33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Do you remember Iben Browning? In 1990, Iben Browning predicted that Southeast Missouri would be hit by a catastrophic earthquake. Not one other creditable scientist agreed with Browning’s prediction, but everybody within 500 miles of the New Madrid Fault went running to the store to buy flashlights and canned goods and bottled water.
I remember going to a meeting at Oakville High School. They gym was packed. Some emergency preparedness expert told us how we should bolt the hot water heater to the floor and that we could drink the water out of the back of the toilet in an emergency. Of course, nothing happened, except that the stores sold a lot of earthquake related “stuff.”
State Farm Insurance reported that they normally handled 50 applications per day for earthquake insurance, but that in the days leading up to the December prediction they were receiving 2,000 per day. On the other hand, the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, which is normally packed in December, was only 15% full in December, 1990. Depending on your business, the earthquake scare was either a good thing or a bad thing. By the way, Iben Browning was a PhD……in zoology.
December 10 came and went. Eventually we ate the canned goods and drank the water and put the flashlights away in a drawer somewhere.
The earthquake scare was a local thing. It involved just the midwestern states. Then there wasY2K. That was going to be a disaster of worldwide proportions. It was predicted that at midnight on December 23, 1999, airplanes would fall from the sky and cruise ships would run aground., Power plants were going to shut down and at least 20 states would be completely without power. Wal-Mart and K-Mart were going to have to close because their cash registers would be useless.
Some “experts” said that on January 2 the Dow would fall to 5,000 and that all government activity would come to a stop. There was supposed to be a run on the banks. There were rumors that the government was going to draft computer programmers. Stockpiling would lead to shortages of food, generators, camping supplies, canning supplies and food dehydrators.
There was supposed to be a severe shortage of paper because the government was going to be creating paper backups of all their computer files. It was said that all long-distance telephone service would break down and that the army would have to be called out because of food riots.
And, a lot of fundamentalist religious groups were sure that it was going to be the end of the world, the end time, the second coming.
Again, we went out and bought more canned goods and more bottled water. We bought more flashlights because we couldn’t find the ones we had bought nine years earlier.
Just like the earthquake scare ten years earlier, nothing happened. A lot of companies and consumers and the government spent a lot of money. Anybody who had anything to do with computers probably worked New Years Eve and New Years Day.
In today’s Gospel, the Apostles ask Jesus when the end of the world will be.
He answers,
"See that you not be deceived,
for many will come in my name, saying,
'I am he,' and 'The time has come.'
Do not follow them!
When you hear of wars and insurrections,
do not be terrified; for such things must happen first,
but it will not immediately be the end."
Nobody knows exactly when the end will come. Some think that wars, earthquakes, and hurricanes might be signs. They point to the strange weather we’ve had this year, the terrorist attacks, and the war in the Middle East. But, Jesus tells us in the Gospel that wars and insurrections must happen first, but not immediately before the end.
All we know is that we should be prepared. But are we? During the year, we get warnings all the time. Like today’s Gospel, Jesus warns us that the end will come at a time we least suspect it, like a thief in the night. How do we respond? Is our reaction the same as it was in 1990 and again in 2000? Do we get ourselves ready, maybe go to confession, and then as time passes, we just kind of forget the whole thing? Do we spiritually eat the canned goods and drink the bottled water and forget where we put the flashlight?
If Jesus were to walk into this church today and announce that the time had come, would we rush to get in line or would we try to sneak out the side door? We each have to answer that question for ourselves. Are we ready to meet Jesus, right now, today?
Each of us will meet Jesus face to face one day. For some of us it will be sooner rather than later. During the month of November we remember our loved ones who have died. We display the book of the dead on the altar. It contains the names of our brothers and sisters in the parish who have gone home to meet Jesus. We look forward to the day when we will join them. We pray that they were ready when the time came.
I imagine you heard the story of the four people who were killed on the M L King bridge Friday morning on their way to work. They didn’t know that that was going to be their day. I imagine they were looking forward to the weekend. I’m sure they had plans. But God had another plan. We pray that they were ready.
Sunday after next is the First Sunday of Advent, We’re at the end of the Church year. How will we prepare for Christ’s coming during the season of Advent? Jan pointed out to me the other morning that it’s time for me to put up the Christmas lights at home. That’s something that HAS TO be done. We HAVE TO put up a Christmas tree. We HAVE TO shop. There are parties that we HAVE go to.
We spend a lot of time planning and preparing for the holiday, but how much time do we spend getting ready for the actual event, the reason for the season? A week from this Tuesday is our monthly Eucharistic Adoration. It’s the last Tuesday before the beginning of Advent. It would be a good time to spend an hour in Christ’s presence, meditating on why He came to earth; why he suffered and why He died.
Spending one hour a month, quietly sitting in the Presence of Christ, would be a wonderful way to get ready for the start of Advent.
We also have the great gift of the sacrament of reconciliation. God knows that we’re sinners. He knows that we’re going to make mistakes. He doesn’t need for us to tell Him what we’ve done. He knows. But, out of His unconditional love, he has given us a way to confess our sins and start over with a clean slate. How great is that!? God gives us a do-over. Not just once, but as often as we want to take advantage of it so we can be ready when His Son comes.
