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Preparing
for the End
November
19, 2006 Homily
Mark
13:24-32
Fr.
George Smiga
The
Jewish comedian Henny Youngman was particularly known for
his doctor jokes. This is one of his best. “A doctor told
a man he had six months to live; but the man couldn't pay
his bill. So the doctor gave him another six months.”
How
long do you have to live? The truth is, none of us know. But
when your final day comes it is unlikely that you can negotiate
an extension. That is why each year as Advent draws near the
church puts before us images of the end of the world. They
are frightening images: the sun will be darkened, the stars
will fall from the heavens. Although these images are not
comforting, it is important for us to consider them. They
remind us that an end will come, an end of the world and more
immediately and end to our own lives. Why is it important
for us to consider this? Not to frighten us, but to motivate
us. Not to tell us how we should die, but rather to show us
how to live. Life looks very different when you view it from
the end. From that perspective it is much easier to recognize
what is really important.
The
truth is this: most of us spend an immense amount of time
and energy on things that are truly insignificant. We worry
and fret about things that will not make a difference one
way or the other. We give hours and sometimes days of our
lives to matters that really do not amount to a hill of beans.
This last week, thousands of Americans camped out on sidewalks
sleeping overnight so that they could be the first to buy
Playstation3. Now was that important? As they lie on their
deathbeds will they say, “I'm so glad I did that!”
Millions
of people in the world spend energy and time licking their
wounds, nurturing their grudges against people who hurt them
or ignored them last month or even twenty years ago. When
they stand before the King on the last day, will they look
at that amount of time and the energy they spent with it with
pride? Will they say, “I'm so glad I invested so much of my
time in that resentment and anger.” All of us get wrapped
up in our agendas, in our schedules, in the things that we
want to accomplish: making money, shopping at the mall, shaping
our resumes. When we take our last breath, will those things
be significant? Will we say, “I'm so grateful that I spent
all that time in the office.” Or, “I'm so happy that I was
able to buy that coat at Macy's.” Or, “I'm so lucky that I
made more money than other people did.” Or, “What a wise decision
it was for me to spend most of my free time in front of a
television or computer screen.” Are those the things that
are going to give us satisfaction and peace when we take our
last breath? I' don't think so.
This
is what today's gospel is about. It calls us to consider what
questions are the important questions? Not what questions
seem important today, but what questions will be important
on the last day? I believe that there are only three questions
that will matter as we face eternity. All three questions
are about love: Did I let love in? Did I give love away? Did
I choose love even when it was difficult?
Did
I let love in? Was I able to see the beauty of the world around
me and the goodness of the people in it? Was I able to appreciate
and respond to the people who loved me? For all that is wrong
in the world, was I able to find that ‘sweet spot', that place
where I knew that things were good; that place that allowed
me to laugh, to be thankful, and to know that I was blessed.
And when I found that joy, did I savor it and celebrate it?
Did I let love in?
Did
I give love away? Did I use the time and talents that were
given to me to pass love on? Can I find some piece of goodness
in my child, in my spouse, in my friend, that I know I was
able to nurture? Can I identify a member of my family or even
a stranger, who is better because of me? Is the world somehow
wiser or healthier or more just because I was in it? Did I
give love away?
Did
I choose love even when it was difficult? Was I able to forgive
someone who hurt me? Did I speak the truth even when I knew
I probably no one would listen? Did I honor the commitments
which I made at work and at home? Did I choose to side with
the good, taking the risk to do something even though I knew
it might not be successful? Did I choose to respect other
people even when they didn't deserve it? Did I work for peace
even when revenge and violence were more tempting? These questions
perhaps more than the others will be the ones which will give
us peace and satisfaction on the last day. Did I choose love
even when it was difficult?
We
all spend so much of our time on things that are insignificant.
But in the end there are only three questions we need to be
able to answer positively: Did I let love in? Did I give love
away? Did I choose love even when it was difficult? If we
can answer to these three questions positively, we can close
our eyes in peace and satisfaction. We can also have the confidence
that we have found the door to eternity. That is why it is
a foolish thing to postpone dealing with these questions until
we reach our deathbed. That is why it is essential to begin
answering and living these questions today.
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