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| The Last Judgement, by Michelangelo, on the wall of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. |
Do you remember, as a schoolchild, being given an assignment
for the following week; how far away it seemed? There was so much time before
the task had to be handed in; there was no hurry. And then, suddenly, it was
the evening before due date, and there just was not enough time to do it
justice. As a result, you either had to make a lame excuse as to why it was not
done or face the equally unpleasant consequence of a poor mark for a rushed
job. Did you ever wish, in such a situation, that you had not wasted the time
of the previous week when you could have been preparing thoroughly for the due
date of that task?
In the letters of Paul to the communities of the early
Church, there is always a sense of urgency. The day of the Lord could come at
any moment; are you ready to meet him when he comes? In Paul’s era, the
expectation was that the Lord could come again at any moment; He was, in fact,
expected to return quite soon after his Ascension. As time passed, they
realised that this was not the case, that Jesus’ return might be quite some
time later than originally expected.
This did not alter the urgency with which they regarded his
return. Like the early Christians, we do not know when or how Jesus will
return, only the fact that he will, that it will be unexpected; as the Lord himself put it,
“It is not for you to know the times or places”. Paul is quite clear, as is
Jesus himself in the Gospels, that we must be ready to receive the returning
Lord whenever he might appear. The
only way to do this is to be ready to receive him at all times. A half-baked,
rapid prayer at the last moment may not be enough if our hearts are not prepared
to receive him.
Paul encourages us to be ready through our love and
attention to prayer, our care for one another, our dedication to supporting and
encouraging one another in readying ourselves for his coming. He urges us to prepare
“with all our hearts.” There is no such thing as a “basic minimum” to get into
heaven; we are either all for Jesus, or not at all. In our daily lives let us
heed Paul’s wise words, and in everything that we do, let us keep ourselves
ready to receive Jesus, whenever he
might return.
Fr Phillip.
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