A Reflection for the Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Find today’s readings here.
“When you see a cloud rising in the west
you say immediately that it is going to rain—and so it does;
and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south
you say that it is going to be hot—and so it is.
You hypocrites!
You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky;
why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” (Lk 12:54-59).
Unless we make our living off the land or on the sea, most of us in the modern West are probably less adept at interpreting the winds and the skies than were the people of Jesus’ time. We’ve got an app for that.
But we are no less tempted to focus our energy and attention on predicting the future. If you are in the United States, go to the homepage of any major news website and you are sure to find the latest electoral forecast—red and blue graphs, maps, odometers and scatter plots telling you which presidential candidate is likely to win on Nov. 5.
You know how to interpret the latest polling averages, Jesus might say to us, why do you not know how to interpret the present time?
While our technology and obsessions may have changed since the first century, “the present time” Jesus refers to has not: It is a time of choosing. Will you repent and follow Christ, or not?
The second parable in today’s Gospel reading from Luke brings home the urgency of that question. If you and your opponent are going to a judge to resolve a dispute, Jesus says, “make an effort to settle the matter on the way / otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge.” You will then be imprisoned, and “you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.”
Luke here is talking about the end times, when those who have not repented will face final judgment before God. Jesus is telling us: Do not wait until the end. The time to reconcile with your brothers and sisters, the time to unite yourself to Christ is now.
Fair enough, one might say, I’ve already made that choice. I chose Christ! So I can’t look at the polls and be worried about what I have been assured is the most consequential election of our lifetime?
To which I would say, the election is important, but it is not the most important thing. If you find yourself falling into despair about the fate of the country, if you find your heart filled with hate for those voting differently than you, if you find yourself spending more time doom-scrolling through social media than in prayer, then your election anxiety might not be coming from the Good Spirit, as St. Ignatius would say.
So how should we live in this present time? In today’s first reading, St. Paul gives us the answer:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit
through the bond of peace (Eph 4:1-3).
Perhaps you feel certain who will win on election day. And so he or she does. But, St. Paul says, you are called to live in “the one hope of your call.” That hope comes not from politics but from
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all (Eph 4:3-6)
