Spiritual Look at the Poem:
Everyman
Everyman will Die Someday
The
poem, Everyman (author unknown) is a morality play depicting the life of
Everyman. In the beginning, God and Jesus are troubled by the way Everyman is
living. God declared, “In spiritual sight the people are so blind. Drowned in
sin they know me not for their God. In worldly riches is all their mind”
(25-27). God calls upon Death to take the life of Everyman. “Death rudely
intrudes and there is no putting him off” (Posnock, R., p. 2). In life, whether
prepared or not, Death will visit Everyman. “The same destiny ultimately awaits
everyone, whether righteous or wicked, good or bad, ceremonially clean or
unclean, religious or irreligious. Good people receive the same treatment as
sinners, and people who make promises to God are treated like people who don’t”
(Ephesians 2:8, NLT). Riches, good works, nor fame will keep Death from
knocking on Everyman’s door.
Everyman
depicts Death as an unwelcomed reality of life. The uncertainty of one’s destination
creates fear of the unknown. Death hides in the shadows of life, waiting to
pounce on Everyman unexpectedly. Death is the enemy, always lingering, hovering
over every part of the story of Everyman. However, in real life, though
Christians may not want to rush the calling of Death, fear should not be the
greeting given by a Child of God. Through faith in Jesus Christ, a Child of God
can proclaim, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your
victory? O death, where is your sting” (1 Corinthians 15:54b-55, NLT)?
When
Death came to visit in the story of Everyman, confusion and fear struck the
heart of Everyman. It was time for Everyman’s reckoning, a scale that will
decide his eternal destination. Everyman feared the outcome of the evaluation,
knowing deep down inside; good works would not tip the scale in favor of
eternity in Heaven. Bargaining, bribing, and even begging, Everyman cried out
for more time. The ledger was truly stacked against Everyman; good works and
bad, the tallying would not be favorable. Death scoffed at the offer of money,
refusing to give Everyman more time to tip the scales of his materialistically
minded life.
Catholicism
infiltrates the story of Everyman, destroying the beautiful truth of Jesus’
redemption of Everyman through His mercy and grace. Jesus is the One who paid
the price for Everyman’s wicked ways. Salvation has nothing to do with good
works. Salvation is only through faith, not in the works Everyman can
accomplish in life (Ephesians 2:8-10). Catholicism teaches that Jesus’ death on
the cross only opened the door to Heaven. To the Catholics, entry into Heaven
is only given to those whose good works outweigh their bad. Another possibility
in the Catholic faith is through Everyman paying for their sins through
confession and penance.
Friends, Relatives, Material
Possession, Good Works, nor Bartering will Bring Salvation
The
story of Everyman takes the reader on a journey into the world of Catholicism.
Everyman had no chance to enter Heaven through good works, so in the end,
Everyman performed penance. Everyman begged God to accept the act of
self-punishment (penance) as payment for lack of good works. Because of the
selfish lifestyle of Everyman, penance had to be given to pay the price for the
failures in life. Everyman needed to tip the scales in favor of good works. By
the end of the story, through penance; Everyman was able to buy entry into
Heaven.
In
the story, Death granted Everyman the opportunity to find someone who would
join in the dreadful journey of reckoning that Everyman must face. In
desperation, Everyman asked Fellowship to join in this journey. Though in the
beginning, pledging to go anywhere with Everyman, Fellowship balks at the idea
of journeying to the place of reckoning. Fellowship would join Everyman to
murder and have pleasure, but was not willing to journey to the day of
reckoning with Everyman.
Everyman,
dejected, sought relatives to join in this journey. The plea was the same, and
so were the results. Friends and family, though faithful in life, cannot go
with Everyman to the day of reckoning when Death comes calling. Not deterred by
Death’s rejection of money to delay the journey, Everyman sought out Goods in
hopes of still being able to purchase better results of this miserable
predicament. “Even though he failed to bribe Death with a thousand pounds,
Everyman continues to place his hope for salvation in his worldly goods, rather
than in God’s mercy” (McGerr, R., 2011).
Everyman
ignored the teachings of Jesus. Instead of focusing on God’s amazing grace,
Everyman believed that eternal hope could be gained through worldly
possessions. However, Jesus warned Everyman in Matthew 6:19-21:
“Don’t
store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them,
and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where
moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever
your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be” (NLT).
The
desire of Everyman’s heart was filled with what the world was able to offer.
Heavenly treasures were far from Everyman’s thoughts and heart.
The
story of Everyman could have easily been written today. Everyman is still
chasing possessions as if happiness and eternity are based on such folly.
Harper wrote that the story of Everyman was written characteristically for its
time:
“All
in all, the ungodliness depicted in Everyman has persistently materialistic and
even commercial leanings, and the fact that avarice is the core of Everyman's
sinfulness strongly suggests that the writer saw interest in material gain to
the exclusion of spiritual concerns as the characteristic vice of his or her
time” (2006, p. 274).