If you haven’t been for a while, the season of Advent is the perfect time. It’s really not difficult to be ready to meet the Son of God. We don’t have to do anything spectacular, all we have to do is stay on course. He tells us today, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
I remember going to a meeting at Oakville High School. They gym was packed. Some emergency preparedness expert told us how we should bolt the hot water heater to the floor and that we could drink the water out of the back of the toilet in an emergency. Of course, nothing happened, except that the stores sold a lot of earthquake related “stuff.”
State Farm Insurance reported that they normally handled 50 applications per day for earthquake insurance, but that in the days leading up to the December prediction they were receiving 2,000 per day. On the other hand, the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, which is normally packed in December, was only 15% full in December, 1990. Depending on your business, the earthquake scare was either a good thing or a bad thing. By the way, Iben Browning was a PhD……in zoology.
December 10 came and went. Eventually we ate the canned goods and drank the water and put the flashlights away in a drawer somewhere.
The earthquake scare was a local thing. It involved just the midwestern states. Then there wasY2K. That was going to be a disaster of worldwide proportions. It was predicted that at midnight on December 23, 1999, airplanes would fall from the sky and cruise ships would run aground., Power plants were going to shut down and at least 20 states would be completely without power. Wal-Mart and K-Mart were going to have to close because their cash registers would be useless.
Some “experts” said that on January 2 the Dow would fall to 5,000 and that all government activity would come to a stop. There was supposed to be a run on the banks. There were rumors that the government was going to draft computer programmers. Stockpiling would lead to shortages of food, generators, camping supplies, canning supplies and food dehydrators.
There was supposed to be a severe shortage of paper because the government was going to be creating paper backups of all their computer files. It was said that all long-distance telephone service would break down and that the army would have to be called out because of food riots.
And, a lot of fundamentalist religious groups were sure that it was going to be the end of the world, the end time, the second coming.
Again, we went out and bought more canned goods and more bottled water. We bought more flashlights because we couldn’t find the ones we had bought nine years earlier.
Just like the earthquake scare ten years earlier, nothing happened. A lot of companies and consumers and the government spent a lot of money. Anybody who had anything to do with computers probably worked New Years Eve and New Years Day.
In today’s Gospel, the Apostles ask Jesus when the end of the world will be.
He answers,
"See that you not be deceived,
for many will come in my name, saying,
'I am he,' and 'The time has come.'
Do not follow them!
When you hear of wars and insurrections,
do not be terrified; for such things must happen first,
but it will not immediately be the end."
Nobody knows exactly when the end will come. Some think that wars, earthquakes, and hurricanes might be signs. They point to the strange weather we’ve had this year, the terrorist attacks, and the war in the Middle East. But, Jesus tells us in the Gospel that wars and insurrections must happen first, but not immediately before the end.
All we know is that we should be prepared. But are we? During the year, we get warnings all the time. Like today’s Gospel, Jesus warns us that the end will come at a time we least suspect it, like a thief in the night. How do we respond? Is our reaction the same as it was in 1990 and again in 2000? Do we get ourselves ready, maybe go to confession, and then as time passes, we just kind of forget the whole thing? Do we spiritually eat the canned goods and drink the bottled water and forget where we put the flashlight?
If Jesus were to walk into this church today and announce that the time had come, would we rush to get in line or would we try to sneak out the side door? We each have to answer that question for ourselves. Are we ready to meet Jesus, right now, today?
Each of us will meet Jesus face to face one day. For some of us it will be sooner rather than later. During the month of November we remember our loved ones who have died. We display the book of the dead on the altar. It contains the names of our brothers and sisters in the parish who have gone home to meet Jesus. We look forward to the day when we will join them. We pray that they were ready when the time came.
I imagine you heard the story of the four people who were killed on the M L King bridge Friday morning on their way to work. They didn’t know that that was going to be their day. I imagine they were looking forward to the weekend. I’m sure they had plans. But God had another plan. We pray that they were ready.
Sunday after next is the First Sunday of Advent, We’re at the end of the Church year. How will we prepare for Christ’s coming during the season of Advent? Jan pointed out to me the other morning that it’s time for me to put up the Christmas lights at home. That’s something that HAS TO be done. We HAVE TO put up a Christmas tree. We HAVE TO shop. There are parties that we HAVE go to.
We spend a lot of time planning and preparing for the holiday, but how much time do we spend getting ready for the actual event, the reason for the season? A week from this Tuesday is our monthly Eucharistic Adoration. It’s the last Tuesday before the beginning of Advent. It would be a good time to spend an hour in Christ’s presence, meditating on why He came to earth; why he suffered and why He died.
Spending one hour a month, quietly sitting in the Presence of Christ, would be a wonderful way to get ready for the start of Advent.
We also have the great gift of the sacrament of reconciliation. God knows that we’re sinners. He knows that we’re going to make mistakes. He doesn’t need for us to tell Him what we’ve done. He knows. But, out of His unconditional love, he has given us a way to confess our sins and start over with a clean slate. How great is that!? God gives us a do-over. Not just once, but as often as we want to take advantage of it so we can be ready when His Son comes.
If you haven’t been for a while, the season of Advent is the perfect time. It’s really not difficult to be ready to meet the Son of God. We don’t have to do anything spectacular, all we have to do is stay on course. He tells us today, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
posted by Mike at 7:37 PM
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