"Whose life is it anyway?"

There was an obscure movie many years ago about a quadriplegic who wanted to end his life (it was also a play and a TV show). The movie’s title summed up the person’s reaction to those who opposed his desire (including the law): "Whose life is it anyway?"

Today’s first reading (Romans 14:7-12) gives us the definitive answer:

Our life belongs to God.

None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.
For if we live, we live for the Lord,
and if we die, we die for the Lord;
so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s....

So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.

That is one of the many reasons why suicide is evil: it is a usurping of God’s role and a destruction of something most precious that belongs to God.

I am not minimizing the pain and the depression that can overwhelm people and lead them to make such a choice and I am certainly not judging the state of their souls. Judgment belongs to God: I am not a worthy judge... and neither are those who contemplate suicide worthy judges of their own souls.

None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.
For if we live, we live for the Lord,
and if we die, we die for the Lord;
so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.
For this is why Christ died and came to life,
that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Why then do you judge your brother or sister?
Or you, why do you look down on your brother or sister?
For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God;
for it is written:
As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bend before me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.
So then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.

This passage, of course, is more than just a warning against suicide: it is also a reminder that God is the Lord of our life and that he will hold us accountable – very, very personally accountable.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, be merciful to me – a sinner.

May we live this day and every day of our lives as faithful servants, beloved children, and cherished possessions of God.