Tuesday, III Easter
(Acts of the Apostles 7)
Cecil Post was a Benedictine priest and pastor in a small North Texan town near the Oklahoma border. He was a kind, gentle man and progressive in his own way. At about the age of retirement, a cancerous tumor invaded his brain to claim his life. As he was dying, he was asked if he was afraid. No, he said, he had counseled so many people to trust in God that he had to follow his own advice.
Fr. Cecil showed half of what it means to die a Christian death. By exhibiting trust on his deathbed he, like Stephen in the reading from Acts, was asking God to receive his spirit. Of course, Stephen is only imitating Jesus whose last words on the cross are, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” The other half of a Christian death is to die forgiving one’s offenders. As Jesus asks his Father to forgive his crucifiers, Stephen asks Jesus to pardon those who heaping stones on him.
Many people talk about the quality of life of those who are in their final years. They often measure quality of life by the abilities to communicate with loved ones, to live without excruciating pain, and to enjoy simple pleasures like chocolate ice cream. We might pray to maintain these standards as death closes in on us. But let our prayer include as well that God accept our spirits and that He forgive all who have offended us. These inclusions will raise our quality of life to its highest level.
No comments:
Post a Comment