November 18, 2018

33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

“Are We Ready?”

Msgr. Thomas Gervasio

During a Bible Class on the Book of Revelation, the instructor asked the students, “On the day of your funeral, when friends and family are by your casket, paying their respects and praying for you, what would you like them to say about you?” One student replied, “I think I’d like people to say that I was a generous and prayerful person and that I did my best to follow the Lord’s teachings.” A second student added, “I’d like them to say that I was a loving and devoted wife and mother and that as a teacher I made a good impact in the lives of my students." Finally, a student said, “I’d like to hear them say, “Hey, look he’s moving!”
 
Jokes like this abound. The reality is that we have a tendency to avoid considering the truths of the “last things”—death, judgment, heaven, and hell. But the Church places them before us in the final weeks of the liturgical year. They make up what is called eschatology—the teaching about the end times and our eternal destiny.
 
The scriptures, especially the book of Revelation, contains many symbolic descriptions about the end of the world and so not a few people spend their time reading the signs of the times—the Holocaust, global warming, and all kinds of natural disasters. There are also those who try to calculate the precise time of the end of the world but the result is a long list of consistently failed predictions.
 
Catholics should always look beyond the figurative language used by the biblical authors and go to Christ who states so plainly that no one, not even he knows the day or the hour. Behind all the symbolic and even terrifying language, there lie a few lessons that we desperately need to remember and cling to!
 
The first is that God is in charge...we are not! Our lives and the things of this world are fleeting. Timetables belong to God and without any help from us, God will intervene in His good time and make all things new.
 
The second truth that flows from this is that we should not be too attached to material things. Pope Francis reminds us that you will never see a moving van behind a funeral procession. The Italians have a little rhyme that goes: “Sulla terra...o lieti...o tristi, siami tutti dei turisti.” "On earth...whether happy or sad...we are all tourists.”
 
So what is the disciple's response to these truths?
 
We are to be attentive, vigilant and decisive about what we believe and how we live. We should endeavor to be in a state of spiritual readiness...in the state of grace. Years ago, Msgr. Leonard Toomey told me that he tried to get this idea across at a Mass for first communion. He wanted the first communincants to “fill in the blank.” He said, “Boys and girls, we must remember that when I go to communion, I must be sure to be in the state of___?” “New Jersey!” came the answer! Another way to express this is that we must we must cultivate our friendship with the Lord and be at peace with our brothers and sisters.
 
Being reconciled, at peace with others is part of being ready—part of our spiritual program. Think of the many people who harbor grudges, resentment, animosity in their hearts. Families and friendships can suffer so much—people will admit, “I haven’t spoken to my sister, my brother for ten years.” So much time goes by, we even forget the reason for the argument...it becomes silly. We should take practical steps to reconcile, to restore those relationships with those we should embrace and love. Our pride gets in the way and so we put off very important decisions, to delay moving on the path of reconciliation. Let us do all we can whenever we can.
 
The Church’s message for us today is simple: Are we prepared? Are we ready? What would you like others to say? What would you like God to say about your life?