We are in the Jubilee, but the columnist laments that he feels there is strangely no Jubilee atmosphere. The current situation in our country, which is extremely chaotic, may not be unrelated to this atmosphere.
Pope Francis set the theme of the Jubilee as ‘Pilgrim of Hope’ — the Church will light a flame of hope in this era of wounds and loss of hope. But what kind of hope can the Church convey to the world in this dark era? As the biblical text of the Jubilee says (cf. Romans 5:5), how confidently are we conveying that hope?
The priest columnist recently read an article about a book called "I Wish Today Was Tomorrow". The author tells the story of a mother who chose euthanasia (assisted death) while suffering from terminal cancer and invites us to deeply reflect on life and death. The remaining time in a state where there is no hope of recovery will be a more painful experience than death. How painful must it have been for a patient in Zurich, Switzerland, who was waiting for tomorrow, the day of her “planned death”, to say that she wished the day would come sooner?
Since the columnist was at the side of his mother, who suffered from pancreatic cancer and passed away in the arms of God, he could relate to the above story. However, on the other hand, he also felt regretful that it had to be that way. This is not just because the church prohibits euthanasia. In fact, this is a problem that all people, not just terminally ill patients, have to face.
At some point, whether due to old age or illness, we will stand before the “cliff of hope” where all human hope falls to the ground. When there is no hope, what meaning and value does the time left until death have? We will fall into depression and spend our days in misery, and we will even resent God for still keeping us alive. In this way, we are all weak beings who cannot live even a single moment without hope.
However, we Christians have hope beyond death. And that hope changes everything. The moment we place our hope in God, who governs life and death, the time we have left becomes an incredibly precious time to prepare for meeting God, organize our relationships, and reorder our lives. He experienced this at a hospice and wished he could convey this hope to the people of the world. Wouldn’t it have been possible to change the decision to choose assisted death?
At this point, we can say, as author Han Kang said, “The dead save the living.” Believers who have walked this path before us tell us to find what hope we have. How blessed, precious, and great that hope is. They tell us not to realize it too late but to find that hope, organize our lives now, prepare for a beautiful death, and live today beautifully and brilliantly, given to us as a gift.
Jesus set foot on Jerusalem after the holy transfiguration. Wasn’t the reason he went to Jerusalem to walk the path of pain, suffering, despair, and death before us so that he could be with us and become our hope when we reached the valley of death?
Let us remember that Lent is a pilgrimage to Jerusalem with the Lord and a journey to find the hope that the Lord wants to give us. The world desperately longs for hope. However, it is not easy to dream of hope beyond death alone. If we believers stand up and boldly spread hope, living in it confidently, won’t the world become brighter and more hopeful? Happy Easter!
