We live in a society that likes to defy rules. Keeping holy the Sabbath, for example, is totally ignored. Thou shalt not kill, commit adultery, or steal are rules that are considered outdated. Yet people keep religiously rules that govern virus protection. Why the inconsistency? What motivates the people to go to extreme measures to protect themselves from the virus, and others defy social norms because they are afraid of the vaccination? Isn’t “fear of death” the underlying factor?
In the letter to the Hebrews we read that Jesus came “to free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death (Hebrews 1:15). Those who fear death are slaves. Jesus came to “destroy him who holds the power of death—that is the devil” (same reference).
Today we celebrate the feast day of St. Lawrence who was one of the favorite saints in the early Church. He was a deacon who ministered in Rome. Under the persecution of the emperor Valerian, many Christians were martyred, including Pope Sixtus II. Four days following the Pope’s martyrdom and that of six deacons, Lawrence, a prominent deacon, defied Valerian’s orders and refused to turn over the Church’s treasury to the government. He too was martyred.
Jesus put death in perspective (John 12:24-26)
“Amen, amen, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies it remains just a grain of wheat; but if it dies, it produces much fruit.”
Why should a grain of wheat be afraid to die? As a mere grain it is useless, but when buried in the ground it begins a process that ends in producing much fruit. Of course the grain wants to die, because it wants to grow. What would have happened if Jesus didn’t die?Think of how the early Church, wearied by the ordeal of martyrdom, was encouraged by the bravery of Lawrence who look death in the face and laughed. Imagine the fruit that this bore among those who lived in the Church of his day, and continues to bear fruit even today.
Back to the original question, why is our age so afraid of death? Isn’t it because they don’t know what’s on the other side, or if there is the other side? What if there is a heaven and a hell, and what if respecting the will of God is the pre-requisite to getting to heaven? And what if I’m disregarding God and making life decisions that go contrary to his laws? If this is so, then it makes a lot of sense to be afraid of death, and shudder at the thoughts of what will happen to me after death.
As Christians we know that death has been defeated and for those “in Christ” death is the door that opens us to eternal bliss. Certainly St. Lawrence had this vision, otherwise how could he have stepped out and defied the orders of the emperor? We do not have to get caught up in the fear of the world, even in the darkest and most dangerous of times. With our eyes fixed on Jesus and our hearts grounded in his hope, we can move through life in freedom and even joy. We remember that we are mere grains of wheat, waiting for the day in which we are able to produce much fruit.
“St. Lawrence help us overcome the fear of death.”
“An evil report he shall not fear; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord” (Ps 112:7).
