STAY AWAKE!
Thursday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
My dear encountered couples:
Jesus seems to be talking about the end of our lives, something we would all rather avoid thinking about. “Stay awake!” he says. “You cannot know the day your Lord is coming...The Son of Man is coming at the time you least expect.”
There are so many things to put us asleep. By that I mean there are so many other things to grab our attention than the end of our lives on earth. I don’t know what your problems and interests are, but there is nothing that should be of more concern to you than being prepared to leave for heaven when your time comes.
Are you all wrapped up in the world of government and politics? You follow the news, you listen to the radio talk shows, you keep up on all the latest Washington scandals and squabbles. National and worldwide problems are great concerns to you. Or maybe it is your business or your job that occupies first place in your life. Or sports, or your charitable organizations, or your pets, your garden, your social life, your mother-in-n-law. There are many things and people that compete for our time and attention.
Jesus is not saying we are to give these things up. He is not saying they are unimportant. In fact they just might be the very things that can get us into heaven, or not. How we conduct our-selves in regard to whatever it is our lives are occupied with can affect our souls and decide our places in eternity. Jesus just wants us to realize that and remember it. Nothing on earth is lasting for us. It will all someday end, quite possibly without notice.
“Stay awake,” Jesus says. “Get your bags packed. I’ll be coming to pick you up someday. Sorry, but I can’t tell you when.”
