Tittus Remembered, Brougham Castle

In Brougham Castle, Cumbria, a medieval mason cannibalised some stoneware from the Roman fort which was situated close by. So covering an upper passage above some stairs is the tomb stone of Tittus M…. The partially surviving text says that he

“…lived 32 years more or less. M [...], his brother, set up this inscription."

Ironically, had the tomb stone not been requisitioned, Marcus M would be even less remembered now than he would otherwise be. Who else from his regiment is still remembered? Or the name of the mason who found it? We think ourselves significant and worthy of others ‘attention, but in truth, most of us shall return to the grave as undistinguished as the next. Your gravestone might survive a few decades, maybe a century, or like dear Tittus’, a couple of millennia. Thankfully, all found in Christ shall be remembered and shall rise again, better than they were before. The grave has not the last word, nor is our memorial the last place in which our names shall be found.

O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! Job 14:13