February 15, 2023

My wife delights in roaming around the woods and foraging for animal skulls. She  cleans them in the laundry sink, and then displays them around the house. Macabre? I don’t think so. Instead – she has a love for creation and an interest in how things work. Peeling back the layers for a peek underneath is fascinating.

I like the skulls because I like to think about death. Macabre? I don’t think so. Albert Schweitzer said, “Thinking about death…produces love for life. When we are familiar with death, we accept each week, each day as a gift.”

Here is the psalmist on the subject. “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12)

“Most loving Father, whose will it is for us to give thanks for all things, to fear nothing but the loss of you, and to cast allour care on you who care for us: Preserve us from faithless fears and worldly anxieties, that no clouds of this mortal lifemay hide from us the light of that love which is immortal, and which you have manifested to us in your Son Jesus Christour Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.” (Eighth Sunday after the Epiphany – BCP)