In those days after that tribulation the
sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the moon will not give its light,
and the stars will be falling from the sky.
Scary Stuff.
This is the
year’s last Sunday of Ordinary Time.
Next week is the
Feast of Christ the King.
That’s the last
Sunday of the liturgical year.
And then we move
into Advent, a new year, a time of new beginnings.
But today, our
focus is on the end times.
All of our
Scripture readings speak of those end times and the life beyond.
Especially our
first reading from the Book of Wisdom,
And our Gospel excerpt
from Mark.
They tell us to be
vigilant, to be always ready.
Our Gospel warns of the Great
Tribulation—the end times.
Followed by the glorious, triumphant,
second coming of Jesus.
That end-time is coming.
But probably not now.
We might wonder, with the wars and bombings
and terrorist attacks.
And other injustices and miseries
throughout the world.
These are dark times, but the world has
seen worse.
Christians have been watching for the
Second Coming for 2000 years now.
So odds are slim that it will happen to come
in our lifetime.
But our own individual time is indeed
short.
For many of us, that end will almost
certainly come within the next few decades.
For any of us, it could come tomorrow.
And yet, in the mean time we plod along
with our daily routines.
We don’t often stop to think about how
we’re spending our limited remaining days.
Until we’re personally struck by some
tragedy or loss that grabs our full attention.
Or unless some message, like today’s Scriptures,
gets through to us.
I sometimes pray:
God help me to be mindful,
But do it without giving me a
dramatic wake-up call.
Today should have been one of those chances,
To simply take a more gentle reminder from
Scripture.
But now we have the added emphasis of that massacre
in Paris.
Still somewhat distant, but too close for
comfort.
So let’s take this opportunity to step back
and look at where we’re headed.
How we’re spending the days of our lives.
Are we preparing for our end times?
What adjustments should we be making?
These are the kinds of questions we need to
revisit often.
The Church repeatedly calls our attention
to them.
Especially during Lent and during this end-of-year
time.
Today we have the added encouragement and
example of our RCIA group.
(Those pursuing the Rite of Christian
Initiation of Adults.)
They’ve each stepped back and decided to
make a significant change in their lives.
To become new, active members of the
Catholic Church.
Theirs may seem a rather big step, a rather
big course adjustment for their lives.
But many of us may also be ripe for a comparably
big adjustment.
Maybe a move to much greater action.
Or a move to devoting much more time to
talking with God and listening to him.
Or maybe just some fine-tuning.
As we think about change and as we approach
this election year,
I remember a six-time presidential
candidate—deadpan comedian Pat Paulsen.
He used the Smothers Brothers TV show as
his forum.
And announced his platform for great change.
He had a large poster with his smiling face
and, at the top, his name:
PAT PAULSEN.
And at the bottom, his catchy slogan for
change—
WE CAN’T STAND PAT
That was certainly (and intentionally) an unfortunate
slogan for a candidate named Pat.
But it is
a general truth.
We can’t
stand pat.
If we’re not moving forward, we’re falling
back.
So, motivated by warnings of the end times,
by the terrors of the day,
And by the example of our new members,
Let’s step back and try to take in the big
picture.
Let’s ask God’s guidance for how to spend
the remainder of our lives.
And then let’s listen for the answer
promised in our Psalms today:
[He] will show me the path to
life,
Fullness of joys in [His]
presence,
The delights at [His] right
hand—forever.
33rd Sunday Ordinary Time
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