There are just two days on the calendar whose mere date convey their unique significance. One is July 4. The other is today, April 15. I find no little irony in this fact. The first date celebrates a hard-fought freedom from a tax-hungry king in England. The second signifies the undeniable reality that freedom is not free and that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness still include taxation. According to Ben Franklin, the only certainties we have in life are death and taxes.

Speaking of death and taxes … Long before April 15 became known as tax day in 1955, that midpoint mark in the fourth month of the year was a tragic milestone in our nation’s history. It was in the early hours of Monday, April 15, 1912 that the Titanic sank.

The sad news, telegraphed around the world, was both devastating and surprising. The Titanic was three football fields long, 11 stories tall and 92 feet wide. Having taken three years to construct at a cost of $7.5 million, it weighed an astonishing 46,000 tons. The pride of the White Star British Lines was appropriately named.

With 16 watertight compartments below sea level, the ship’s captain had arrogantly claimed that not even God could sink the Titanic. The wealthy and influential passengers in first class didn’t give a second thought to their safety. As the ship steamed toward New York City, those aboard the maiden voyage of the world’s largest ship had no idea what they were about to encounter.

Late on Sunday night, April 14, the ship’s crew disregarded a warning from a nearby vessel and the Titanic collided with a massive iceberg. In just a few short hours, 1,522 passengers and crew members perished in the open sea 350 miles southeast of Newfoundland. Only 706 people survived.

For years to come, April 15 would signify the fragility of life for the families of those passengers who never reached their intended destination in spite of being assured that they had nothing to fear.

Curiously, a half century before the Titanic disaster, another unexpected tragedy occurred on that same date. It was the day before Easter, April 15, 1865, when our sixteenth president succumbed to a gunshot wound that he had received hours earlier on a not-so-Good Friday evening.

After a bloody civil war that had ended only days earlier, the bruised psyche of our nation was once again taxed. A 56-year-old Abraham Lincoln had just been re-elected and was enjoying unprecedented popularity. But dreams collided with an iceberg-like nightmare. For decades to come, April 15 would be a costly reminder that prosperity is only temporary and success is fleeting.

For the days following Easter that year, Americans grieved the death of their commander-in-chief. Many were comforted by the hymn lyrics they had sung in church the previous Sunday. Lyrics that affirmed how Christ’s resurrection calibrates the way we look at loss.

More than a few Christians in our community (myself included) have just celebrated their first Easter since closing the casket lid on a loved one. While grateful for the hope such a holiday promises, they are painfully aware of the crosses we all must bear. They are reminded of how brief life is, how easily it can be interrupted and what constitutes true wealth.

Yes, April 15 remains a reminder that both death and taxes are unavoidable. There is no changing that fact. But, we can change the way we compute our blessings, brace ourselves to be blindsided by setbacks and embrace the life we have left. Although my tax accountant can’t help me with that calculation, I’ve filed for an extension recognizing I’m the same age that Lincoln was when he died.

Pastor Greg Asimakoupoulos is the head of the Mercer Island Covenant Church and a regular contributor to the Reporter.