November 19, 2017

32^ND Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Spiritual ‘Couch Potatoes’ Beware!

Msgr. Thomas Gervasio

A priest wondered whether there were any golf courses in Heaven. So he brought the question to his prayers. He was very insistent with his question and one day, the Lord decided to send an angel to him with a response. "Yes, Father" said the heavenly messenger, "There are many excellent golf courses in Heaven. It’s heaven! The greens are always in first class condition, the weather is always perfect and you always get to play with the nicest people.” "Oh, thank you," said Father, "That really is great news.” "Yes, isn't it?" replied the messenger, "And we've got you down for a foursome next Saturday." Well, I hope the priest was prepared for that all important moment.
 
That is the message of our Gospel and to convey it, our Lord uses the imagery of a wedding feast. Jewish weddings in the time of our Lord were grand events where the whole community participated. The festivities lasted about a week…so significant in fact that fasting and the study of the Law was suspended. When a couple married, they did not go away on a honeymoon; they stayed at home and for a week had an open house.
 
The celebration would begin when the bridegroom and his entourage made his way to the house of the bride, taking the longest possible route so that the bridegroom might receive the good wishes of a many people as possible. Consequently, there would be stops and delays along the way. Meanwhile the bride’s attendants would await the groom and when they caught sight of him would rush out with lighted lamps to greet him and lead him to the wedding festivities.
 
Jesus focuses his parable on those attendants, the ten virgins, who were awaiting the groom’s arrival. As we hear, five were well prepared. They were wise. The other five were unprepared. They were foolish. Our Lord’s intent, was to illustrate the need for vigilance or readiness for the return the Bridegroom—the Lord—at the end of time and indeed that day and hour when we are summoned from this earthly life. It is very much a warning against the capital sin of sloth. Sloth is not merely laziness…it is a spiritual indifference, the avoidance of a reflective and spiritual life.
 
So even a workaholic can be a slothful person…because he or she would rather not reflect too much on faith, family, vocation, morals…work is easier. No time for Mass, no time for prayer, no time for family. Such a person is not lazy but slothful. He or she is not opposed to God or the faith but just finds them too much, too demanding.
 
Sloth enters our lives when we hear that inner voice saying, “God is everywhere, why go to a church?" Or, “God accepts you just as you are. Why change?” "Everyone goes directly to heaven, why make the effort?" Sloth makes us avoid any spiritual discipline. Sloth is the sin of the “spiritual couch potato.” We might also call it spiritual evasion.
 
Today’s Gospel is a wake-up call. As the Church would have us reflect on the “last things”—death, judgment, heaven and hell during the final days of the liturgical year, she provides us with the Lord’s “wake up call.”
 
For centuries the Church has taught us to pray that death will not overtake us unawares, that we shall be given time to prepare for it; now a sudden death is regarded as a blessing. But we know not the day or the hour and so we should be spiritually alert and prepared. Jesus speaks with a great urgency….Heaven is attained at the price of constant vigilance.