Death scares us for many reasons. We are reminded of our own mortality—we will all die at some point. We mourn a life ending—a precious, unrepeatable life. We long for our loved one knowing he or she is gone—perhaps wondering about his or her fate. We adjust our lives in a new direction—a direction that can be unknown and painful. Death is scary. It always will be.
Though Jesus conquered death, though his Resurrection is meant to take the sting away, though Heaven is our ultimate goal and destination, though we have a Savior, we still get scared. We still mourn. We still struggle. And that’s OK.
Last week, two local teenagers died. Middleton teen Tucker Kunz lost his life in an automobile accident, and Rachel Dean, a student from Bishop Kelly and St. Mark’s Church, ended her earthly life. She must have felt an overwhelming multitude of emotions, perhaps deep loneliness and hopelessness. Though we may speculate, we cannot know all Rachel thought or felt. We cannot know her motivation or the sum of her experiences. We cannot assign blame to her or anyone.
But what can we do? We can and should mourn Tucker and Rachel. We can talk about Tucker and Rachel. We can talk about losing someone, especially someone so young. We can journal about how it saddens and scares us. We can share our sorrow with others and build up one another. We can do some of our favorite things Tucker and Rachel loved to do. We can hold a funeral and commend Tucker and Rachel to God’s care. We can pray for their eternal rest, for the comfort of their loved ones, and for our own understanding of the tragedy. Prayer doesn’t change God’s mind. Rather, prayer changes us. Prayer invites us to enter the story of creation God is authoring, to better understand and accept the joys and sorrows of this life.
Most of all, we can honor Tucker and Rachel by honoring the lives of each person we encounter. Every human life is precious and unrepeatable, no matter the choices a person makes. Disagree on politics? That person is still precious. Have an annoying sibling? Your sibling is precious. A beautiful newborn baby? Precious. A premature newborn baby with severe complications? Precious. An elderly person with dementia? Precious. Your most despised enemy? Precious. Your best friend? Precious.
Every single life matters. Tucker's life matters. Rachel’s life matters. Your life matters. Mine does too. Our lives matter because God made us, loves us, and put a reflection of Himself within us. The best way we can honor Tucker and Rachel, honor God, and honor ourselves is to treat every person with respect and love. We may not like every person we encounter (an internal emotional response), but we absolutely must love every person (an action-oriented choice).
That’s why we love babies in the womb, pregnant women, elderly, sick and suffering in need of comfort, children, those with disabilities, soldiers, refugees, homeless, hungry, lonely, lost, and vulnerable. Every life matters.
We celebrate life, and today, we celebrate Tucker and Rachel as their funerals takes place. Though they left us at a young age, their lives have great meaning. If they remind us to treat others with great love, then their legacy will continue long beyond earthly life. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.
