Signs of Hope: Death

“It is imperative that Jesus of Nazareth be followed in his perspective on life and his Way of Life, but it is not sufficient. We must also follow him in his aims or goals for life...”

There is only one institution in our society that deals with death and that is the Church. Every person who enjoys the gift of life is going to die and with the possible exception of Jesus of Nazareth no one survives living after the experience of death. Death is the future destiny of every living person, inescapably.

The fact that religion alone offers the person the hope for life beyond the present and offers ways to attain that life gives religion its power and edge. Few people, if any, accept death as the finial word.

So real is the desire for life and the fact of death a religion that offers the individual the chance to survive death is indispensable. If every other power were removed from the Church and it kept the hope alive for surviving death it would still be indispensable.

The Christian religion promises life after death and that is the source of its power in American society. The religion insists that Jesus of Nazareth is the one person to return to life with a new form of life after dying, and that in doing so he has shown the way for other human beings to do the same. Therefore, the Christian religion preaches that human beings should follow Jesus of Nazareth in adopting his attitude in life and his Way of Life. The attitude of Jesus towards God and life itself is a totally positive one and his Way of Life is built upon the practice of virtue, like humility, gratitude, trust, forgiveness, detachment, and compassion. The list may vary a bit from one person to another but the Way of Life consists in following the virtues completely.

It is not an easy way to live, but it is the only one that offers hope of a continued life after death. Most Americans buy the product and buy the religion that offers it. That is the principal source for American confidence, which is truly remarkable, and it is based solely on religious conviction.

Contemporary Americans have coupled this belief and the confidence it engenders with a very positive attitude towards God and life itself. They seem individually convinced of a satisfactory relationship with an almighty God who will reward them, and not punish them, for all their troubles. Neither fearing God nor death, then, the average American considers all other problems as secondary.

That this belief might be erroneous or misplaced does not seem to bother the average American, or even occur to him. Catholics, today, seem more and more to share this opinion with their fellow citizens.

The chief anxiety Catholic here today share with other Americans centers upon the economy and this concern is secondary. Moreover, they are delighted today ‘to have political leaders who claim they can handle this problem

That the political leaders might disappoint them is not apparently bothering the average American citizen. They are placing an enormous amount of trust in their political leaders, a trust that may not be realistic. Given the slant of these writings, that trust is excessive and possibly misplaced. The political leadership is being asked to perform a religious duty. That is not necessarily wrong in itself, but the present political leadership has demonstrated little or no ability to handle matters in this field.

Religion is being relegated in present-day American society to the narrow limits of what is considered proper to it, and that does not include economic maters. That is wrong, because at the heart of economic matters are value judgments that only can be made by qualified religious spokespersons. We are not necessarily speaking here of ordained religious leaders, who may or may not be qualified. A lay person can be fully qualified, and most likely would be, for this responsibility. That is another sign of the necessary re-thinking of the role of the qualified religious leader in our society.

It is imperative that Jesus of Nazareth be followed in his perspective on life and his Way of Life, but it is not sufficient. We must also follow him in his aims or goals for life, and that is what we are talking about here. Jesus used the term, “The Kingdom of God on Earth” to describe his aims or goals, and he preached it constantly. The Church preached Jesus, his perspective and Way of Life, exclusively. Now, his aims or goals must also be preached and this will be done by all of his followers, both clergy and lay. But, to do so, they must be qualified.