ALL SOUL’S 1

If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. – Rom. 6: 8

   For a fallen humanity blinded by the illusion that it has “come of age,” that it can shape its own destiny, death seems to be the one event left that can shock us back into reality. We can rail against it in anger, disbelief & denial, or be humbled by it: either way, we cannot avoid facing it. All things living die, but only humans can agonize over it & ask “Why?” Christians look to Jesus for answers.

   First, Jesus never counseled anyone to adjust to death. His own behavior seems to suggest it is something we should get over with & then move on. His drive to get to Jerusalem was not impatience, but rather a patient humility by which the Son conformed to the Father’s plan to place resurrection at the center of life.

   As rude & painful as dying may be, it is an integral part of God’s redemptive purpose. Without it, we could never enjoy the beatific vision, nor could we exchange sorrow (which is love without its object) for joy (which is love in active contemplation of its object).

   Whenever Jesus resuscitated the dead, it was more out of concern for the survivors than the deceased. He felt their loss & was moved to conquer loneliness, not death, which would return again soon anyway. Jesus may have erased the punctuation point of death, but death replaced it soon enough.

   As it was, the point of death did not intimidate Christ for the simple reason that he saw the point TO death! His crucifixion is the point at which time, history, & life itself take on meaning. This is a divine mystery which requires patience to be valued, & patience in turn rests on humility. Such mystery SEEMS obscure only when humility is obscured.

Yet death is not merely physical. It is also moral. Eternal life is not something that happens automatically like Spring. Scripturally speaking, it is bestowed by the same divine power that created us in the first place. If we do not resurrect to eternal life, it will be to eternal separation from life.  Immortality is an endowment that we are free to decline, & if (in our mortal life) we dislike being awakened FOR nothing, we will like it even less being awakened TO nothing. This is why self-denial is so important to the Christian life.

   Contemplation of finality requires participation: “I die daily,” says St. Paul (1 Cor. 15: 31). Our Lord’s command to take up our cross daily is not a stoic exhortation to bear our burdens with a grim determination, but an invitation to discover the secret of really living instead of merely existing. Self-denial is part of learning to trust God alone, since anything less will fail us sooner or later.

   Famous people are said to survive in their followers, but followers of Christ survive in Him. He has a following precisely because nothing follows Him – He is the first & the last. Entering into His death & resurrection through mortification & the sacraments gives a whole new dimension to the expression “quality of life.”

   This doesn’t mean we MUST give up worldly possessions, but it does mean we have to be careful not to be possessed by them. That is the point at which we become stuck TO death. Jesus never insisted that we die poor, but He does take exception to our dying poorly! He loves us too much to be casual about losing us.  AMEN!

ALL SOUL’S 1

If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. – Rom. 6: 8

   For a fallen humanity blinded by the illusion that it has “come of age,” that it can shape its own destiny, death seems to be the one event left that can shock us back into reality. We can rail against it in anger, disbelief & denial, or be humbled by it: either way, we cannot avoid facing it. All things living die, but only humans can agonize over it & ask “Why?” Christians look to Jesus for answers.

   First, Jesus never counseled anyone to adjust to death. His own behavior seems to suggest it is something we should get over with & then move on. His drive to get to Jerusalem was not impatience, but rather a patient humility by which the Son conformed to the Father’s plan to place resurrection at the center of life.

   As rude & painful as dying may be, it is an integral part of God’s redemptive purpose. Without it, we could never enjoy the beatific vision, nor could we exchange sorrow (which is love without its object) for joy (which is love in active contemplation of its object).

   Whenever Jesus resuscitated the dead, it was more out of concern for the survivors than the deceased. He felt their loss & was moved to conquer loneliness, not death, which would return again soon anyway. Jesus may have erased the punctuation point of death, but death replaced it soon enough.

   As it was, the point of death did not intimidate Christ for the simple reason that he saw the point TO death! His crucifixion is the point at which time, history, & life itself take on meaning. This is a divine mystery which requires patience to be valued, & patience in turn rests on humility. Such mystery SEEMS obscure only when humility is obscured.

Yet death is not merely physical. It is also moral. Eternal life is not something that happens automatically like Spring. Scripturally speaking, it is bestowed by the same divine power that created us in the first place. If we do not resurrect to eternal life, it will be to eternal separation from life.  Immortality is an endowment that we are free to decline, & if (in our mortal life) we dislike being awakened FOR nothing, we will like it even less being awakened TO nothing. This is why self-denial is so important to the Christian life.

   Contemplation of finality requires participation: “I die daily,” says St. Paul (1 Cor. 15: 31). Our Lord’s command to take up our cross daily is not a stoic exhortation to bear our burdens with a grim determination, but an invitation to discover the secret of really living instead of merely existing. Self-denial is part of learning to trust God alone, since anything less will fail us sooner or later.

   Famous people are said to survive in their followers, but followers of Christ survive in Him. He has a following precisely because nothing follows Him – He is the first & the last. Entering into His death & resurrection through mortification & the sacraments gives a whole new dimension to the expression “quality of life.”

   This doesn’t mean we MUST give up worldly possessions, but it does mean we have to be careful not to be possessed by them. That is the point at which we become stuck TO death. Jesus never insisted that we die poor, but He does take exception to our dying poorly! He loves us too much to be casual about losing us.  AMEN!