Many people don’t have much of a problem with God theoretically. They believe he exists and even admit that they maybe owe him something. But their reasoning goes something like this: “The religion thing can wait. After all, I believe in God and am basically a good person. I really did intend to go to church this morning, but last night’s dancing took a lot more out of me and I had one drink too many. I’ll catch it next week.”
Foolishness is a matter of priorities. The foolish person majors in the minors, investing money and time in things that really don’t pay very well. Wisdom is a matter of putting first things first, not last. Prudence, which is the practical side of wisdom, is about making a plan to pursue and acquire the things that matter most (Wis 6:12-16).
“God is love. If I come up short, he’ll cover my tab. I’m too busy and tired right now.”
Not sweating it when it comes to preparing for the final exam is not necessarily faith. Blowing off necessary preparations it is not a manifestation of faith but rather of the sin of presumption. When we trust Him to forgive us our bungled attempts to obey Him, God is pleased. When we neglect to bother because we expect Him to dismiss our ticket, God is not amused.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Forgetting about the Lord is the epitome of stupidity. So is forgetting that we are not immortal, that though God is timeless, we are not. Our nations, companies, and even our bodies will not last forever. They will either suddenly come to a screeching halt, or die a slow death of gradual disintegration. It’s hard to believe, but time will some day run out – for America, for me, even for the Apple Corporation.
Jesus said many times that though this world and its affairs seem so real, so urgent, society will one day vanish like smoke and all its pressing business will be consigned to oblivion. Christ will return to claim his bride. We’ll either be caught with oil in our lamp–prepared and eager–or it will be like the rude surprise of guests who come early for dinner when the house is still a mess. Only this guest will be coming not to eat, but to inspect and to judge.
We’ve all had the bad dream of being back in school again and suddenly finding out that we must momentarily sit for an important exam for which we are totally unprepared. Well, maybe this dream, like the parable of the foolish bridesmaids, is meant to be a warning to us. For though we may not be the generation to witness the end of the world (1 Thes 5:13-18), each one of us will experience the end of our own private world. He will come, perhaps suddenly, for each of us, at a time of His choosing, not ours.
Many have speculated about when he will come in glory. They’ve pored over the book of Revelation and other passages of Scripture such as Paul’s description of being caught up in the air (I Thes 4). Will there be a secret rapture before he comes? Will it happen before the great tribulation, or after? Is what happening currently in the Middle East foretold in the Bible and therefore a sign that the end is near?
Preoccupation with such things is simply a pious form of snoozing on the job. The end is, in fact near. Our role is not to calculate the day, but rather prepare for the day. If we live always ready, with extra oil for our lamps, never so absorbed that we are not at least watching out for Him with our peripheral vision, we’ll never be caught off guard. We can still enjoy this life while using it as a springboard into the next.
]This post is offered as a reflection upon the readings for the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, liturgical cycle A (Wisdom 6:12-16), Psalm 63, I Thessalonian 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13).
image: By Reinhardhauke (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
