Death can many times be gruesome but always a reminder to all of the temporary characteristic of life. Death is the common denominator for all. A word that has been used in news items recently is “pandemic” when the prospect of Swine Flu is being discussed. A “pandemic” is: “An epidemic that spreads over a very wide area, such as an entire country or continent.” Examples are: "The deathly horrors of the 14th century such as recurring famines; the Hundred Years' War in France; and, most of all, the Black Death, were culturally digested throughout Europe. The omnipresent possibility of sudden and painful death increased the religious desire for penitence…"
"The Black Death was one of the deadliest “pandemics” in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. It is widely thought to have been an outbreak of bubonic plague… The Black Death was, according to chronicles, characterized by buboes (swellings in lymph nodes), like the late eighteenth-century Asian bubonic plague. Usually thought to have started in Central Asia, it had reached the Crimea by 1346 and from there…it spread throughout the Mediterranean and Europe. The Black Death is estimated to have killed 30% to 60% of Europe's population, reducing the world's population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million in 1400…The plague returned at various times, resulting in a larger number of deaths, until it left Europe in the nineteenth century."
Some music that was evoked in The Black Death period is similar to the Danse Macabre (Dance of Death) – a Symphonic Poem by Saint-Saëns (1874). “It is based on a poem by Henri Cazalis in which Death the Fiddler summons skeletons from their graves at midnight to dance...It consists of the personified death leading a row of dancing figures from all walks of life to the grave, typically with an emperor, king, youngster, and beautiful girl—all skeletal. They were produced to remind people of how fragile their lives and how vain the glories of earthly life were. The dance-with-death allegory was originally a didactic play to remind people of the inevitability of death and to advise them strongly to be prepared all times for death.”
A grim reminder of The Black Death “pandemic” is a Rhyme often sung by children: “Ring around the rosy; A pocketful of posies’; Ashes, Ashes’; We all fall down!” Historically, “The words to the Ring Around The Rosy children's ring game have their origin in English history. The historical period dates back to the Great Plague of London in 1665 (bubonic plague) or even before when the first outbreak of the Plague hit England in the 1300's. The symptoms of the plague included a rosy red rash in the shape of a ring on the skin (Ring around the rosy). Pockets and pouches were filled with sweet smelling herbs (or posies) which were carried due to the belief that the disease was transmitted by bad smells. The term "Ashes Ashes" refers to the cremation of the dead bodies; We all fall down refers to people who were dropping dead! The plague was only halted by the Great Fire of London in 1666 which killed the rats which carried the disease which was transmitted via water sources…or violent sneezing…”
In the news today, we read about the loneliness of death, and the concern about a new “pandemic” possibility: (1) "The poor economy is taking a toll even on the dead, with an increasing number of bodies in Los Angeles County going unclaimed by families who cannot afford to bury or cremate their loved ones. At the county coroner's office…36% more cremations were done at taxpayers' expense in the last fiscal year over the previous year, from 525 to 712", and (2) "Swine flu has spurred the Church of England to revive a rule drawn up more than 450 years ago when bubonic plague swept the land. As concern mounts about the spread of the virus…some Anglican churches have begun to allow “intinction” or dipping bread in communion wine rather than sharing the chalice, while others have stopped offering wine…” An obvious conclusion is: Life is temporary – Death is a certainty. In James 4:14 the question is posed: “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” And in Psalm 90:10-12, “The length of our days is seventy years, or eighty, if we have the strength…Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Are you prepared for Death and Eternity? Consider these things with me.
"The Black Death was one of the deadliest “pandemics” in human history, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. It is widely thought to have been an outbreak of bubonic plague… The Black Death was, according to chronicles, characterized by buboes (swellings in lymph nodes), like the late eighteenth-century Asian bubonic plague. Usually thought to have started in Central Asia, it had reached the Crimea by 1346 and from there…it spread throughout the Mediterranean and Europe. The Black Death is estimated to have killed 30% to 60% of Europe's population, reducing the world's population from an estimated 450 million to between 350 and 375 million in 1400…The plague returned at various times, resulting in a larger number of deaths, until it left Europe in the nineteenth century."
Some music that was evoked in The Black Death period is similar to the Danse Macabre (Dance of Death) – a Symphonic Poem by Saint-Saëns (1874). “It is based on a poem by Henri Cazalis in which Death the Fiddler summons skeletons from their graves at midnight to dance...It consists of the personified death leading a row of dancing figures from all walks of life to the grave, typically with an emperor, king, youngster, and beautiful girl—all skeletal. They were produced to remind people of how fragile their lives and how vain the glories of earthly life were. The dance-with-death allegory was originally a didactic play to remind people of the inevitability of death and to advise them strongly to be prepared all times for death.”
A grim reminder of The Black Death “pandemic” is a Rhyme often sung by children: “Ring around the rosy; A pocketful of posies’; Ashes, Ashes’; We all fall down!” Historically, “The words to the Ring Around The Rosy children's ring game have their origin in English history. The historical period dates back to the Great Plague of London in 1665 (bubonic plague) or even before when the first outbreak of the Plague hit England in the 1300's. The symptoms of the plague included a rosy red rash in the shape of a ring on the skin (Ring around the rosy). Pockets and pouches were filled with sweet smelling herbs (or posies) which were carried due to the belief that the disease was transmitted by bad smells. The term "Ashes Ashes" refers to the cremation of the dead bodies; We all fall down refers to people who were dropping dead! The plague was only halted by the Great Fire of London in 1666 which killed the rats which carried the disease which was transmitted via water sources…or violent sneezing…”
In the news today, we read about the loneliness of death, and the concern about a new “pandemic” possibility: (1) "The poor economy is taking a toll even on the dead, with an increasing number of bodies in Los Angeles County going unclaimed by families who cannot afford to bury or cremate their loved ones. At the county coroner's office…36% more cremations were done at taxpayers' expense in the last fiscal year over the previous year, from 525 to 712", and (2) "Swine flu has spurred the Church of England to revive a rule drawn up more than 450 years ago when bubonic plague swept the land. As concern mounts about the spread of the virus…some Anglican churches have begun to allow “intinction” or dipping bread in communion wine rather than sharing the chalice, while others have stopped offering wine…” An obvious conclusion is: Life is temporary – Death is a certainty. In James 4:14 the question is posed: “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” And in Psalm 90:10-12, “The length of our days is seventy years, or eighty, if we have the strength…Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Are you prepared for Death and Eternity? Consider these things with me.
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