Word to the Wise
Sunday, November 19, 2017 - 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - A
[Prov 31:10-13, 19-20, 30-31; 1 Thess 5:1-6; Matt 25:14-30]Concerning times and seasons, brothers and sisters, you have no need to for anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night. When people are saying, "Peace and security," then sudden disaster comes upon them, like labor pains upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness, for that day to overtake you like a thief. For all of you are children of the light and children of the day. We are not of the night or darkness. Therefore, let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sob
When I lived in New Orleans, LA, I was continually amused by the phenomenon that I would witness when driving down one of its many divided avenues. I would see someone standing in the middle of the street almost as if they were going to bring me to a stop. But they weren't interested in me, they wanted to see if their bus was coming. It was as if by standing out in the middle of the street, they could make the bus arrive sooner! I think of them whenever I read those passages in the gospels and in St. Paul that warn us against trying to predict when Jesus will return. The important thing is to be at the bus stop and ready to get on.
As the liturgical year draws to a close, the Sunday scriptures tend to focus on "last things." The emphasis is on being prepared, much like the billboards on the Gulf Coast when storm season begins. We have all witnessed the terrible consequences from those storms for those who failed to be prepared, for whatever reason. It is not easy to live in a continual state of preparation. We can get weary of being "alert and sober." However, this is easier if we stay generally in good shape spiritually and not depend on crisis to get us ready. The gospel scripture today speaks of servants who acted prudently and one who was paralyzed by fear. An intentional prudence with a view to possible but unknown events is a matter of wisdom. That bus will come. We don't have to stand out in the middle of the street, but we do need to be at the bus stop, ready to get on. AMEN
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