Thursday of the Thirty-second Week in Ordinary Time

 Lectionary: 494

“The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.
There will be those who will say to you,
‘Look, there he is,’ or ‘Look, here he is.’
Do not go off, do not run in pursuit.

 F or every complex problem there is an answer that is clear, simple, and wrong." So said the American journalist, essayist, satirist, and cultural critic, H.L. Mencken. He might have been commenting on people who run off in pursuit of another pseudo-Messiah, expecting God to rescue them from the mess we have made. 

They long to see one day of the Son of Man -- which is an admirable longing -- but expect that they should be satisfied immediately. As if they have a right to that satisfaction. Don't the ads say there will be, "No wait, No problem," and, "We'll take care of You?" Because, "It's all about You!" Never mind that twenty centuries of anxious, frightened people have lived and died without seeing one day of the Son of Man. They suppose "It should happen now because I deserve that satisfaction."

Disappointed, they declare their religion was forced down their throats and they've now seen through all the false promises of the Church. And again, supposing that they're unlike their ancestors, they see how sinful the Church is and always was. 

It's better to share the Lord's eager anguish: 

"I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!

If anyone expected the polarization of the United States to cease last Tuesday, they're sorely disappointed by now. It must continue because we are a divided people, and the division begins in our own hearts. It's not about us and them; it's only us. 

Democracy was designed to disappoint unrealistic expectations. It does not, and cannot, give anyone the authority to redirect the energies and ambitions of a nation. Nor can a single party effect such change. They must be challenged and resisted; their energies must be focused on what will serve the common good. If that is possible the political process will be more than satisfied because, "Politics is the art of the possible." 

If millions of Americans are disappointed with last week's results they're right where they belong. We must continue searching our hearts for that reconciliation which -- regardless of anyone's particular preferences -- unites one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all.