This gospel reminds me of two special stories.
The first story:
There is a town that has four separate neighborhoods. The first
neighborhood is called, “Yabuts.” The people who live there think they
know what needs to be done. As a matter of fact, they talk about it quite
convincingly – up to a point. When told they have an opportunity for
something, the conversation goes something like this: “Ya, but…” The
“Yabuts” have the answer. It just happens to be the wrong answer.
The next neighborhood is known as the “Gunnados.” Now they
are some of the best-intentioned folks you could ever meet. They really
understand what needs to be done, and they would have done it, if they
had only followed through. They study everything that is required very
carefully, and just as an opportunity drifts past them, they realize what
they were “gunnado.” If only they had done what they were “gunnado.”
Another neighborhood is known as the “Wishawoodas.” These
people have an excellent perspective on life – hindsight. They say, “I ‘wishawooda’ this, or ‘wishawooda’ that…” They know everything that
should be done, only it’s after the fact.
The last neighborhood is known as the “Gladidids.” They are a
truly special group of people. The “Wishawoodas” drive by the
“Gladidids” homes and admire them. The “Gunnados” want to join
them, but just cannot quite get around to it. The “Yabuts” could have
been “Gladidids,” but destiny just did not smile on them. The
“Gladidids” are pleased that they are disciplined enough to do what they
know they should do instead of always doing what they wanted to do.
These are the four neighborhoods. In which neighborhood do you
live? In which one would you rather live? 1) Yabuts 2) Gunnados 3)
Wishawoodas 4) Gladidids.
The second story:
There is an ancient story about three demons who were arguing
over the best way to destroy the Christian mission in the world. The first
demon says, “Let’s tell all the Christians there is no heaven. Take away
the reward incentive and the mission will collapse.” The second demon
says, “Let’s tell all the Christians there is no hell. Take away the fear of punishment and the mission will collapse.” The third demon says,
“There is one better way. Let’s tell all the Christians that there is no
hurry” and all three immediately say, “That’s it! All we have to do is
tell them there’s no hurry and the whole Christian enterprise will
collapse.”
Some things can’t be put off to the last minute- the foolish
bridesmaids needed to be reminded of this. We are reminded – happy is
the person who takes to heart this message and does something about it
today.
Archive for the ‘32nd Sunday’ Category
Ya Buts 11-8-2020
Sunday, November 8th, 2020Worshiping at our own altars 11-10-2019
Sunday, November 10th, 2019A writer had a dream in which she visited hell.
To her surprise, this hell had no infinite fire or bottomless burning
chasms of tormented souls. It was not like the hell she had pictured at
all; in fact, it was rather “church-like.” She was led through some dark
passages lined with the doors to many cells. Each cell she passed was
identical. The central piece of furniture in each cell was an altar and
before each altar knelt a sickly, weak, greenish-gray, ghostly figure in
intense prayer and adoration.
“But whom are they worshiping?” the visitor asked her guide.
“Themselves,” was the reply. “This is pure self-worship. In their
worship of their own beings, in placing their hopes and dependence on
themselves and their own dreams alone, they are feeding on themselves
and exhausting their own spirits. That is why they look so sickly and
emaciated.”
The writer was appalled and saddened by row upon row of cells,
small prisons for their pathetic, non-communicating inmates, who were doomed to spend eternity in solitary confinement, themselves their first,
last and only object of worship.
God, as revealed by Christ, is not the vengeful Judge or cosmic
Tyrant who takes cruel delight in our failures; the God taught by Jesus in
our Gospel is the God of life, a God whose limitless love put us and all
of creation in motion. God will love us for all eternity – but there
always exists the possibility that we will refuse that love. That refusal to
accept God’s love, the refusal to respond to God’s love, is precisely the
meaning of hell. Hell is not a place where God puts us – it’s a place
where we put ourselves. But to become “children of the God of life” is
to dismantle the hells we create and set in their places the justice, peace
and forgiveness that are the building stones of the kingdom of God.
Worshiping at our own altars. Lord have mercy!