Harper’s
assessment that this was a vice during the time Everyman was written is
correct. However, throughout the history of mankind, materialism has been a
driving force, drawing Everyman away from their Creator into the hands of
Goods.
The
story of Everyman is just as relevant today as it was in the 1400s when it was
written. Worldly possession will not be able to make Everyman’s final journey.
Worldly possession will turn against Everyman. Goods will continue to stay on
earth, waiting for another to be ensnared by its desires of power and
possession. Everyman did not have a heart filled with charity. Instead,
Everyman horded the riches that were acquired for another day. Selfishness and
lust for more filled the heart of Everyman in this story.
This
is one of the most poignant moments in the story of Everyman, for it is the
story of Everyman from every generation. God desired that Everyman would reach
out to those in the darkened shadows of society. Through Goods that were given
by the Almighty, comfort and hope were to be given and shared with those in
need (Hebrews 13:16; Proverbs 14:31). Everyman’s selfishness showed the heart
of one who was turned away from the heart of God (Matthew 25:31-46).
Everyman’s
journey continued in desperation. Fellowship, Kindred, Cousins, and Goods,
would not nor could not join in Everyman’s reckoning. When Death comes for
Everyman, the journey is not for those involved in the life of Everyman.
Friends nor family can join Everyman to the place of Death. Good Deeds could
not join Everyman, for Good Deeds was neglected and did not have the ability to
help. Good Deeds sent Everyman to Confession, for Confession was the only one
able to help. Confession of sin was neglected throughout the life of Everyman,
but in desperation, Everyman sought the advice of the stranger to whom Everyman
never or rarely had spoken to in life. Hope was rekindled when Confession was
mentioned, maybe from youth Everyman faintly remembered. The purpose of
Confession is important in the life of Everyman. The Confession mentioned in
this story is foreign to the one mentioned in God’s Word. Confession to
Catholics is confession of one’s sins to a man who supposedly represents God.
Confession in the Bible is confession of one’s sins to the one who is the True
Mediator of Everyman’s soul: Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:9 tells Everyman that, “…if
we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and
to cleanse us from all wickedness” (NLT).
Though
Confession plays an important role in the story of Everyman, it does not take
the reader through every aspect of Catholic confession. Harding supposed that,
Perhaps
the problem of the missing confession disappears if we interpret Everyman’s
meeting with Confession as an allegorical representation of a full verbal
declaration of wrongdoings. In other words, perhaps rather than embodying the
dispenser of the sacrament of penance, Confession represents Everyman’s act of
partaking in the sacrament, just as Discretion, Beauty, and the others
represent his qualities and attributes” (2009, p. 6).
By
the end of the story, Confession and penance were all that was needed in the
life of Everyman. The journey of dread became the journey of joy. Repentance is
a biblical doctrine, bringing Everyman to the Throne of God in salvation. Confession
and penance described in the story of Everyman is one of the many false
doctrines espoused by the Catholic Church. Keller, an obvious Catholic stated
that “As an allegorical representation of all of humanity, Everyman, by
example, teaches the audience of death's inevitability as well as the proper
path to salvation, one of the most common themes of medieval literature” (2000,
p. 1).
Everyman will Kneel Before
the Throne of God
At
the end of the story, after performing an act of penance and Confession,
Everyman heard these words from an angel. “Now shall you go into the heavenly
sphere, [t]o the which all you shall come [t]hat live well before the day of
doom” (980-982). Through confession and penance, Everyman’s destiny was secure.
In real life, biblical confession seeks Jesus, trusting in the sacrificial work
of the Son of God. Going through physical punishment (penance) for one's sins
will only bring about pain. Confession to a priest of one’s sins against God
will not reach the Throne of Heaven. Jesus declared the truth to Everyman.
“‘Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door,
I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends’” (Revelation
3:20, NLT). The invitation was given to Everyman to have a personal
relationship with Jesus Christ.
Jesus
is knocking at the door of Everyman’s soul. It is up to Everyman to answer or
reject the call of the Savior. Jesus’ sacrificial work on the cross is all that
is needed. Death will come for Everyman, and Everyman will kneel before the
Throne of God. Fellowship, Kindred, Cousins, Goods, Good Deeds, Knowledge,
Confession, Discretion, Strength, Everyman’s Five Senses, Beauty, Angel, nor
Doctor will be able to stand on behalf of Everyman before God’s Throne. Only
the True Mediator will stand before the Father (1 Timothy 2:5). The question is
simple: Does Everyman rely on the riches of life, standings within society,
Good Deeds, or confessions and penance of one’s sins before a priest, or on the
work of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary? Before Death comes, Everyman must
decide to accept the Truth of Jesus Christ, or face the consequences of eternal
separation and torment from the presence of Everyman’s Creator.
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