The Death of a Just Man
Have you considered the mustard seed or have you meditated upon the leaven? Both push us to realize that great result come from small packages. But the saints ask us to consider Who is the Mustard Seed and Who is the leaven? The answer is clearly our Lord Jesus Christ. From the small beginnings in Bethlehem His Person has been preached to the whole world by the littlest and most insignificant band of 12 men. Kingdoms could not stop His Kingship. Tyrants failed to stop His martyrs from spreading the seed of His Truth.
Imagine if you can the death of one who has been bitten by the life of Jesus. He is the just man who seeks throughout life to let the mustard seed grow and the leaven increase so that one day he might proclaim with the saints of old the truth expressed by St. Paul who said “I live, no, not I but rather Christ lives in me.” This is the mystery of the mustard seed and the leaven. Every time we read the word of God, every time we listen to a sermon, every time we think or speak an eternal thought the Lord Jesus is increasing within us. As St. John the Baptist said, “He must increase and I must decrease.”
For this reason the just man perceives death as the moment of the three fold release. First the just man is released from the trials, works, and tribulations of our worldly existence. No longer is he concerned about doing this or that. The final test is here and he has chosen the will of God over all the trials that the world, the flesh or the devil possess to cause him to lose his soul. Death becomes that welcomed door to life in Christ completely. Death is the last barrier and the mustard seed disposition opens that door to eternity.
The second release that death offers the Just man is the freedom now from all actual sins. No longer does sin hold any power over the just soul that offers his/her death in union with the Cross of Christ for the sanctification and salvation of souls. The just commitment to eternal life stands as a secure source of strength against the deceits of the devil and the pleasures of this world. The Mustard Seed has come to its powerful presence and the leaven of Christ’s life in the individual has been realized. The door of death frees the just man from the ugliness of actual sin.
Finally, the door of death signifies a victory over the kingdom of hell. The test is over and the just man has proven his worth and now is free of the worry of losing his soul. What a great day this is when a soul has conquered sin and death through the imitation of Christ. There is no longer a possibility of losing one’s soul. Now all is directed to the glory of God’s will and the song of praise that rings throughout the heavens. All of this because the Mustard Seed came down from heaven and so loved the souls in this world that He gave His only life for the salvation of souls who would believe and accept the gift of eternal life. The truths of the Lord seem so small and simple compared to the machinations of philosophers, the allurements of the politicians. Yet these simple truths have an absolute conclusion: the salvation of the soul leavened by Jesus Himself. Study the Mustard Seed and wrap up in the leaven of Divine Life and you will know Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.
To suffer and to die … this is the mark of the Christ and found at the end of every just life.
In the hearts of Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
Fr. Richard Voigt, SDB
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