Saturday, December 1, 2018

Saturday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Collect: Mary of Divine Hope
An angel showed me the river of life-giving water,
sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God
and of the Lamb down the middle of the street,

In today's gospel, the Lord warns us to beware lest "that day catch you by surprise like a trap." A trap is a mindless invention. I have no idea what types they had in the first century a.d. but the concept has been around a long time. There are simple snares that can trap rabbits and birds when the unwary creature steps on a trigger. A child can make them with vines and small trees. There are pits covered with camouflage and armed with spikes, and metal springs that snap like teeth to hold the victim. Some are baited with food or attractive objects. I grew up with mousetraps that caught my thumb more often than they caught mice.
The hunter sets and distributes traps over a given area and checks them routinely. If they're reliable they can hold a victim till it dies but the hunter should check them often before other predators find them. Most traps are not very discriminating; though they're designed to catch one kind of prey they snap at anything. Some traps simply explode, destroying the victim and anything close by.
Our Vietnam Veterans remember all too well the terrible traps the Vietcong devised. They did more than trap and kill the unwary soldier, peasant or child, they terrified anyone who knew they were somewhere in the jungle. Fifty years later some may be there yet, still waiting for the innocent.
Jesus describes the coming "Day of the Lord" like a mindless trap. Judgement will fall on the unsuspecting and ill-prepared, especially those who put off repentance and reform till tomorrow. Tomorrow, as everyone should know, never comes.
But, for the unwary, neither does today, as the Queen explained to Alice:
“You couldn’t have it if you did want it,” the queen said. “The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday—but never jam today.”
It must come sometimes to ‘jam today,’ ” Alice objected.
“No, it can’t,” said the queen. “It’s jam every other day: today isn’t any other day, you know.”
“I don’t understand you,” said Alice. “It’s dreadfully confusing!’’
Today isn't any other day. Today is the only moment we have to turn back to the Lord. I am not trapped today, I am free to pray, give, receive, repent or relinquish; free do do whatever this moment requires. There may be other opportunities -- no one knows about that -- but this is the only one I have right now.

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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.

Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.

I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.

You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.