Thursday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 428

"Stay awake!
For you do not know on which day your Lord will come."

Situational Awareness, my Veteran chaplains called it. Know what's going on. Know the time, the people present and involved, recent developments, threats, potential dangers, and available resources. Be prepared for any eventuality.

If you want to step down from immediate readiness, make sure someone is watching. Someone has got your back. Don't be caught off guard. Don't play the fool. 

Real life and the Bible have little respect for fools like the wicked servant who says to himself, 'My master is long delayed;" and then begins to beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with drunkards. Their mothers might love them, knowing their past brilliance and yet-to-be-discovered potential. But real life knows nothing of that. It only knows that one's guard is down and bad things can happen even to mamma's good boys and girls.

I have heard many people complain about the threats of punishment and violence in the scriptures. Their experience of middle class prosperity with its insurance policies, safety nets, and contingency plans has told them that nothing really bad can happen today; nothing, that is, that your support systems can't handle. Bad things really should not happen to good people like me. Doesn't the Bible say that? And I am a good person; or at least, not that bad. 

Jesus assures his disciples that there will be hard times and many insurmountable challenges. We should expect them; and we should prepare for them. A sustainable spiritual infrastructure, like one's financial securities and personal support system, is built day by day, with time and deliberate sacrifices. We build these securities during the good times so that they'll be there in the difficult ones. You might trust the spiritual strength of others but only you can build your own. When all of your plans b, c, and d; and your fall backs, networks, and systems collapse; and you wait alone in darkness and can see no light, we call it faith. 

I remember one foolish fellow who died in the VA, surrounded by his buddies. Each of these young people had resigned from the military to pursue their ambitions; but he continued to enjoy the indulgences they had all shared at one time. He was a good guy, charming, witty, and fun to be around. Despite his abilities he'd refused to apply himself; he somehow expected life should come easier. He'd passed the last year or more couch surfing, moving from one friend's sofa to another's. But he was wasting himself in the meanwhile. I don't remember what he died of, but his friends had come to comfort him and one another as their youth passed into eternity. 

There comes a day when it's someone else's turn to be dependent, immature, and needy. They're called children. The rest of us grow up, and the Lord joins us with the spirit and courage to face reality.