Tuesday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/111511.cfm

Canadian Geese in flight
over the Pacific Coast

But Eleazar made up his mind in a noble manner,
worthy of his years, the dignity of his advanced age,
the merited distinction of his gray hair,
and of the admirable life he had lived from childhood;
and so he declared that above all
he would be loyal to the holy laws given by God.


The story of Eleazar is one of two powerful stories about martyrdom in the Second Book of Maccabees. His tormentors, who seem to have some compunction about killing an old man, have offered him the choice of pretending to eat pork while he actually eats a kosher meat. As you know, devout Jews did not eat pork, and many don't to this day. By this subterfuge he could save his life without violating the letter of God's law.
But he refused because he would not give scandal to the young Jews who admired the old man. He regarded their faith as more important than his life. 


I think of Eleazar when I read about adults committing suicide in this country. Some (very few) have chosen "assisted suicide" as a way to avoid the discomfort and helplessness of a fatal illness. More often, they blow themselves away with a gun or asphyxiate themselves by hanging or with carbon monoxide. In effect they have taken "control" of something which should never be subject to human control, the end of life. 
But they have not actually "died" in the biblical sense of the word. Jesus teaches us that by dying to ourselves we attain eternal life. But they don't die as Jesus died; they do not surrender to life with its inevitable end. Rather they have taken control and aborted their death. 
Do these words, control and abort, sound familiar? The Church condemns abortion and discourages artificial means of birth control because they are alien to our humanity. Suicide is also an inhuman act. 


And it gives scandal to the young who are often suffering through the question, "Why do I exist?" Everyone must answer that question in his or her own way, but it's a lot easier when your family, friends and acquaintances are life-affirming. When everyone says to me, "You are one of us; you belong to us; and we are bound together with bonds of affection and esteem!" I lose every inclination to self-destruction. I feel that affection and encouragement at every family meal and every family gathering. Suicides savagely cut all ties to other people; that's why it hurts so much. 


Perhaps they thought their pain would end with death, but it is magnified a thousand-fold through everyone affected by the deed. Children not yet born will feel its impact, and might have no idea where the hurt came from. I'm not talking mystical here; I'm talking about the unforgiven, unrepented secrets  that haunt families for generations. 


Eleazar gave witness to the value of life and faith by his refusal to eat forbidden food.  Although his choice led to his death, he encouraged a thousand generations of Jews and Christians to embrace the fullness of life.