Kurt
Vonnegut called it the greatest American
short story of all time – An Occurance
at Owl Creek Bridge.
Peyton has
been sentenced to death by Union soldiers. A board has been placed on the bridge
and the condemned man is made to walk out over the water. His thoughts are of
his wife and children, then he hears the ticking of a watch, his watch. A rope is placed around his neck and, he
waits.
A command is
given and Peyton plunges down. But the rope breaks and he lands in the water. He
begins to swim for his life. He notices a branch in the water and the beauty of
the leaves. He sees a spider spinning a web and he is amazed by the intricacy.
He feels the wetness of the water and sees the blue of the sky. It never felt so beautiful.
Suddenly he
hears gun fire and he swims and swims. He lands on shore and sees a flower. He
smells it. Then, he starts running – he comes
to the house with the white fence and his wife comes running out to greet him.
Just as they
embrace – the scene shifts back to Owl Creek Bridge – and there he is - dead. The escape didn’t happen at all. He imagined
that he had got a second chance at life – a life he saw in a new way with new
eyes.
Life – such a
precious gift “How Long Have I been alive for?”
I have been
alive for 23,325 days – 559,814 hours – over 2 billion seconds.
I don’t
remember most of them. But the time will come when they will end – and I will
have to stand before Christ and account for them. For every moment, for everything I have done
or failed to do, for every decision or indecision, for every choice for and against
love, for every opportunity taken or missed – I will have to give an account – without excuses.
I am afraid
that at my judgment, I will see that, far too often, I settled for something
less. I know that Christ is merciful, but, at this point in my life, I must take
the opportunities given to me.
1) Recommit to living out my faith as a
child of God – pray, fast from sin, and serve others.
2) Keep asking for the grace to remove
anything from my life that is unworthy of my Christian dignity.
3) Must re-order my life around the
commandments to love God and love my neighbor
The gospel
today reminds us – the moment will come
when we meet Jesus at the end of life. Unlike the man at Owl Creek Bridge, we
have a second chance to prepare – right now.
Will I finally begin to love as Jesus loved. Will I finally begin to
serve as Jesus served?
