20251122 MEDITATION ON DEATH
22 November 2025, Saturday, 33rd Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Maccabees 6:1-13 |
'I remember the wrong I did in Jerusalem'
King Antiochus was making his way across the upper provinces; he had heard that in Persia there was a city called Elymais, renowned for its riches, its silver and gold, and its very wealthy temple containing golden armour, breastplates and weapons, left there by Alexander son of Philip, the king of Macedon, the first to reign over the Greeks. He therefore went and attempted to take the city and pillage it, but without success, since the citizens learnt of his intention, and offered him a stiff resistance, whereupon he turned about and retreated, disconsolate, in the direction of Babylon. But while he was still in Persia news reached him that the armies that had invaded the land of Judah had been defeated, and that Lysias in particular had advanced in massive strength, only to be forced to turn and flee before the Jews; these had been strengthened by the acquisition of arms, supplies and abundant spoils from the armies they had cut to pieces; they had overthrown the abomination he had erected over the altar in Jerusalem, and had encircled the sanctuary with high walls as in the past, and had fortified Bethzur, one of his cities. When the king heard this news he was amazed and profoundly shaken; he threw himself on his bed and fell into a lethargy from acute disappointment, because things had not turned out for him as he had planned. And there he remained for many days, subject to deep and recurrent fits of melancholy, until he understood that he was dying. Then summoning all his Friends, he said to them, ‘Sleep evades my eyes, and my heart is cowed by anxiety. I have been asking myself how I could have come to such a pitch of distress, so great a flood as that which now engulfs me – I who was so generous and well-loved in my heyday. But now I remember the wrong I did in Jerusalem when I seized all the vessels of silver and gold there, and ordered the extermination of the inhabitants of Judah for no reason at all. This, I am convinced, is why these misfortunes have overtaken me, and why I am dying of melancholy in a foreign land.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 9A(9):2-4,6,16,19 |
I will rejoice in your saving help, O Lord.
I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will recount all your wonders.
I will rejoice in you and be glad,
and sing psalms to your name, O Most High.
I will rejoice in your saving help, O Lord.
See how my enemies turn back,
how they stumble and perish before you.
You have checked the nations, destroyed the wicked;
you have wiped out their name for ever and ever.
I will rejoice in your saving help, O Lord.
The nations have fallen in the pit which they made,
their feet caught in the snare they laid;
for the needy shall not always be forgotten
nor the hopes of the poor be in vain.
I will rejoice in your saving help, O Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | cf.Lk8:15 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.2Tim1:10 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Our Saviour Jesus Christ abolished death
and he has proclaimed life through the Good News.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 20:27-40 |
In God all men are alive
Some Sadducees – those who say that there is no resurrection – approached Jesus and they put this question to him, ‘Master, we have it from Moses in writing, that if a man’s married brother dies childless, the man must marry the widow to raise up children for his brother. Well then, there were seven brothers. The first, having married a wife, died childless. The second and then the third married the widow. And the same with all seven, they died leaving no children. Finally the woman herself died. Now, at the resurrection, to which of them will she be wife since she had been married to all seven?’
Jesus replied, ‘The children of this world take wives and husbands, but those who are judged worthy of a place in the other world and in the resurrection from the dead do not marry because they can no longer die, for they are the same as the angels, and being children of the resurrection they are sons of God. And Moses himself implies that the dead rise again, in the passage about the bush where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. Now he is God, not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all men are in fact alive.’
Some scribes then spoke up. ‘Well put, Master’ they said – because they would not dare to ask him any more questions.
MEDITATION ON DEATH
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 Mc 6:1-13; Ps 9:2-4, 6, 16, 19; Lk 20:27-40]
As we approach the last week of the liturgical year, the Church invites us to reflect on the reality of death. The temptation of the world today is to postpone reflecting on death because Satan wants to prevent us from waking up to the truth of what life is all about. So long as we do not think of death, we do not have to confront the ultimate meaning of life. Indeed, most of us live thinking that death happens to others but not us. We think that we still have a long way to go, whether we are young or old. Alas, death knows no age or time. Death can come suddenly, because of illness, accident, natural disasters, and not just old age.
So before we lie on our death bed in regret, like King Antiochus, we should consider the prospect of death so that we can live this short life purposefully and fully. Only when we ponder on death, can we decide how we should be living our lives today. Imagine yourself on your death bed and looking at your past. Would you wish that you had lived your life differently? What mistakes or bad decisions would you regret and wish had turned out otherwise? How we wish to die should shape how we live. The end of life is a summation of all we have lived and strived for. Death crystallises the meaning of our choices and actions.
