A Reflection for Friday of the Twenty-First Week of Ordinary Time
Find today’s readings here.
“Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” (Mt 25:13)
If Jesus comes back soon, at least I won’t have to pay back my college loans.
That’s one of my favorite jokes to tell. I suppose it reveals a lot about me, like the fact that I’ve been blessed to attend college and learn from gifted professors. Also, I have plenty of college debt, and that’s often on my mind. But most importantly, the joke reveals I probably don’t take the second coming as seriously as I should.
The parable in today’s Gospel is about watchfulness or readiness. Believers are called to be ready for the end, whether that be our own death or the second coming. We must be ready and not delay. We demonstrate we are ready by our actions.
So, today, I need to get over myself and say I’m sorry. If someone offends me, I shouldn’t put off forgiving them until tomorrow. If someone needs my help, I should not ignore them. If I need to speak out against something, whether it’s a degrading joke or an unjust social policy, I do it now. And I can’t wait to stop self-destructive behavior.
The process of change, of conversion, must begin today. It starts now. I know neither the day nor the hour.
That’s a lot to do today, and for a procrastinator like me, it’s overwhelming.
When I’m working on an in-depth story, I almost always clean my desk. Suddenly, it occurs to me, “How am I supposed to work in this chaos?” Or it’ll be another cup of coffee, you know, to help me “discern” the next paragraph. Sometimes I put off writing until the evening or the weekend when, I tell myself, it will be quieter.
Then, my wife will inevitably catch me checking a baseball score.
“Aren’t you supposed to be working?”
“Dear, it’s all part of the process.”
And some of it is probably part of the process—but not all of it!
When it comes to being ready for the end, maybe some things are part of the process, too. But that process of change, of conversion, must begin today. It starts now. I know neither the day nor the hour.
