Proverbs 31:10-13. 19-20. 30-31; 1Thessalonians 5:1-6; Matthew 25:14-30
How well do you know what is happening in the world? I don't mean the footy scores or what the present CoVid 19 restrictions are. I mean, do you know what is happening in the world well enough to be able to describe the direction the world is likely to take in the years ahead? Can you read the 'times and seasons' about which St Paul is speaking to the Thessalonians in the Second Reading.
The American cardinal Francis George, who died only five years ago, had a go at reading the times and had this to say:
"I expect to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square. His successor will pick up the shards of a ruined society and slowly help rebuild civilization, as the Church has done so often in human history.”
Would you agree with Cardinal George or would
you say he is exaggerating a bit? Or even a lot?
Do you see a turning away from God at
every level in society? Do you see within
the Church a deep confusion about her teachings and worship? Do you see a
collapse of morals around you? Do you see a devaluation of human life from
conception to old age? Do you see increasing suicides? Are you aware of a
disastrous breakdown in marriages and in family life as well as a horrible confusion
about human identity and human sexuality?
When Cardinal Pell was accused and tried and
found guilty and sentenced in Victoria for a crime he could not possibly have
committed, did you sense a breakdown in the justice system? Would you say that
our rights and freedoms are being threatened more and more every day? Do you
sometimes have a fear of speaking your mind?
Many thoughtful and holy people speak with a
sense of foreboding of dark clouds which are gathering on the horizon of our
'times and seasons'. They have a sense that a diabolic regime is coming – one
which wants to control us and bend us to its will. And this regime will tell us
how to act and what to think and what to believe or not to believe. And this
regime will not include any thought of God.
We Christians, on the other hand, know of
another regime which is coming. Its clouds too, are gathering, but they are
bright clouds. They come for the 'sons of light and the sons of day' and carry
with them the great hope of eternal life. These bright clouds herald the coming
of the Son from the East, the One who is to drive away the dark clouds of evil,
and establish the 'Day of the Lord'.
St Paul warns us that the coming of this wonderful day will be:
- hidden – it will come like a thief in the night
- unexpected – it will come when people are saying 'How quiet and peaceful it is.'
- sudden – like labour pains coming on a pregnant woman
- inescapable – there will be no way for anybody to evade it.
In another place in scripture we are exhorted
to hold our heads high when this Day comes for it will be the day
of our Lord who comes to take us with him into his eternal kingdom – a kingdom
of peace and joy and love.
St Paul's only warning, and it is a serious warning, is – Stay awake and sober! Do not go on sleeping like everyone else.
A baptised Christian who loves God and neighbour, who has confessed his sins and lives a Christian life, has nothing to fear from the coming of God's Regime. Let the faithful practice of our faith assure us that we will be among that number.