King Antiochus, on his deathbed, came to realise his folly. Scripture tells us he was “profoundly shaken; he threw himself on his bed and fell into a lethargy from acute disappointment, because things had not turned out for him as he had planned. And there he remained for many days, subject to deep and recurrent fits of melancholy, until he understood that he was dying.” In his depressed and despondent mood, he summoned his friends and said to them, “Sleep evades my eyes, and my heart is cowed by anxiety. I have been asking myself how I could have come to such a pitch of distress, so great a flood as that which now engulfs me — I who was so generous and well-loved in my heyday. But now I remember the wrong I did in Jerusalem when I seized all the vessels of silver and gold there, and ordered the extermination of the inhabitants of Judah for no reason at all. This, I am convinced, is why these misfortunes have overtaken me, and why I am dying of melancholy in a foreign land.”
Indeed, he came to realise the consequences of his futile pursuits for greater wealth, power and territory. He sought to take over the “city called Elymais, renowned for its riches, its silver and gold, and its very wealthy temple containing golden armour, breastplates and weapons” but without success. They put up a strong resistance, and he had to retreat. His army in Judah was also defeated. With one failure after another, he became discouraged, hopeless and gave up on himself. His ego was wounded, and he lost the will to live. Indeed, like him, for all our pursuits of worldly success in life, we will also come to this realisation at the end of this long, vain pursuit that we had worked for nothing. Wealth, fame and power cannot sustain us. Our security cannot be found in these useless quests. Like Alexander before him, he, too, would have to leave this world behind him, unable to take any worldly gains with him at his death.
That is why we must confront the finality of life. What is life? What are we living for? Where do we go after death? If our answer is like that of the Sadducees, that upon death we will be reduced to non-existence in Sheol, then life becomes meaningless. This is the same struggle for those who are not believers in God or Christ. For them, their life is only on this earth. Since they do not believe in God and God is pure Spirit, when we die, we are like the animals and plants; we will also go back to dust. Nothing of us continues. Once dead, everything is over. Only our deeds may leave a trace, but we ourselves cease to exist.
The Lord, however, assures us that there is life after death. We will not vanish into nothingness. Jesus teaches, “In the resurrection from the dead … they can no longer die, for they are like the angels, and being children of the resurrection they are sons of God.” Here, He affirms the immortality of the soul. Like angels, we share in their spiritual nature. Hence, for Catholics, we believe that upon death, the soul lives on, either in heaven, purgatory, or hell. The soul, which is spiritual, cannot die.
Indeed, logic and experience will tell us that we are different from animals and plants because we have an intelligence that enables us to live in the past, go beyond the present to the future, and even if our body is resting or even in a coma, the intellect and will remain with us. This is why we all desire that love lasts forever. We hope that after death, we will be reunited with our loved ones who have gone before us. All of us cherish that hope. Otherwise, love is meaningless because love is just temporary on earth. No wonder those who do not believe in God only have the memories of their loved ones to cherish. But those who believe in God know that their loved ones are still with them and that they live on.
To counter the Sadducees’ denial of the resurrection and the spirits, Jesus cited the Torah, the only Scripture they accepted: “Moses himself implies that the dead rise again, in the passage about the bush where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; now He is God, not of the dead, but of the living; for to Him all are alive.” Indeed, God, who showed Himself to Moses, affirmed that He is the God of the patriarchs who had long since died. Faith in the future life is affirmed in the psalm: “Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterwards you will take me into glory” (Ps 73:23-24).
But the ultimate ground for faith in the resurrection is founded on Christ’s death and resurrection. “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.” (Jn 11:25f) St Paul wrote, “So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” (1 Cor 15:42-44) Like the rest of creation, St Paul wrote, “we ourselves, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies.” (Rom 8:23)
Consequently, our faith does not allow us to accept the theory of reincarnation and transmigration of souls. If we believe that Christ is the Son of God, and He has taught us about the resurrection, and then rectified it by His death and resurrection, there is no question of “ifs” but an act of faith in the truth of the doctrine of resurrection of the dead. So whether we believe in the next life and most of all, in the resurrection, is dependent on our faith in Christ who died and rose for us. Those who believe in reincarnation or transmigration of souls show that they do not really believe in Christ, nor His death and resurrection.
But if we do, then it is important that we should now consider carefully how we live our lives today. St Paul says, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Rom 8:18) We are children of God, as Jesus taught us. “Now if we are children, then we are heirs — heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” (Rom 8:17) It was this hope that spurred St Paul to give up his life for Christ and his people. “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Tim 4:6-8)
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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