Paul's Message: "Time is Running Out"

In today’s first reading, 1 Cor 7: 25-31, Paul, at the time, believed that the second coming of Jesus was  about to occur so he advised people to not to engage in pursuing new interests, not to seek marriage or “a separation from marriage.” “Time is running out,” he says to the disciples of the Lord.  What would you and I do if we believed God was coming to escort us into the glories of eternity today, tonight, next week or month or year? If you and I faced the poverty of having very little time left here on earth, what would we do? 

In today’s Gospel, Luke 6: 20-26, Jesus says: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hunger, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh….” Am I, I ask myself, hungering for the Kingdom of God? Am I hungering for justice and peace, love and understanding, mercy and goodness to radiate from my being today as I interact with others?  Am I thirsting for what the Lord is thirsting and for what He thirsted as He hung on the cross on Good Friday and, today, as He hangs on the crosses of other people’s pain: the pain of immigrants fleeing their homeland seeking safety and a better life for their children, the pain of those who are victims of human trafficking, drug trafficking and slave labor, the pain of parents watching their child starve to death for physical and/or spiritual nourishment, the pain of parents contemplating an abortion or reeling from the guilt of having killed the child in their womb because they believed they did not have another choice, the pain of a family member watching the agony of an elderly parent suffering from  Alzheimer’s or watching a child suffering from an addiction that is sapping them of their former, happy, productive, loving self?

“Time is running out,” Paul says. What will I do to make a difference today, to be Christ in today’s world, whether is it the last day of my life or the beginning of my life for the next 25, 30, 35, 40, 50, 60, 70 years?  The choice is mine to make! May I choose wisely!