Many years ago as I was
walking through Times Square in New York City, a
man was standing there holding a sign announcing the end of the
world. He was warning everyone of impending
doom. There was a specific date on his sign on
which the end was supposed to occur. I cannot recall that particular
date now, but it really doesn’t matter. Whatever the date was, it
has since come and gone.
Just before the year 2000,
I travelled with my mom to Israel. During a part of our
trip we encountered heightened security because of a number of fanatics who
thought that the end was coming with Y2K. The Israeli
security troops told us that many crazed people were going to Megiddo—thought
by some to be the sight of biblical Armageddon (Rev. 16:16) and were committing suicide there. Their end
came, but the end (of the world) obviously never
arrived.
Subsequently, there were
those who warned us to prepare for the end times on some other specific dates:
May 21, 2011 or December 21, 2012. I’m always ever-so-suspect when
I saw web sites selling t-shirts and survival kits for
one or the other of these occasions.
Truth be told, we
should always be prepared for our own end. Jesus
warned us over and over again in parables like the Wise and Foolish
Virgins (Mt. 25: 1-13). Jesus concludes His teaching there by saying, “. . .
stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”
Today’s Gospel from St.
Luke (Lk.
12: 32-48) is
another prime example of being told to be ready for the Master’s return:
From these and many other
passages like them from Sacred Scripture, I know I have to be prepared and ready.
Conversion, repentance for sin and vigilance are
a major part of the Christian message, as are love, forgiveness, hope, Resurrection
and eternal life.
Our own end will
come soon enough. Depending on our age, it could come in ten,
twenty, thirty years or more. It could come tomorrow. It
could come in an hour or less after reading this.
What
do we do to prepare for our own end? We need to live out the
Gospel message in our daily lives. We need to cling
to Jesus, pray and be faithful. And if we are
doing this, then we can follow the advice of Saint John Paul
II which he proclaimed repeatedly during
his pontificate: Be not
afraid!
A
story is told about St. Francis of Assisi who was out hoeing
his garden. When someone asked him what he would do if he were
suddenly to learn that he would die before sunset that very day, he simply
replied, "I would finish hoeing my garden."
Follow the Lord Jesus.
Always be spiritually prepared.
Be not
afraid!
Fr. Ed Namiotka
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