November is a unique time of year. The trees stand bare, winter hasn’t fully arrived, and the holiday bustle is just beginning. It’s also a month when we traditionally remember our deceased. This season invites us to contemplate the end of life, and our readings are rich with themes about the final days.
Let me share a story. At the Sundance Film Festival, a film titled “Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” was screened. It tells of a man facing execution. Soldiers march him to a bridge and force him to stand on a plank extending over the water. At the order of the commanding officer, the soldier steps off, and the condemned man plunges downward with a noose around his neck.
Then something extraordinary happens: the rope breaks, and he plunges into the river below. Realizing he is alive, he swims away, knowing the soldiers will pursue him. A mile downriver, he hides beneath trees and basks in the beauty of the world—the sunlight filtering through leaves, the delicate web of a spider adorned with glistening water droplets. He feels the cool water on his skin and marvels at the blue sky, experiencing life’s beauty as never before.
Exhausted, he makes his way to his house, which appears as if by magic. His wife rushes out, arms open to embrace him. Just as they connect, the scene shifts back to the bridge, revealing the grim truth: the man is dead.
We are left in shock. His second chance was merely an illusion—a fleeting moment of clarity before his death. Yet in that instant, he saw life’s beauty and realized it’s a precious gift to be shared with loved ones. How different his life would have been if he had truly escaped.
How do you feel at the end of this story? Sad? Disappointed? The author suggests that the condemned man represents all of us. While he didn’t get a second chance, we do.
Each of us will face death, though we know not when. Today’s Gospel invites us to reflect on our meeting with Jesus at the end of our lives. We must ask ourselves: How satisfied will we be with how we’ve lived? Unlike the man in the story, we can prepare for that moment starting now. What will we do with our second chance?
As we look outside at the bare trees, we are reminded that winter will soon follow. November is a time for Catholics to remember those who have passed and to acknowledge that our time will come. Let us use our second chance wisely, for scripture tells us we know not the day nor the hour.
Think back to when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Martha, Lazarus’ sister, met Jesus and lamented, “If You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus responded, “Whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” This means eternal death isn’t merely separation of soul and body, but separation from God. Lazarus was not separated from his God.
This is not just comforting rhetoric; these are the very words of God: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though they die, will come to life; and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die.”
My friends, I leave you with this question: Do you believe this?
