BOTH DIED!

Terri Shaivo lay in a coma. One virtually unknown was thrust in a few short weeks into the public eye. Right to Life advocates gathered on one side, and Death with Dignity on the other. They shouted at each other. They talked over her decimated body. . Legislatures convened, courts ruled, families argued, reporters feasted, the last few weeks of her life a whirl wind of front page publicity and public scrutiny. After fourteen years in a coma in almost total obscurity—how many others lay as Terri once did? –her feeding tube was removed, and she died.

During the same period a failing Pope John Paul II lay upon his death bed, hundreds of thousands in vigil by his window, millions praying and watching. For twice as long as Terri Shaivo was in obscurity, Pope John Paul II was a well known public leader. Two million people are expected to wait to view his body as it lay in state. World leaders from Church and State will attend his funeral mass. After nearly thirty years in world leadership at the pinnacle of a power worldwide institution, he died.

Clearly the contrasts between these two are evident. One a powerful male world leader. The other a vulnerable female victim. One a champion of human rights and a life ethic, a strong subject who spoke and acted with power. The other an object of debate over issues of rights to life and death, who was unable to speak or act on her own behalf. Still their deaths in the same week are not the only links between the two. Their life and death of Terri Shaivo and the life and death of Pope John Paul II beckon reflection on the spotlight they shared and the similarities in their stories despite obvious differences.

Both died. Yes, all too obvious. The end of their years came during the week after Easter. The portals of heaven opened to welcome beloved pilgrims in our journey on earth. At birth and at death the two lives are most closely identified. Tiny helpless newborns and life-weary, death-near sojourners share a common humanity. Endless possibilities and absolute limits. At birth and at death the souls of the great and the souls of the ordinary are one. Both died.

Both died after Easter raising the questions of life and death for the world to consider again. In our congregation people have asked about Advanced Health Care Directives—or living wills. When would I want life support for myself or my loved ones? Under what circumstances would I want it withdrawn? Same questions for feeding tubes. The Oregon Advanced Health Care Directive sites four circumstances for considering adding or withdrawing life saving measures:

1. If one is in a state near death and nothing can reasonably be done.

2. If one is in a state of a progressive, terminal disease or condition.

3. If one is in a condition in which life support or feeding would cause more pain and suffering than good.

4. If one is in a permanent state of unconsciousness or in a coma from which it is unlikely to awaken.

The Terri Shaivo story raised these issues in black and white, and it is important for people to have considered these issues and to begin talking to their loved ones, spiritual advisors, doctors and lawyers about these things. These are spiritual questions of great practicality. They express care for ourselves and our loved ones as we figure out how to live and die with dignity and honoring the life we have been given.

These deaths also raise the other spiritual questions:
What happens when we die?
Where do we go?
What legacy do I leave behind?
What part of my life means the most to the loved ones I leave?
How does my suffering and death make any sense?
When the portals of heaven open am I aware?
Can I enter the mysteries posed in death while I am still alive?
Who will be with me when I die?
Whom will I accompany in their death?

In unique and mysterious ways two lives and their deaths have impacted the world this past week. One a commoner, the other a world leader. One in obscurity and controversy, the other in lavish reverence. And both are joined in having come from and having returned to the One who made and sustained and loves them endlessly. May their lives and deaths deepen our faith as we live and learn on earth.

P Moe
4-5-05