Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Table for Two



Our master has been away at the wedding for an awfully long time.
And yet, he tells us to stay ever ready to open the door immediately upon his return
Even into the 2nd and 3rd watch of the night.

The early Christians thought his glorious Second Coming would happen very soon.
But by the time the Gospels were written,
It was already clear that wasn’t the case.
It’s been nearly 2000 years since he went away.

It’s interesting to think and speculate about when that glorious final return might occur.
When he comes to judge the living and the dead.
The Last Judgment.
The General Judgment.
What’s the likelihood that he’ll return within the next 100 years?

One simplistic way to look at it might be to say, 50%.
One’s as likely as the other.
Maybe he will, maybe he won’t. 
A better estimate might be to say,
He has millions of years to choose from.
So the odds of his choosing one of the next 100 years is very low.
Just a tiny fraction of a 1% chance.
Or maybe we see signs that make us think it’s very likely that he’s coming soon.

Concern about the timing for that final return may be interesting.
But it’s not what’s most important for us.
What is urgently important, for each of us, is not the great General Judgement.
But our own Particular Judgement.
That knock is certain to come much sooner than in 100 years.
It could come any minute now.

The early Christians were wrong about the precise event they expected.
But they were right about the urgency.
Are we into that 2nd watch, or even the 3rd watch?
Let’s be ever ready to answer when he comes to knock on our particular door.

If we’re ready, today could be the day we dine with the Lord.

Tuesday, 29th Week Ordinary Time
Lk 12:35-38     Read this Scripture @usccb.org 

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