18th Week in Ordinary Time : Thursday 10th August 2023

Martin Heidegger (1889–1976), a German philosopher, explains that we do not choose death; instead, we are thrown into it. Each of us must face death; we must accept the reality of our own death. Jesus says today,“Unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain, but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest.”

We must accept our own death with its: 1) finality, 2) face its darkness, 3) go into its emptiness, and 4) mourn for it. Then only can we: 1) experience the resurrection, 2) see the light beyond the darkness, 3) find the fullness of life in the present, and 4) be comforted, as in the Beatitude, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”

We often don’t face death once, but many times. These deaths come in the form of dead ends. We face a crisis, get stuck in front of a wall, encounter a problem, feel despair, etc. – these are dead ends. We have to face these deadends with acceptance – unless the wheat grain dies…. Then, in the many dead ends (or deaths) we encounter in life, we can go around each and move ahead.

On top of that, St Paul says, “God will make sure that you will always have all you need for yourselves in every possible circumstance.” We are not destroyed by all these dead ends. We can depend on God for strength, move around dead ends, and forge ahead.

Lord, when I am stuck at a dead end, help me to move around it and foge ahead.