Never Tired to be Attentive and Vigilant to Carry God with Us

32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - 08 November 2020

Readings - Wisdom 6:12–16; Psalm 63:2–8; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–17; Matthew 25:1–13 

 (Image courtesy: Jean Marc Arkelian)
Hear my reflections - Audio- 

I

From nothingness to worth of life

Even though, we started this month of November by remembering all the Saints in heaven our focus has been, however, praying for those who died in our families, communities and our friends' circle. We not only prayed for them but also recommended our God to show mercy upon them through Mass intentions, prayers and devotions which the Church encourages. This has made us to pause for a moment and think about the mystery of our life. More than the mystery of life, death seems to be affecting us very deeply. Death never leaves anyone. In our earthly pilgrimage called life, we carry death on our back. The very word "death" brings shiver down our spine. Often it is very difficult to get over this notion of death from our minds. You may study so well, possess all the possible knowledge of this world, might have read thousands of books and articles, built so many buildings, earned tons of money but when death strikes you what remains here is just a lifeless body, that too just for a short period. In this context, the readings of this Sunday put us in a better perspective and look at life with its worth than its nothingness.

II

Living with hope but with deep faith in God

Saint Paul writing to the community in Thessalonica  lifts up their spirits by saying "concerning those who are asleep [dead], that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope" (1 Thes 4:13). He continues to fill them with hope with these words, "then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thes 4:17). No body has ever seen heaven or experienced what it is like after death. What we have is a hope that would be transformed into a reality where we would be meeting those who have gone before us from this world. Our Christian faith in Jesus Christ teaches us that we will be brought forth to life again in God but of course it would not be like being in this world. Our life in God will be completely different, perhaps unimaginable for us.  

III

Thank God, there is life but also death

We should be thankful to God that He created in us not only life but also death. It would be disastrous and crazy to live in this state of life for eternity with so much suffering, evil, wickedness, stupidity, pain, anguish, frustration, anger, anxiety, sickness and so forth. We should be thankful to God for creating in us feelings, emotions, grieving, the sense of loss, etc. Without these we would be like logs of a wood. As a result of these human feelings we pray for our dear and near ones; we weep and cry because of their physical absence is felt in our families and communities. The book of Wisdom advices to look at God's wisdom in creating and demolishing life that is in our mortal bodies. Psalms which are also part of Wisdom literature (Ketuvim) of Old Testament helps us with wise words like this one: "When I think of thee [God] upon my bed, and meditate on thee [God] in the watches of the night; for thou hast been my help" (Psalm 63:6-7). Often we are troubled by life's challenges and boredom. This can not only be distressing and disappointing but also bring moments of emptiness in our lives. In such moments of darkness and void, instead of thinking about the worthlessness of our life, we must meditate on God. Perhaps those moments could be utterly defeating us yet God is there to wipe away our tears and tensions. 

IV

Preparedness means living in the presence of God.

The Gospel passage of the parable of Ten Bridesmaids (Matthew 25:1–13)  that Jesus enumerates is a reminder that we cannot live as if somebody is out there to take care of us. For Matthew, the gospel writer there are only two kinds of people: those who are ready and those who are not. We have to prepare with our intelligence to face challenges of life. Unpreparedness and dependency on others might lead not only to disasters and frustrations but also failures to make our life possible and beautiful on this earth. If we do not integrate simple techniques of being attentive and vigilant in our lives then the dark night and non vigilance can cause not only spiritual misery but also physical and material. Therefore, we need to keep our souls’ lamps filled with the oil of perseverance and desire for God by inculcating in us those virtues which the readings of today extoll us.  In other words, we are called to lead a life of holiness, because by our Baptism we are “betrothed” to Jesus (2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:25–27) and are called to a life of holiness and devotion, which will make us partakers of the heavenly wedding feast at the end of time (Rev 19:7–9; 21:1–4). Hence, we have to seek Him in love, meditating upon His kindness, calling upon His name, striving to be ever more worthy of Him, to be found without spot or blemish when He comes.

Martin Luther beautifully said, “Preach [and live] as if Jesus was crucified yesterday, rose from the dead today, and is returning tomorrow.”  This Covid pandemic has taught us that we cannot lull ourselves into a false sense of security.  We cannot take anything simply for granted including our health, the world, our work, society, family, community, etc. We need to carry extra oil or perhaps increase the volume of it by cultivating attitudes such as patience, love, harmony, affection, forgiveness, peace, joy and so forth.

Questions for reflections:

1. Wisdom is linked to deep understanding, to discernment. Have you been in your life a person of depth and discernment? 
2. In what ways you can be a person of depth and discernment, a seeker of wisdom and God?
3. What are those pathways which you think better to follow in order to be an authentic disciple of Christ? 

4. Often our “minds are set on earthly things” according to Paul. Are there ways of life that you see around you that you would want to avoid?  

- Olvin Veigas, SJ

08 November 2020

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