Death and Taxes
Here we stand on Good Friday, just a few days before April 15th, tax day. As the old saying goes the only certain things in life are death and taxes. And we are surrounded by both of them.
Death. The dictionary defines it as, “a permanent cessation of all vital functions : the end of life…” What a cheerful thought. But death is not normally a cheerful thing. It is the essence of finality.
Death is ugly. Death is dark. Death is mysterious and frightening. Say the word death with sincerity in the middle of a party and watch the fun evaporate before the sound of the word fades. Not everyone gets sick, not everyone gets well. Not everyone gets married, and not everyone pays taxes. But with only two exceptions of which I’m aware (Enoch and Elijah) everyone – absolutely everyone faces death. It is as near a universal fact as possible. There is a distinct certainty of death. More than any description I can fathom, death is above all characterized as a terrifying separation of the known from the