November 8, 2020

Thirty-second Sunday A
Wisdom 6: 12-16; 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-18; Mt 25: 1-13

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ:

The time that we have in life is God's gift to us. It is not our time. And it certainly isn't unlimited time. Too often we live like we would be on this planet earth forever. It is only when our time is threatened or comes to an end do we realize how short life is, we wonder, “Where is God?”

We can’t figure out why God is absent most of the time, why he doesn’t appear before us and fix problems facing us, why He doesn’t do anything to get rid of suffering, illnesses, and even death. Does God not care? Is He sort of “bored” with us? Is He too “busy” to be bothered with you and me?

If we’re being honest -- we probably all wonder about those things from time to time. That’s just a very human thing to do.

In faith, we know that the opposite is true. Our God loved us so much that he came to us as one of us. He walked the journey human beings have walked for millennia. He suffered what men and women suffer. He loved humanity without counting the cost -- even though the price he had to pay was his very life.

And the amazing thing is that all of those things are still true. They’re not things that only happened in the past. They happen in this time and place. In short, our loving God is still with us, walking with us today. God is still communicating to us. God is still trying to encounter us every minute of every day, still trying to “get to us”.

Put simply -- God is pursuing us, hunting for us, searching for us, looking for us.

My friends, no one can tell us precisely how to prepare our lives and make ourselves ready to have an intimate encounter with God. Each of us is unique.

Yet, there are some things which seem to be somewhat universal, things that need to be there if we want to meet God continually -- in every moment of every day. These are the things which keep our “lamps lit”, keep us ready and prepared. And so, let’s keep our lamps lit by, first and foremost, by desire -- that deep longing to meet our God.

Let’s keep our lamps lit by attentiveness -- always keeping God in the forefront of our minds. Let’s keep our lamps lit by humility and gratitude -- avoiding a sense of entitlement when it comes to God’s blessings. Be extremely grateful for the Eucharist, and the time we are being together in Church.

And let’s keep our lamps lit by an openness of heart. As Jesus said: "Keep your eyes open, for you know not the day or the hour" when he will show up to ask us to escort him into the wedding banquet of heaven.

That way – we will never miss the encounters of a lifetime. That way – our oil of love, gratitude and praise will never be empty.

Let us look about this week and see how well we are readying ourselves. May we have much more than just enough and ready to encounter God today and always. Amen.