Don’t just sit there!
In the mid-1960s the great powers deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles for the first time. This meant that if a missile launch was detected in the then Soviet Union, the target city in Europe or America had about thirty minutes to wait until detonation. Much debate ensued as to exactly what could – or should – be done during this short wait for Armageddon.
Today’s readings tell us that biblical peoples spent much time discussing similar issues. What should Christians do while waiting for the Second Coming of the Lord? Clearly there were Thessalonians who felt that nothing at all should be done, but those who would pursue a life of indolence are given short shrift by Paul.
The Church, now coming near the end of its liturgical year, likes to focus our minds on the end of time, posing the question of how best to prepare for the Second Coming. Just as Paul and his generation of Christians had to come to terms with the realization that the Parousia would not occur in their era, our generation knows that each one’s death will happen before the Day of Judgement.
However, far off though it may be, the need to prepare for the Day of the Lord remains. So, what should we do? The Gospels tell us quite clearly that we always face a choice: We can seek the Kingdom of God or we can wait around for it to happen.
Seek and you will find the Kingdom. Do nothing and the Kingdom will pass by.
Don’t just sit there. Do something!
Noel Moynihan C.S.Sp.
