Our liturgical remembrance of the saints
and of the souls of the dead
in the month of November
is a reminder of the transitional nature
of life and death.
The readings today remind us
of the shortness of life on earth,
but also of our ‘passing on’ to a new life.
One day a mother conceived twins.
One child was a girl,
the other a boy.
As the months passed
they rejoiced that they were alive.
They said, “How great that our mother
shares her life with us!”
Soon they began to change drastically.
“What does this mean?” asked the boy.
“It means that our life here is coming to an end”
said the girl.
“But I don’t want to leave.” said the boy.
“I want to stay here forever.”
“We have no choice,” said the girl.
“Maybe there is life after birth.”
But the last days in the womb
were filled with deep questioning and fear.
Finally, the moment of birth arrived.
The twins cried with joy
when what they saw
exceeded their wildest dreams.
That story is a parable, of course.
It compares life in this world
to life in a womb.
Just as life after birth
exceeded the dreams of the twins
so life after death will exceed our dreams.
in the words of St Paul:
“Eye has not seen, ear has not heard,
nor has it so much as dawned
on the human heart
what God has prepared
for those who love him.” 1 Corinthians 2:9
And so we might ask the question:
How can a busy person in this world,
live his or her life in such a way
as to be assured of eternal life?
This question is addressed in a book
by Doris McCoy called Megatraits:
Twelve Traits of Successful People.
One of the people interviewed
while the book was being researched
was Peter Coors,
President of the Brewing Division
of the Adolph Coors Company.
Adolph Coors entered the United States
as a stowaway on a ship from Germany.
He came to America with no passport,
no papers, and no money.
From this unlikely beginning,
he founded one of the most successful
and prestigious companies in America.
Peter Coors is Adolph Coors grandson.
When he was asked
what his idea of success was,
he responded in this way:
“Success for me is pretty basic.
First, when my life is completed,
success would be standing in front of God
and feeling that
although I’ve made some mistakes,
I’ve always had God at the center of my life.
“Second, success for me
is having a good family and
a successful marriage.
That’s a very important part of my life.
“Third, success to me is,
after my time with the company is complete,
being able to say that I helped
not only the company
but also the individual employee.””
Those three observations by Peter Coors
contain the answer to our question:
How can a busy person live in this world
live in such a way
that when we stand before God after death,
we will do so with the assurance that God
was at the center of our life on earth.
Second, we should live in such a way
that, next to love for God,
love for the family that God entrusted to us
was our top priority in life.
Finally, we should live out our chosen career
in such a way
that we will make a positive contribution
not only to our chosen field and work
but also to the people with whom we worked.
If we can do that,
we will have indeed lived our lives in a way
that will assure us of St Paul’s promise:
“Eye has not seen, ear has not heard,
nor has it so much as dawned
on the human heart
what God has prepared
for those who love him.”
Let me conclude with a poem.
It gives a practical conclusion
to what we have just said.
The poem is entitled ‘Anyway’
The author is anonymous.
“People are unreasonable, illogical,
and self-centered. Love them anyway!
“If you do good, people will accuse you
of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.!
“If you are successful, you will make false friends
and true enemies. Succeed anyway!
“The good you do today
will be forgotten tomorrow. Do it anyway!
“Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
Be honest and frank anyway!
“The biggest person with the biggest ideas
can be shot down by the smallest people
with the smallest minds. Think big anyway!
“People favour underdogs
but follow only top dogs.
fight for some underdogs anyway!
“What you spend years building
may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway!
“People really need help, but may attack you
if you help them. Help people anyway!
“Give the world the best you have
and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway!”
And so, we celebrate God’s steadfast presence among us.
He is the GOD OF LIFE,
who pours out his life through us.
