19, 2013): Psalm 102

Our culture does not like to speak of death. We have built a lot of expressions into our language so that we do not have to speak the words. People who have died are sometimes said to be “no longer with us” – a phrase which could just as easily mean that someone has left the house to go to the local 7-11. Or maybe it is the phrase “passed on” which sometimes seems more appropriate for the kidney stone we have expelled from our life. Or maybe it is the phrase that someone has “crossed over to the other side” which seems to bring images of someone who once was a Republican but now they are a Democrat (and for all of the Democrats out there, I could have just as easily reversed the order.) Even Jesus when he was speaking of Lazarus used the term “fallen asleep” to indicate death, and the disciples thought that was a good thing since sleep is often what we need to feel better.

The reality is that we do not like to speak of death because it is the one thing we will all have to face, but for most of our lives we live as if that is just not true. Its presence, when death finally shows, often seems to be a surprise. In our world, it is not even enough that the person is old. Our first question when someone dies is often “were they sick?” I once read a story of the death of one of my ancestors. According to the story, at the young age of 104, she rose from her bed, made the bed, went and made herself some breakfast and then returned to her room and sat down and died. I am not certain that “died suddenly” is quite the word that is appropriate here, after all death had been coming for 104 years, but she certainly died without illness.

The psalmist seems to lament the shortness of his days. He says that they are cut short, which usually indicates that there was still a lot more that he felt needed to be done. And in this way the psalmist was actually blessed, he still had purpose throughout all of the years of his life. For some, this psalm is a reminder and a prophecy of the life of Christ - the one who came and lived a life that was cut short to pay for our sin. But that is not the only interpretation available to us. For me, it is a reminder of the life of Hezekiah and the announcement that came to him that God had decided that it was time for him to die. Hezekiah pleaded with God for extra years and his request was granted, because Hezekiah still felt that he had things left to do. It may be that the Psalmist was going through a similar experience.

But, for me, it is also a reminder of Moses request of God in Psalm 90 that that he “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12.) Moses request recognizes the shortness of life, and asked God to remind us so that we can make every day count.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalm 104