If you
had asked Dr. Eben Alexander 5 years ago what he thought about near death
experiences, he would have told you that they are phenomenon of the brain. From his perspective as a neurosurgeon, he
would tell us that consciousness is created by the brain.[1] When the brain stops functioning, so does our
consciousness. In other words, when
you’re dead, you’re done. Dr. Alexander
believed that the trajectory of life is death – we live life dying. Our Gospel tells a very different story.
In our
Gospel we hear the familiar story of the raising of Lazarus. Jesus has come too late, his friend Lazarus
is dead. In fact, by the time Jesus
arrived, Lazarus had already been in the tomb for 4 days. This point is significant because the Jews of
that era believed that the soul hovered over the body until the third day when the
body would begin to decay.[2] So certainly by the fourth day all knew that Lazarus
was very dead. Lazarus was done – until
he heard the voice of the Lord call him to come out of the tomb and live.
Two
times in this Gospel passage Jesus tells his disciples that if they believe,
they will see the glory of God. The
glory of God is not a self-referential ego trip. “The glory of God is to give God’s own life
to people.”[3] God’s life isn’t physical life. God’s life is eternal. Through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection,
we share in that eternal life right now.
We have life everlasting and can enjoy it right now, if we believe.
But
like Dr. Alexander, we often live life dying.
We experience suffering, hardship and death, and have a hard time seeing
beyond them as our ultimate fate. And so
we worry about death and even fear it.
Death then becomes “an imprisoning reality”[4]
that inhibits us from really enjoying
life; it stops us from really
living. But the glory of God is to free
people from the chains of death, to call us from the tomb so that we can live. All we have to do is believe. It’s a choice. If we believe that when we’re dead we’re
done, then we choose to live life dying.
If we choose to believe that God’s only Son conquered death to bring us
to eternal life, then we live life living.
We’ll still worry, we’ll still experience suffering and physical death,
but if we live our life knowing that
these are not our fate, then that faith will carry us through every
hardship. That faith will bring us hope
and joy through it all. That faith will
lead us to eternal life.
This
powerful Gospel passage is chosen especially for our RCIA candidates who
celebrate the Third Scrutiny with us this morning. You’re almost done, which means that I won’t
be able to hold you as a captive audience much longer. So while I’ve still got you, I’d like to share
what I hope you’ve learned over these past several months of catechesis.
╬ I
hope you’ve learned that God loves you more than you can imagine, and that he
calls you to share that love with others;
╬ I
hope you’ve learned that living a life steeped in faith, hope and love is the
most fulfilling and rewarding life we can live; and
╬ I hope you’ve learned to hear Christ’s
voice calling you from the tomb, calling you to believe in everlasting life;
calling you to live – just like Dr. Eben Alexander did.
Dr.
Alexander’s brain was attacked by a rare form of meningitis that left him in a
coma, hovering near death for seven days.
His scientific training would have told him that in a coma, his neocortex
was not functioning and, therefore, all consciousness ceased. But that wasn't the case for Dr.
Alexander. In fact, quite the opposite happened. Dr. Alexander experienced a heightened sense of consciousness, a
consciousness that existed completely free of his physical brain. And through that experience he learned that
life continues beyond the grave, and that life “continues under the gaze of a God
who loves and cares about each one of us.”[5] Through that experience, Dr. Alexander
learned what is my greatest hope that you have learned – to live life living.
[1]
Eben Alexander, Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife
(New York, Simon and Schuster, 2012) at 8.
[2]
Scott M. Lewis, S.J., “The Gospel According to John,” New Collegeville Bible Commentary, Daniel Durken, ed.
(Collegeville, Liturgical Press, 2008 ) at 340.
[3]
John Shea, The Spiritual Wisdom of the
Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers: On Earth as it is in Heaven,
Year A (Collegeville, Liturgical Press, 2004) at 143.
[4] Id. at 152.
[5]
Alexander at 9.
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