Faithful Dying

Crucifixion of Peter

Have you ever thought about what it means to die faithfully, by which I mean to die is such a way as to glorify God by living out one’s faith to the very, very end. I suspect St. Peter had some thoughts on this subject and we certainly know that John Donne did when he wrote:

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me;
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery.
Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more, Death thou shalt die.

The poem is quoted from a post by Ben Simpson over at Mere Orthodoxy who has some preliminary reflections on what faithful dying means. A very interesting and, I think, important topic for Jews and Christians alike.