Take Me, Death...

I gave this speech around 7:30 p.m. on August 5th at my high school graduation party. Enjoy!

Death portrayed as a tender visitor.

So… yeah.

I know this is a really weird thing to do at a graduation party, but what can I say? I have plotted out this speech for years, and I am so happy that it is finally coming to fruition tonight in the audience of my dear friends and family.

But before I go on, I would like to say a ginormous thank you to everyone who has made the effort to come out here tonight and celebrate with me. It really means the world to me, and I hope you immensely enjoy yourselves as the night continues.

Now. I’m very much aware that “speeches” are often viewed as quite possibly the most boring form of listening anyone could be tortured into enduring, but I assure you-

I don’t plan on simply boring you for 10 minutes straight.

See! To me, speeches have always been about someone being a voice crying out to the souls of those who listen and lighting their hearts on fire with words of explosive encouragement.

* * *

In The Lord of the Rings, for example, King Theoden’s rousing oration to the Riders of Rohan before their biggest battle charges them onward towards their almost certain doom and destruction at Pelennor Fields. And this has happened in various real situations across the world. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech continues to compel its listeners to this very day. But how do these great leaders do it? How do they awaken courage in the hearts of men when every sense of hope seems totally and completely lost? With words. It’s incredible! The gusto of their tone, the words they use, the message they are trying to convey- every aspect of these influential speeches urges their assembly towards lionheart bravery.

Theoden entreats his riders in the film adaptation, “Forth!- and Fear no darkness! Arise, arise, riders of Théoden! Spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered! A sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!”

He raises his sword and gallops along the front line of his army, knocking it off of their shaking spears.

“Ride now!” He beckons them, “Ride now! Ride for ruin and the world’s ending!”

Then comes my favorite part.

Every voice raises in unison to shout the word “DEATH!” at the swarm of orcs in the valley below them.

Three times they say it, almost as if they are defying the very word they speak.

* * *

And so.

Speaking of death…

The speech I am about to deliver to you all is going to be focusing on that singular experience we all have in common.

That is, at some point, each and every one of us is going to die.

Now I don’t mean to be morbid, which I hope is not the message you are all receiving right now, but I do want to be blunt and get straight to my point.

Death is a fact we all have to face.

Thomas Fuller writes correctly when he says, “The first breath is the beginning of death.”

The beating of our hearts is but a funeral drum, marching us towards that inevitable end, whenever or however it comes.

Again, another author writes, “For the first time in my life, I tasted death, and death tasted bitter, for death is birth, is fear and dread of some terrible renewal.”

Do you remember the first time you tasted death?

Death comes in many forms after all.

It comes in the death of a goal… the death of a dream… the death of an animal… the death of a project… the death of the words you desperately wanted to say but couldn’t… the death of a previous good or bad habit… the death of an acquaintance… and the death of a dear friend.

Like I said before, Death comes in many forms.

Children have a difficult time understanding Death. When they taste its bitterness, they can’t help but gaze around with confused eyes and say, “But it’ll be back, won’t it?”

What’s still more tragic is that children eventually reach an age where they finally understand it. When exactly does that happen?

I’d like to believe it happens when a child comes to the point where he sees and knows for himself that there is grave evil in the world. Even more so, it is also realized when he sees that there is so much good in the world that does not last forever. I think the second realization is more potent than the first.

It reminds us that this Earth is simply a valley of everlasting tears, tears which water the ground beneath us and cloud the skies over our heads.

But as people always say (correctly!): that evil has no merit unless there is good, and vice versa.

In the same sense..

The life that courses through our veins is simply a recurring and seemingly endless death of everything we hold close, and the sorrow we carry seems heavier each day.

But! As Theoden says, “Forth! And fear no darkness.”

Death is a real thing, but let me assure you that it is not something to be afraid of.

That is, if you LIVE YOUR LIFE.

