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FROM THE EDITOR

BY ERIK ALSGAARD

It seems like we've become a people consumed with death lately. Again.

First, it was Terri Schaivo and that horrible situation in Florida. Say what you will about the actors on that stage, the plot centered on death. And transported by the media, even her waiting for death took front page status for a fortnight.

Then came Good Friday. More death. Christians around the world paused to remember the sufferings of Jesus on that day so long ago.

Then it was the final hours and death of Pope John Paul II. This time, the entire world stopped to watch and see when the frail pontiff would die ? or would he rally, like he had before?

One commentator on MSNBC (and I am not making this up) told viewers about 24 hours before the pope's passing that 'death could happen at any time.'

He then added, 'I'm not telling you this to make you sit around your television for hours, but just so you know the reality of the situation.'

So is it morbid to sit around the television for hours on end, waiting for some snippet of news that someone has died? Or is it simply human nature?

I sat around for hours on the Saturday of the pope's death, waiting for word of his condition. I finally took a nap about 2:30 that afternoon, just minutes before he died. In terms of being there (through television), I missed the whole thing.

The mass media today has enabled a culture of mourning vultures. Millions, if not billions, of people now have the ability to receive information from around the corner or around the world in an instant. We sit, we watch, we wait, but we do it together in our separate living rooms, cars and basements. Regardless of how or where you heard the news of Schaivo's or the pope's passing, the fact that you know and you 'heard it when it happened' becomes our common thread.

It was like that when Princess Diana died. People who cared deeply about the monarchy of England and people who couldn't care less were transfixed by her death, the public outpouring of grief and her funeral.

Did you get up before dawn to watch her funeral? I did. And for what? Princess Diana never met me. I never met her. She and I have basically nothing in common.

But like the Friday of the pope's funeral, I awoke before sunrise to watch and share in something supremely human ? the experience of death and the mourning, grief and sorrow that accompany it.

I think it is our humanity that causes us to act like this. It was like that 2,000 years ago when Lazarus died. Remember that story? Remember how the crowds were gathered in the tombs when Jesus came? Why were they there? Scripture tells us it was because they wanted to witness the mourning of Mary. (John 11:31)

In other words, they wanted to watch; they wanted to participate.

Just like us.

And because of that human instinct, the crowd that day got more, much more, than they bargained for.

'Lazarus, come out!'

And, by God, he did.

Watching the coverage of the pope's death on secular television was quite interesting. It was almost fun to watch secular news reporters and anchors dig for theological meaning in the most mundane things; it was almost sad to listen to the reporters explaining 2,000-year-old rituals that some of them have never seen before; it was downright amazing how much Latin I've learned in the last several days; and the computer-generated animation that takes you flying over and into the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter's Square on CNN was almost as good as any roller coaster ride you could take.

The death of a pope is something we haven't seen in more than 25 years. The combined spiritual and political nature of the pope's life and death, along with the advent of 24-hour news cycles and cable TV networks, makes this a huge story.

But like when Mel Gibson's movie (which I still haven't seen, thank you very much) 'The Passion of the Christ' came out, I have to wonder when the full story of Christian faith ? life, death and resurrection ? will be told and who is going to tell it.

I don't think CNN, or MSNBC, or even Fox is going down that road, do you? Oh sure, they bring on the occasional studio guest who talks about celebrating the pope's life and why Christians do that at the time of death. And sure, there's the occasional nod to the Christian fundamental belief of the resurrection. But for the most part, the media is only capturing part of the story.

So if I'm right, what am I going to do about it? Will I be like the women at the tomb on that first Easter morning (Mark 16:8), who after finding the tomb empty 'said nothing to no one for they were afraid'? Or will I proclaim my belief in the resurrection?

I wonder how I could do that?