August 8, 2004: Preparing for the Master's Return

The Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
August 8, 2004



Once upon a time, there was a sailor who was shipwrecked. He washed ashore on a South Pacific island. When the natives found him, they were overjoyed. They clapped their hands with glee and they sang. Why, they even hoisted the man up on their shoulders and carried him to their village… and when they arrived there, they put a crown on his head and sat him on a golden throne.

Little by little, the sailor learned what was going on.

The islanders, you see, had a rather unusual custom. Occasionally, they would make a man their king — but only for one year. And during his reign, he could order his subjects to do anything within reason, and they would obey him without question.

Well, the sailor was delighted that he was chosen to be the king. He could hardly believe his good fortune.

Then one day, he began to wonder what happened to a king when his year of kingship came to an end. That’s when his excitement and enthusiasm came to an abrupt end.

He discovered that at the end of his year’s reign, he would be banished to a barren island, called King’s Island. There, he would be left to starve to death as a sacrifice to the gods.

After the sailor recovered from the shock, he slowly began to put together a plan.

As king, he ordered the carpenters of the island to build a fleet of small boats. When the boats were ready, he ordered the farmers of the island to dig up fruit trees and plants, put them in the boats, and transplant them on King’s Island. Finally, he ordered the stone masons to build a house on King’s Island.

In this way, the sailor prepared carefully for the day when his kingship would end and he would be banished to King’s Island.

This story is a good illustration of what Jesus tells us in the Gospel today. The Lord tells us that while we’re here on earth, and while we’re able, we should lay up for ourselves treasure in heaven: “Sell your belongings and give alms. Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out, an inexhaustible treasure in heaven that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.”

In other words, Jesus tells us that we should do exactly what the sailor did.

Today’s Gospel urges us to ask ourselves how well we’re preparing ourselves for that day when, like the sailor in the story, our life here on earth will come to an end. Jesus asks a most important question: “If you were to die tonight, how ready are you to face God?”

If your answer to that question leaves something to be desired, then you can be sure that the Lord is speaking to you in a special way through His Gospel today. “Be like servants who await their master’s return,” He says. “You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

The great bishop and doctor of the Church, St. Alphonsus Liguori — whose feast we celebrated on August 1st — had some very short but very wise advice on preparing for death. He said:
(1) do now what I must do before I die;
(2) do now what on my deathbed I will wish that I had done; and
(3) do now what I cannot do on my deathbed.

If you knew that you had one week… or one day… or even just one hour before God would call you home, what would you do?

Yesterday, as I was driving home from Ohio, a friend from my old parish called on my cell phone and asked whether I had heard the heart-sickening news from Streator: a bunch of teenage boys—17-year-olds, a couple of them “my kids” from St. Stephen’s—got into a car wreck: two dead, two air-flighted to Peoria in critical condition. Invincible teenagers who were certain they had their whole lives ahead of them…

So I repeat: If you knew that you had one week… or one day… or even just one hour before God would call you home, what would you do? I imagine you’d waste no time to make a good confession and make restitution for your sins as much as you were able to. You’d also want to forgive the people you’ve been holding a grudge against or whom you’ve been angry at… tell some people that you love them… give away many of your possessions — especially to help the poor and those most in need… and pray earnestly for a happy death and a quick entrance into heaven…

Well, what are you waiting for?

Jesus says, “Stay awake and be ready! For you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” Yes, death is certain, but the timing of death is uncertain. Since that’s the case, won’t the wise man and woman — and child and teenager, too! — always want to be prepared? Don’t put off until tomorrow the preparations you should be making today… there may not be a tomorrow!

Dear children of the Lord, preparing for death this way is not morbid; it’s the smartest thing in the world. Thinking soberly about dying is a grace from God to help you want to change a lot of things in your life while there’s still time. Act on those inspirations. That’s precisely how you store up treasure in heaven and stay prepared for the Master’s return.

May God bless you today and always!




Today’s Readings:
Wisdom 18, 6–9
Psalm 33
Hebrews 11, 1–2 and 8–19
Luke 12, 32–48