Word to the Wise
Saturday, November 27, 2010 - Saturday in the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
[Revelation 22:1-7 and Luke 21:34-36]Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.
Vigilance can be of many kinds. The current system of alertness at airports is an example. Announcements abound about keeping one's luggage in hand. Another form is the kind a parent has to exercise in regard to children. Still another is keeping one's self in good physical condition. There is a famous political saying: "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty!" There is also the vigilance we show when dealing with someone we cannot trust or who is not as reliable as we would like. One might get the impression from the gospel words for today that we are playing a kind of "gotcha!" game in regard to the Second Coming. Jesus' urges us to be vigilant!
I suggest that the meaning is closer to the "staying in shape" type of vigilance. It is true that we do not know when the Lord will return. It is also true that we know the Lord is with us through the indwelling of the Spirit. Getting spiritually and morally lazy and "out of shape" is not good for this time or any other "time." We will be able to confront the "anxieties of daily life" and whatever plans the Lord has for creation if we simply "stay close" and stay in shape. Yes, it takes effort, but there are some kinds of surprises we can do without. AMEN
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