We are often asked: “Who wants to go to heaven? Raise your hand.” And we all raise our hands. The next question is: “Who wants to die?” Everybody is then wary to raise or not to raise his or her hand!
Why? Isn’t it that before we can go to heaven, we first die? Yes! We have to die physically so that our soul may go to heaven. That is if we live our lives in accordance to the will of God, heaven awaits us — the prize for being obedient till the end.
It is often said that when a woman gives birth, one of her legs is in her graveyard. Why is that so? It is because, giving birth is a process, the course of which is not always certain. There are times when the plan for a childbirth is normal delivery, but then it ends up in a cesarean section. It is not a hundred per cent predictable. Or there are also instances when the course of pregnancy seems uneventful but suddenly, the baby stops moving and result in fetal demise. These are seemingly seldom but they do happen.
Jesus said in John 12:24 “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.” This tells us that in order to live, one must die. But he was not referring to physical death but rather death to self and to the world.
When we die to ourselves and our whims, we give Jesus the chance to live in us. Thereby, we choose to live in Jesus, with Jesus and for Jesus. We die to ourselves so that life in Jesus may prevail. So that in the end, as with St. Paul, we can say, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
We know and acknowledge that the ultimate source of life is God. This life he gives us was channeled through our parents. That is why we should look at our parents with love and gratitude for without them, we could not have seen this world.
In their old age they seem like a burden to us. But let us look back to our younger years when we were still in the womb of our mothers until we were born and gradually learned to sit, stand, walk and talk. We were helpless then. They provided us with all our needs — food, clothing, shelter, education, good health, guidance. They gave us what for them was the best they could give us. They are our candles that give us light while they shed away their lives.
Let us take care of them even if they are still able and more so when they become weak and are unable to take care of themselves.
We are now in this Covid-19 pandemic. All of us are in a dilemma of what to do. We do not know the exact strategy to take against this virus. Experts may know today but not tomorrow as the virus mutates, making what seemed to be effective before to be in question now. So if we want to live our lives to the fullest, let us take precautions every day.
As we celebrate the 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines. The Chaplaincy to Filipino Migrants organises an on-line talk every Tuesday at 9.00pm. You can join us at:
https://www.Facebook.com/CFM-Gifted-to-give-101039001847033
We should always keep in mind that as we protect ourselves, we also protect others from harm. Let us take care of one another.
Amidst this turmoil, may we find the human face of God in each and every encounter we have, whether that be in other persons, in events and in places we go to. Just as I have always reminded people since the very start of 2020 that God is in control of all these. He is our all-powerful ever-loving God and Father. He alone knows best.
So, in life or in death, are we ready to face him?
Ma. Rosario Rote-Tejada
