DYING FOR, NOT DYING OF
An honest and decent man died suddenly and was met by an angel guarding the check-in counter of the pearly gates of heaven. The angel was a substitute for the day so he was quite unfamiliar with the ins and outs of entrance into heaven.
After getting the man’s name, he asked when he died. “Just this morning,” the man quipped. The angel took out a black book called Liber Defunctorum (Latin for “Book of the Dead”) and searched for the man’s name. Not finding it, he asked again, “Did you say you died today? Your name is not in this book. Neither is it on the dates before today.”
Noticing the commotion, Jesus approached the angel and volunteered, “You will not find his name there. That is the book of the dead. Those bound for heaven are in the Book of the Living. They are forever alive in my presence.” With that, the man was ushered into heaven.
Today’s first reading from the prophet Isaiah encourages the righteous man and woman who walk in the way of the Lord. Those who live godly lives are to savor the presence of the Lord. The reading ends with the blessed assurance, “their name (will) never (be) cut off or blotted out from my presence.”
Christian theology recognizes two kinds of death. There is what we call terminal death. As the term terminal implies, it is the end of everything — the end of a life wasted and spent for less than significant things. It is a kind of death where the only thing people attending the wake talk about is, “What did he die of?” Not only is it the end of one’s earthly life, it could also be the end of a possibility of life lived with God’s beatifying presence. It is an eternity of separation from God’s beatitude.
But there is a paschal kind of death. Paschal suggests dying to self which is Jesus’ invitation to carry one’s cross. It suggests a life lived in self-donation and self-giving. It is that kind of death where people attending the wake do not ask, “What did he die of?” Instead they ask, “What did he die for?” It is a life of purpose, meaning and significance. That’s why for God, they are “never cut off or blotted from My presence.” Fr. Joel O. Jason
Reflection Question:
There are two kinds of people. Some bring happiness wherever they go. Others, whenever they go. To which do you belong?
Lord, make my today, and always, a day lived in self-donation. Amen.
St. Balda, pray for us.
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