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33rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B
November 18, 2012
Terra Nuova
Hermitage
A Second Chance
By (Rev.
Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato
Experience
of Dying
There is famous short story written over a
hundred years ago by an author named Ambrose Bierce.
The story is titled Occurrence at Owl Creek
Bridge and it is about a man who is about to be hanged. Enemy soldiers march this man out to the
bridge over Owl Creek.
His wrists and ankles are tied and a noose is
put around his neck. When everything is
ready, the commanding officer barks the order and the condemned man plunges
downward.
As he falls however, the rope breaks and the man
plunges into the river below. He sinks
down into the rushing water and miraculously is able to free his hands and his
feet.
He realizes that he now has a second chance at
life and he begins to swim with all that is in him down the river. Far out of reach from his executioners, he
alternates swim and floating.
He is struck by the beauty of the leaves on the
trees and he notices the blueness of the sky.
Never has the world looked so beautiful to him and he senses how great
it is to be alive.
Finally, he swims ashore and begins to
walk. Soon he comes to a house and to
his amazement he is back home. His wife comes running out to greet him.
And then, just as they are embracing, the story
flips back to the bridge over Owl Creek.
Shockingly, the body of the very condemned man
is hanging there. The man had only
imagined in the split second that he fell to his death that he had gotten a
second chance at life.
And in that split second, he had seen life for
what it is – a precious gift to be appreciated.
He had realized how differently he would have lived if only he had been
… given a second chance.
The Author and Jesus
That is the story of Occurrence at Owl Creek
Bridge.
It seems to me that the author has the same
lesson in mind that the Scriptures are conveying today. Ambrose Bierce is saying that the condemned
man did not get a second chance at life, but we, the readers are given a second
chance because we have witnessed this man’s experience.
In the same way, the Prophet Daniel in the first
reading and Jesus in the Gospel focus our attention on the end of the world or
the end of our life on earth. Jesus wants
us to live with an awareness of this.
And out of this awareness, he wants us to
appreciate life right now for the precious gift that it is. In effect, he gives us a second chance.
Priorities:
Service and Love
Doctors, priests and family learn from being at the
side of dying loved ones as they looked back on their lives that, in the final
analysis only two things really matter: the love you show and the service you
render.
All the other things that at one time seemed so
important pale in comparison.
That insight is at the heart of Jesus’ message and
it raises important questions for us.
First, are we in our own unique way expressing the
love that we feel in our hearts? Do we
show affection and warmth to those who really matter to us – our spouse,
children, parents, or a dear friend?
And what of our love for God? Do we express that through heartfelt prayer,
especially with prayers and thoughts of gratitude for our blessings?
And second, are we giving of ourselves in some way for
the wellbeing of others? Are we willing
to go out of our way in doing something for them and at times placing those
actions above our own preferences?
Are we willing to give the time of our presence or
our listening ear to whomever it might be?
Willing to give of ourselves personally though we will receive nothing
in return save the satisfaction of what we have done?
Conclusion
The Scriptures today invite us to ask: How satisfied
will we be as we lay dying with the expression of our love and the quality of
our giving of ourselves?
Unlike the man on the bridge at Owl Creek, beginning
right now we have a second chance to prepare for that time which will come for
each of us.
