We sometimes read about or perhaps some here may have even experienced what we call a near-death experience. These experiences differ for every person but usually relate to being out of the body or not in the world, speaking or seeing others who have died, or even experiencing Jesus or the saints. Well, I want you to know, that I once had a near-death experience. I definitely did. I rode on the rear seat of a motorcycle at what I thought was a break-neck speed through the streets of Barcelona, Spain. Riding in a car through those streets was bad enough. A motorcycle was something even worse. Amidst several acts of contrition and promises to reform my life many times over, I felt very close to God but was quite relieved when the experienced ended. That was my near-death experience. It was not as spiritual as those you read about but definitely as real. Likewise, we are fascinated by death. Death remains a mystery that we try to avoid, try to explain, try to minimize. In fact, we don’t like speaking about death. When you get to a certain age, the obituary section of the newspaper takes on a new meaning. You know that you have reached that age when you go for the obituaries before the sports section or the comics page. The Gospel passage relates the story about Jesus bringing back to life the daughter of Jairus. We see two things at play in this story. First, Jairus faith allows him to believe that Jesus can help his daughter. Even when they reported that the girl had died, Jesus’ response, “Do not be afraid; just have faith,” reassured Jairus. The second aspect of this story is the closeness of Jesus. That closeness to Jesus brings life. Sometimes, we blame God for death. In fact, we often blame God for what we cannot control, but we take credit for what we can control. In any case, today’s first reading is very clear. We read: God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living. That is why any form of murder, abortion, physician assisted suicide is wrong. God is the God of the living. Mankind introduced death into God’s plan by sin, sin in any of its forms. Christ allows us to overcome the effects of sin, especially death. Mankind introduced sin and death. Jesus brought life and freedom from sin. But there is a catch. We have to want life; life both now and into eternity. Some falsely believe that living a life of faith is equivalent to wishful thinking. Not at all. Living the life of faith, living the Christian life is a daily activity. It starts with Sunday worship during which we hear God’s word and receive Jesus’ body and blood as our spiritual food. In the celebration of the Eucharist, we experience and profess our faith in God. In the reception of the Eucharist, we experience the closeness of Christ as did Jairus and his daughter. The rest of the week must be spent living the commandments, doing good, avoiding evil, looking for ways to enhance one’s own life and the lives of others, and pepper all of this with time dedicated in prayer to God. Don’t let anyone mislead you. The faith life of a Catholic requires worship, action and prayer. If anything is missing, then the picture is incomplete. The question is a simple one: do we want life or death? The answer is a simple one, too. Let’s hope that we all make the right choice. |
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