On the Last Day

"O God, whose days are without end, and whose mercies cannot be numbered: Make us, we pray, deeply aware of the shortness and uncertainty of human life; and let your 

Holy Spirit lead us in holiness and righteousness all our days, that, when we shall have served you in our generation, we may be gathered to our ancestors, having the testimony of a good conscience..." (from the Burial of the Dead, BCP, p. 504)

We see things these days -- because of ubiquitous nature of cameras of every sort and the instantaneous nature of communication -- that are beyond our ability to fully absorb. Such was my experience of the images I've seen today from Japan.

Today lives were cut short.
Today other lives were irrevocably changed.
Tomorrow many of us will go on about our business.
As if nothing has happened.
Because what happens on the other side of the world
Has no direct bearing upon us.

We might feel pity.
We might feel anger.
We might feel helpless.
We might feel nothing.

We receive these images, which
Only serve to depersonalize the dead
Objectify the survivors,
And reduce natural disasters to a sort of morbid entertainment.

I pray we will remember to pray for those who lost their lives today.
And for those who lost loved ones;
And for those who lost their health;
Or their faith or their hope.

And my other prayer is that
While we're praying for everyone else...
We won't succumb to the notion
That our tomorrow is guaranteed.

We never know, do we?
Our last day may come upon us at any moment...
Even a heartbeat away.

All the more reason to pray fervently.
All the more reason to live faithfully.
Kyrie eleison.