“And they were afraid to ask him about this saying.” Luke 9:45

My father, himself trained in the law, once told me the key rule of thumb for trial lawyers: “Don’t ask a question to which you don’t already know the answer.”
I was reminded of that phrase when reading today’s gospel. I think deep down the disciples have an inkling of what Jesus is talking about. They likely experienced foreboding about “the Son of Man being handed over to men.” But they are not sure where Jesus might be going with this. And so they choose not to follow up. It’s easier to just stay quiet, put this cryptic saying out of their minds, and focus on the great healings and mighty works that Jesus is performing on his journey to Jerusalem. They hesitate to ask the question as they can’t yet anticipate the answer expressed in today’s gospel antiphon, namely that it is through the Cross that Jesus has “destroyed death and brought life to light through the Gospel.”

Our first reading from Ecclesiastes also confronts us with an unpleasant truth: no one gets out of this life alive. Whatever sensory pleasures we experience are, in the grand scheme of things, fleeting and transitory. At some point all of us will “return our life breath to God,” and the journey to that day will inevitably be marked by significant pain and suffering. 

But if the first step to wisdom is acceptance, today’s readings challenge us not to avoid the difficult realities of life, including the shadow of death.  A friend of mine once told me a story about a Benedictine colleague who was diagnosed with terminal cancer. My friend stopped by his office to express his condolences. The monk looked up, paused, and replied, “I think about my death every day.” As a Benedictine, he had routinely prayed and meditated on the last things, including today’s Psalm 90 asking God to “teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.” Let us ponder those words this weekend.