Are You Ready?

U.S. Army General Vernon Walters tells the story of a man in the Soviet Union who had been waiting more than three years for the new car he ordered. Finally, he telephoned the car dealer and asked if a delivery date had been scheduled. “Yes,” the dealer replied, “your care will be delivered to you on November 14, 1993.” “In the morning or the afternoon?” the man asked. “Why do you want to know that?” the dealer asked. To which the man replied, “Because the plumber is coming the morning.”

Today’s Gospel Lesson once again reminds us that we do not wait in vain for the ultimate fulfillment of God’s promises: Jesus Christ is coming. “The Son of Man will be “coming in clouds with great power of glory,” Jesus says (Mk. 13:26). We don’t know the date; we don’t know the hour. For all we know, it could be this very afternoon or tomorrow morning or ten thousand years from next week, or…