A Time to Die by Rev. Diane Dardon, who is the Protestant Chaplain for DePaul University’s Office of Religious Diversity.
To everything there is a season…a time to be born and a time to die. Ecclesiastes 3:1a & 2
The ancient wisdom of Holy Scripture reminds us that life is a constant circle with beginnings and endings. For several weeks we have encountered the reality of endings—a time for dying—whenever we step outdoors and see the leaves turning color, dying on the vine and dropping beneath our feet. The bright blossoms of summer have curled in on themselves and have withered on their stalks, taking on drooping and lifeless form. The air is filled with a chill that reminds us that the seasons of warmth and growth are ending and as time ticks by, even our calendar year is closing in on us, coming soon to an end.
The season of dying also comes to us in the festivities of these days. Many around the world celebrate Halloween, a holiday with a name steeped in death. The early Christian community referred to October 31 as All Hallows’ Eve. Hallow is a word that describes the holy or sacred and All Hallows’ Eve became the day to remember the saints, martyrs and all those hallowed persons who died in the faith. While many forget—or never knew—the ritualistic and sacred roots of Halloween, today we see this holiday as a time to use humor and fun to ridicule and laugh in the face of death.
The season that is upon us calls us into the realities of death. And just saying that might make some squirm.
I often find people of all ages wary of speaking of and acknowledging death. It’s just not a topic with which we feel comfortable. I’ve had discussions over the past few years with DePaul’s nursing students about confronting the discomfort of death so that they can better walk with their patients and families as they face end-of-life situations. In our discussions one thing always comes up: “Death is scary because it’s so ambiguous.” Of course we get unnerved by the unknown and yet, what we do know about death is that we must all embrace it.
Brittany Maynard, a young woman who lives in Oregon learned several months ago that a brain tumor would cause her great suffering before she died. After surgery doctors told her that because of the growth of her tumor she had only months to live so Brittany, while not wanting her life to end, set November 1, 2014 as the day she would die.
She has been given medication and she is equipped to end her suffering on her set date. However, Brittany just released a video describing why the time is not yet right for her to die. She knows the time is coming soon but for now she still has quality life to live. She knows that when the time is right she wants to die in the love and care of her husband and mother. She knows that when the season of death comes fully to her she will die with dignity.
People all over the world seem to have an opinion about Brittany’s decision to die when she wants and how she wants. Activists who support Brittany in her decision are speaking out and offering words of encouragement while others are making a case for why Brittany should embrace her life, her pain, her future and not try to control it. Some argue on theological grounds–others argue on grounds of ethics–still others argue on the grounds of human rights. Regardless of what people are saying and regardless of the argument they claim, Brittany has drawn us into a conversation about death and dying.
Brittany began the conversation by talking to us about the precious gift of life and the inevitability of death. Brittany has been brutally honest with her family and friends and with the world. Her story and her insistence upon speaking up about her decisions to live and die are invitations to each of us to speak up about our own thoughts, concerns and attitudes about death. Too often we choose to ignore the things of life that are difficult to face, but Brittany is showing us that when we allow others to enter into our places of uncertainty and pain, the journey is easier.
In this season of the year when we experience death in the falling of the leaves, when we remember those whom we’ve loved who are no longer with us, when we laugh in the face of death’s ambiguity, we are being invited into an open conversation about death and dying. Brittany’s discourse with the world is encouraging us to openness and honesty as we become conversant with death. She is encouraging us to see death as part of life that we must all live into and she is welcoming us into her dialogue and date with death.
To everything there is a season—the season of death is upon us…and that’s a very helpful and healing conversation to be had.
Join DePaul’s Interfaith Scholars and the Office of Religious Diversity for the Quarterly Inter-Religious Celebration that will engage participants in conversation and activities around the practices and beliefs of death within various world religions.
Join DePaul University Ministry and the Office of Mission and Values for the Interfaith Gathering of Remembrance: a time for students, faculty and staff to gather together to remember family and friends who are no longer with us. 
To RSVP and provide names of loved ones to be read during the gathering follow this link: https://depaul.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_cuUvU3sANFz2wLz&Preview=Survey&BrandID=depaul
And finally, here’s the link to Brittany Maynard’s video explaining her decision to post-pone her date with death: http://mashable.com/2014/10/30/brittany-maynard-cancer/