Memorial of Saint Josaphat, bishop and martyr

Saint Accursius
one of several protomartyrs
of the Franciscan Order

I tell you, on that night there will be two people in one bed;
one will be taken, the other left.
And there will be two women grinding meal together;
one will be taken, the other left.”

Our scripture readings take us deep into the apocalyptic. This is a mysterious place where signs and symbols take on a life of their own. They remind us to fear God and walk in his way, or face the consequences.

The above passage, for instance, has been used by fundamentalist to describe the “rapture,” (although that word never appears in scripture.) They suppose the one who was taken from the bed or the kitchen is the fortunate one. He and she were rapt into heaven.

I have a different take on this passage. Apocalyptic literature uses our memory of catastrophes to warn us of the judgment of God. You don’t know how it will come or when. Accidents are like that, as are hurricanes, earthquakes, tidal waves, crime and warfare. They are unpredictable and irrational. Two trailer homes sit side by side; one is taken by a tornado; the other left. Four people ride in a car. The one one wearing a seatbelt is killed; the others walk away unhurt. Survivors invariably say, “Why was he taken and not me? Why did I survive? It makes no sense.”

Two of our friars were walking along a quiet country road a few years ago. Hugging the side of the road, they were almost arm-in-arm. One of them, in mid-sentence, was struck by a car and killed. The other was left to deal with his trauma. You just don’t know when or where it might happen. “One will be taken, the other left. ”

I knew another fellow some years ago. He was talking to his wife on the telephone when she went silent. When he found her she was dead of an intracerebral hemorrhage. She never knew what hit her. “One will be taken, the other left. ”

God’s judgment is immediate. It is at hand and very near. There is no time to waste. You cannot afford to play games with it.

Is someone angry with you? Do you owe someone an apology or atonement? Is there some obligation you have put off fulfilling? What will your family find in your closet, your desk or your computer? Have you completed your advance directives and appointed your power of attorney? When did you last confess your sins? 

Do it now. There may be no tomorrow. 

So it will be on the day the Son of Man is revealed.
On that day, someone who is on the housetop
and whose belongings are in the house
must not go down to get them,
and likewise one in the field
must not return to what was left behind.