Recently I heard of a man who had to prepare a plaque that was to go on a Wall of Memories in which the ashes of his wife would be deposited. The challenge was not only thinking of a fitting tribute but in addition to the name of his wife and her dates he had a limit of five words in which to sum up his wife’s life. The person telling me about this challenge then asked me what five words I would use to sum up my life. I was stumped by the restrictions. It made me think I might need a larger tombstone and that it may be best to leave it to some surviving relative who is more economical with words!On this anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jnr I love the instructions that he left for his tribute. At his funeral at the Ebenezer Baptist Church an excerpt was played of a sermon he had given there only two months earlier. He said:
“If any of you are around when I have to meet my [final] day, I don’t want a
long funeral. And if you get someone to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to
talk too long… Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize, that
isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred
other awards, that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to
school.”
“I’d like somebody to mention that day, that Martin Luther King Jnr., tried to
give his life serving others. I’d like for somebody to say that day, that Martin
Luther King Jnr., tried to love somebody. I want you to say on that day, that I
tried to be right on the war question. I want you to say that day, that I did
try and feed the hungry. And I want you to be able to say that day, that I did
try, in my life, to clothe those who were naked. I want you to say, on that day,
that I did try, in my life, to visit those who were in prison. I want you to say
that I tried to love and serve humanity…”
Have you thought about what you would like as your epitaph or what you’d like said about you at your funeral?
Geoff Pound
Image: Martin Luther King’s Tombstone at the King Centre for Non Violent Transformation. In addition to his name and dates there are these dozen or so words:
"Free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty I am free at last."