Dana Reardon - Generous to the end of our days

Generous to the end of our days

Did anybody else watch the recent television miniseries Into the West? There is a lot to learn form looking back at our history. It gives us a glimpse into the ways and values of the people.

There were two scenes that really struck me. One showed aged Native American couple who decide to stay behind when the camp packs up and leaves. It is clear that they are not merely staying behind, but also deciding to die. They sit down together and the man says, "We have had a good life."

This was done in that culture so that the old would not be a burden on the community. It was done lovingly and graciously. It respected both sides.

The other scene was in a fight between white trappers and Native Americans. One man has been shot and he tells his companions to keep moving, and he will stay and cover them and he hopes that in his dying he will give them a chance to survive.

There is a generosity of spirit that I think that we have lost in our culture. We have endless debates about end-of-life issues. We talk about the right to die or some of us fight for everything to be done to keep people alive.

It seldom seems gracious though. It is about the rights of the individual and how they want to die. It is not about the good of others.

I have been helping people fill out living wills and health care proxies. These are important to do. Our wishes need to documented.

However, our wishes should be decided by considering not only what will be best for us, but what will be best for those we love and what will be best for the community.

I have talked to people who have considered that the cost of their retirement and final days should not come before college for their grandchildren. They are thinking about more than themselves. I was impressed by that.

I have often heard it said about a person that "He died the way he lived." Wouldn't it be wonderful if it was said by all of us -- that we died the way we lived: we were generous to the end?

Lord, Teach us to live and teach us to die as selflessly as your Son. Amen

The Rev. Dana Reardon is pastor at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Warwick, RI. A lifelong Lutheran, she came to ordained ministry after 21 years in nursing, mostly in pediatric intensive care. She graduated from Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia in 1998 and served 4 ½ years in Upstate New York before becoming a New Englander. She is still trying to understand the accent. While in the Upstate New York Synod she chaired the Stewardship Team. That began her fascination with what makes stewards -- and more, what makes for generosity. She has three amazing daughters: Pastor Reardon says much of what she knows of life she learned from them.