Word to the Wise
Friday, August 27, 2021 - Friday in the 21th Week in Ordinary Time
[1 Thess 4:1-8 and Matt 25:1-13]Therefore, stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” [Matt.]
AUGUST 27, 2021 - ST. MONICA, mother of St. Augustine
The early Christian community expected the second coming of Jesus to take place a lot sooner than experience has shown! That same sense of expectation shows up in the earliest letters of St. Paul, but gradually fades with the realization that Jesus' meant it when he said that no one on earth knows when that will occur. [Matt. 24:36] Efforts to calculate the event from numbers in the Bible or private revelations have uniformly failed.
It is hard to "stay in shape" for an event that is uncertain. Ask any branch of the armed services! Constant alert is wearing on the spirits. The ten maidens who failed to bring enough lamp oil for an uncertain vigil learned a hard lesson.
Traditionally, the church has emphasized sacramental life as the way to stay in shape. This has focused particularly on the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Eucharist. But there is more to it than those two important elements. The next parable in this gospel is the scene of the final judgment in which Jesus points out to the righteous ones that they gave him food, drink, shelter, welcome and comfort whenever they did so for their neighbor! These acts are part of the "oil of alertness" in Christian life. It is not just a matter of avoiding sin. Worrying about the date and time of Jesus' return is fruitless. Staying alert by fully living Christ's teachings will be our best assurance that we will be in shape! AMEN