You see, as St. Teresa of Avila says, “Remember that you have only one soul: that you have only one death to die: that you have only one life.. If you do this. There will be many things about which you care nothing.”

* * *

In light of graduating, I’ve recently taken a lot of time to think about my life so far. I have a hard time not getting angry when I realize that I have often cared so much about what doesn’t matter and sometimes care hardly at all about the things that matter most in the end. On top of that, I struggle to not be so melancholic about all the tiny deaths I’ve experienced so far. The death of dreams I’ve had, the death of goals I haven’t reached, the death of two of my tiny loved ones. And I’m being brutally honest when I admit that I am scared for future deaths I know I must face.

As I said before, my graduation has made me think a lot lately. And over these past few days, I’ve come to know this deep sense of sadness at everything I look at.

I’ve had to ask myself, “Should I really feel any differently though? After all… Graduation is the death of my sweet, innocent childhood, it's the death of normality and the death of being entirely dependent on the good people who raised me.”

Realizing these things has been hard and I’m sure most of you can remember and relate to my struggles.

And I’m certain all of you can tell me in one way or another that graduating high school is the least of my lifelong worries and concerns. Countless more deaths are to be found along the way.

* * *

How can we all get over this fear of death, however rational or irrational it may be?

Well. I’m no expert, but I think it has a lot to do with preparing for Death’s arrival in our lives, and I mean capital “D” Death. As soon as we realize everything we love will one day be gone, we should start preparing our hearts for Death’s inevitable visit, so that we may greet it as an old friend, and not an enemy. Ideally, we should view Death as the finishing touch to the masterpiece of our life, instead of a sloppy streak of red ink that brings it to an end.

Finishing one’s life and having it ended are different things.

St. Irenaeus of Lyons writes, “The business of the Christian is nothing else than to be ever preparing for death.”

I know what you’re thinking…

“Wow… How uplifting…”

But really! It actually is!

Have you ever stopped to think about why your character grows in the midst of great pain and tribulation, and not in the midst of ease and joy?

Because sorrow pushes us to search for something that is found beyond the limits and restrictions of our mundane and dismal lives.

Death, and sorrow, pushes us to live our lives better.

Truthfully, it’s not something to be scared of. But it does require something of us. It demands that we are constantly on watch for its pursuit, that we are ever anxious to die when we deem ourselves ready. Death stretches us out longer and thinner, it expands our previous limitations, it makes us go on when we would have gone back a long time ago. It turns our tear-stained cheeks upward, when our eyes have been cast down.

Yes, Death was never supposed to enter this world, but it’s here nonetheless.

Thankfully… We have been shown a path through this valley of tears.

We’ve been given a complete manual on how to conquer Death, how to prepare for its arrival so that we will have no regret when it comes to take us into the unknown.

We’ve been given a bridge between mortality and immortality.

And the name of that bridge is Jesus Christ.

That is exactly who He is. He is the bridge between our lives, our deaths and eternal life. He is the mirror of God, Who is the Supreme Joy and Goodness that never dies.

Jesus tells us, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though He dies.”

So there’s your answer.

How can we all get over our fear of Death?

By having Christ-like courage in this Earthly fight for our eternal lives.

We have to cast aside the cares and carelessness of the world, and carefully tend to the state of our souls. We have to look Death straight in its eye and cry its name in defiance just as Theoden bid his riders, “DEATH! Our King has conquered you forever. When you come, I’ll be ready for you. You shall be the boat that carries me to eternal life. You shall give me my life forever.”

And Death will tremble at your courage and your King.

So. To wrap things up.

I hope I haven’t bored anyone to an early death, haha.

But I do hope that I have said something to rouse your heart and set your will to live aflame.

Because my dear friends and family, what I have told you is good news.

Death is here, it comes for us all, but when it comes, let us all be ready and waiting for it, looking it in the eye and saying, “Take me, Death, to the place I’ve been longing for. Take me to my God, Who is the Goodness that never dies.”

~ K.k.W.

July 30, 2023