2 Macc 6:18-31 / Luke 19:1-10
To reflect about death is certainly not about being suicidal. Suicidal is being obsessed with ending life deliberately.
But to reflect about death is to think about how we should live our lives now so as to prepare for the end of life on earth.
Certainly we would want to have a good death, meaning to say that we want to be at peace with God, with ourselves and with others.
In the 1st reading, we heard of Eleazar, who was 90 years old, and faced the threat of death if he did not comply with orders to eat the forbidden food.
His so-called friends even urged him to pretend to eat the forbidden food by secretly substituting it for something he would prepare on his own.
At that age Eleazar would have done many reflections about life. He had hoped for a good death.
He may not have expected it to be a painful death, but nonetheless he decided to be faithful to God and to leave the young a noble example of how to make a good death.
In doing so he didn't die in vain, nor did he live in vain.
In the gospel, we heard about Zacchaeus. He would have lived in vain and died in vain had he not decided to see what kind of man Jesus was.
And when Jesus called out to him, he decided to make good his life and to work for a good death.
Jesus is always calling out to us to make a reflection of our state of life. May we reflect on it honestly and sincerely, so that our life would not be in vain, and that our death will be good.