Be watchful and alert

Gospel: Mk 13:33-37
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/120323.cfm

When I was a child, there were times when my parents left me and my siblings home alone. We would have a great time with games that would mess up the house. If anything broke, we had enough time to fix it or time to prepare and rehearse our explanation for optimal effect. We always expected that they’d be home at a specific time, or we at least knew the earliest time they could get home. We sensed that we could get the house back in order within thirty minutes of their return if we all pitched in. We’d devise a plan for doing it and only commit to activities we could adequately clean up. Often, we’d hang out together, waiting for the sound of the garage opening to let us know it was time to get to our beds and act asleep.

I could only imagine my parents’ reaction if they got home when the house was messy. Hearing this gospel as a child, I thought we only had two options: 1. Not to trash the house; 2. Always have an explanation ready for whatever state the house was in. Those options might work for my parents, but since God was all-knowing, there was only an option 1.

As I’ve gotten older, this gospel has become less and less about the return of an authority figure and more about living each day and each moment with the end in mind. We don’t know when the Lord will return or when we will return to the Lord. Jesus is calling us to live every day like it could be today. We should not be worried or afraid of punishment for wrong actions but challenge ourselves to live more fully. The time is now. There is no need to prepare for or worry about tomorrow if we care for what’s needed today.