Word to the Wise
Tuesday, November 27, 2007 - Thirty-fourth Tuesday in Ordinary Time
[Daniel 2:31-45 and Luke 21:5-11]The great God has revealed to the king what shall be in the future; this is exactly what you dreamed and its meaning is sure.
I can recall when the book, FUTURE SHOCK, came out. It described how many of us felt. The future has a nasty way of becoming the present very quickly. It's almost like taking a drink of water from a fire hydrant nowadays. Each football game brings a new gadget on the commercials to put us in touch with "whatever." I really wonder how much of the future any of us really wants to know! I say this despite the fact that people pay a lot of money to "consultants" to help "predict" what is going to happen. Every morning I listen to NPR with a new list of "leading economic indicators, etc. etc." It all seems like a lot of high tech crystal ball gazing. Yet people base their behavior on these predictions and it can harm some and help others. Daniel gives the king a rather "mixed bag" in regard to the future. The king learns he is not going to last forever (no news there but some do get into denial of that fact). Another kingdom will replace his, etc. etc. Jesus warns about folks who think they have an inside track on the date when time and creation will come to an end! Not every disaster will mean that the end is near! Yet some evangelical folks make a fine living preaching and writing books about it. The danger is in misleading faithful people into actions that are not wise or based on a true appreciation of the gospel. Time will end for each of us with death. Time will end for creation at a date yet to be determined (at least from the human standpoint). In the meantime, Jesus' has given us more than enough challenges to keep us busy. AMEN