The Raw Youth

Giving attention to death as well as life

09/20/2017

Luke 7:31-35 Jesus said to the crowds: "To what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, 'We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.' For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine, and you said, 'He is possessed by a demon.' The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is vindicated by all her children."

             There are many things that people live for. Some of you may be living for the weekend, when you can have fun and frolic. Our football players are living for the next game, especially Emily Forsgren, who kicked three PAT’s (points after the touchdown) in last Thursday’s victory. Our altar servers are living for the end of the month when they get their reward of a free Sonic drink.

               But is there anything you would be willing to die for: a cause or a companion, or a country? Nathan Hale, an American spy during the Revolutionary War, famously said: “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” He wanted to die many times for this country. Every one of your parents would answer without hesitation they would die for you. I would suggest to you that in some ways, our lives are defined more by what we die for than what we live for. Today, I want to tell you three stories about people whose death determined who they were even more than their remarkable lives.

              The first story is about a young girl, 17 years old, named Cassie Rene Bernall. She was one of the 12 students killed by two gunmen at Columbine High School in 1999. The two gunmen were actually seniors at Columbine who devised a highly orchestrated attack on the school before finally killing themselves. One of them, Eric Harris, approached Cassie, and placing a gun to her head, asked her, “Do you believe in God?” And without hesitation, and knowing full-well the deadly consequences of her answer, she said, “Yes.” He shot her at point-blank range. Cassie’s mother wrote a book about her daughter, called She Said Yes: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall, describing her daughter’s faith and fortitude. If I had asked Cassie Bernall the question is there anything worth dying for, she would have said, “Yes, I would die for my faith in God.” But notice: her heroic death defined her even better than her remarkable life.

                 The second story is about a Korean priest, named Andrew Kim Taegon. Andrew was born on August 21, 1821 in Korea where the predominant religion was Confusionism, and where Christianity was forbidden and Christians were persecuted. In fact, Andrew’s father was executed for practicing his Catholic faith, and that’s what inspired Andrew in high school to become a priest. He was ordained in 1844, and two years later the government rounded up 107 Korean Catholics, they tortured them and they beheaded Fr. Andrew Kim Taegon. Fr. Andrew’s final words were: “This is my last hour of life: listen to me attentively. It is for God that I die. My immortal life is on the point of beginning. Become Christians if you wish to be happy after death.” In other words, Fr. Andrew Kim Taegon knew his faith was not only worth living for but also worth dying for. Like Cassie, so Fr. Andrew’s death defined him even more than his remarkable life did.

                 The third story is about another priest from neighboring Oklahoma, whose name is Fr. Stanley Rother. Fr. Rother almost didn’t pass seminary because he struggled with learning Latin – not like you guys, who are all Latin scholars now! But he was eventually ordained on May 25, 1963, and wanted to go to a mission in Guatemala, in Santiago Atitlan. While there, Fr. Rother fell in love with the poor people, and he even learned to speak fluently not only Spanish, but also the native language called Tzutuhil, and celebrated Mass in those languages. In the 1970’s and 80’s civil war broke out in Guatemala, and it was very dangerous for Catholics, especially for priests, so the bishop called Fr. Rother back to Oklahoma City. But Fr. Rother told the bishop, “The shepherd cannot run” when the sheep are in danger by the wolf, so he went back to Santiago Atitlan. Within a few days of his return, three men entered the rectory (that’s the house where priests live) in the middle of the night and executed Fr. Rother in 1981. This coming Saturday, by the way, Fr. Rother will be “beatified” – that’s the second step before sainthood – in Oklahoma City. If I had asked Fr. Rother the question: is there anything worth dying for? He would have answered “Yes, the beautiful native Gautemalan people.” Like Cassie Bernall and Fr. Andrew Kim Taegon, so too, Fr. Stanley Rother was defined more by the moment of his heroic death, than all the years of his remarkable life.

                Boys and girls, please don’t misunderstand me in all this talk about death. I hope you live long and wonderful lives, and do great things. Enjoy the weekend, win football games, enjoy your Sonic drink. But I also want you to think about your death, and ask yourself if there is anything you would be willing to die for. You death may well define you far better than you whole life, not matter how remarkable it might be.

                Let me leave you with a few lines by the great Russian author, Fyodor Dostoyevsky. He wrote in one novel called The Raw Youth, these words: “My dear fellow, I’m not out to seduce you with any sort of good middle class virtue in exchange for your ideals. I’m not making out that happiness is better than heroism. On the contrary, heroism is superior to any happiness whatsoever” (The Raw Youth, 202). What’s better, boys and girls: being happy or being a hero? Heroes are often defined far more by the split second of their death than however long their remarkable, and happy, their life.

Praised be Jesus Christ!