Word to the Wise
Thursday, August 27, 2009 - St. Monica - mother of St. Augustine
[1 Thessalonians 3:7-13 and Matthew 24:42-51]"Stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come."
"Readiness" is something we should all know about. Those of us who lived during the Cold War era can remember folks who dug bomb shelters in their backyards and filled them with food and other supplies. Those who live on the Gulf or Atlantic coasts have learned to develop evacuation plans and have supplies on hand during the hurricane seasons. Anytime we go to the airport, we are told of the current "state of alert" in terms of a color (so far I've only seen orange) in terms of possible terrorist attacks. Of course, very few of us have any knowledge of a possible robbery so that we can stay awake, so we exercise the best caution that we can with locks, etc. It's one thing, however, to be alert and ready. The problem comes with SUSTAINING readiness. Athletes know that staying in shape is not something one does just during the "season" for a particular sport! St. Paul uses this image in 1 Corinthians 9:25-27 in which he advocates continual discipline so as to stay in shape for evangelizing. The emphasis should not be on figuring out WHEN the Lord will return. God is not playing some vast cosmic game of "Gotcha!" The emphasis is on the "faithful and prudent servant.." who keeps things in order and fulfills the task assigned. How do we go about doing that? Go back in this same Gospel of Matthew and read the Sermon on the Mount and follow the instructions. AMEN
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