Jesus Dies Everyday

Jesus Dies Everyday

This morning I greeted one of my church friends at St. Francis who has cancer. He recently began chemotherapy. Today we said good morning, but I did not recognize him immediately until he passed by because either is hair had fallen out or he had his head shaved. I exclaimed his name, when I recognized him. He had just walked a long way from the parking lot into the church in order to faithfully worship with us, as is his habit.

Part way through Mass, he got up with two people, one on each arm to go out. I was serving as an usher this day and I recognized the problem and started up to help, but seeing two people already helping, I sat back down. He collapsed to the floor, the people helping him not able to hold him up. I rushed across the room, but he was already surrounded with others in his seating area helping him. Silently I prayed, with tears, and assisted a woman who had called 911 in flagging down the fire trucks who arrived before the ambulance to help. The ambulance arrived and he was put on a stretcher while conscious and rolled out of the sanctuary with applause by the congregation.

Later, after church, several of us held hands and prayed for him, and recited the “Our Father” at the end. As I write, I don’t know how he is doing, but as I am doing my Examen this night a thought occurred to me: Jesus dies every day!

What do you mean, John, that Jesus dies every day? He died only once, on the cross, for all of mankind and Jesus said, “It is finished.” Jesus also lives in each of us and the image of God lives in every man. We can find God’s presence in everything that exists, in every sparrow which falls to the ground which God knows. Why? Because He lives, and in Him we live and move and have our being. God is in all things.

By now you may have figured I am not going to thump on the Bible for scripture references concerning what I am writing, and what I am imagining. Let’s just think about it, and if I imagine something wrong, I stand corrected.

Thus, I imagine that God who lives in us also dies with us when we die. When we are in pain, so Jesus is in pain. He knows. We are supposed to die daily to ourselves, putting away the old man of sin. Why would a little of God not die when we die too, to be later resurrected?

Jesus promised to draw all men unto himself. Even if Jesus does not do that in our life time in this physical body, what prevents Him from drawing us to Himself at our (our and Jesus’) death? He could just show us in brilliant light, in a love filled way, what with God is really like and let us choose life. If you want to live forever as He draws us to the loving light and unto Himself, now is the time to believe. Don’t count on the unknown future. I will overlook the objections that Jesus cannot save us immediately because we have to pay for our sins, or be purified in purgatory. I wonder if Jesus does not in a way die again with us, experiencing our pain, our suffering, His hands held out in compassion and love for those who live in Him and Him in us, and if we fall, to raise us up again?

What about my friend who collapsed in church today? He has lived a good life already. Every day is a gift to him from God who gave him life and who lives in him. Maybe God will answer his and our prayers and miraculously heal him, or maybe not.

Either way, God knows how to die, every day. He knows how to raise from the dead and how to take care of those whom He loves. In the interim, if there is an interim, let us trust in Him, as does my friend.

Grace & Peace,

John Cooper