Time is Now

Paul tells the Romans as he makes us aware of the Advent season “Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep”. (Romans 13:11). The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary offer reflection of the way time intertwines with our spiritual lives. In the time of Isaiah, about 720 BC, the Prophet is exhorting people to act now, in the present, to move into the Presence of the Lord. Friar Jude Winkler notes that Isaiah called people of all tribes to Jerusalem where the decision to live in the Law of the Lord would radically change their lives. Tom Shanahan, S.J. of Creighton University comments on the great vision of Isaiah about the people of the world, “they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more”(Isaiah 2:4) Father Tom is reminded by this passage of the life we live as patient people. This patience is not passive. As we await the time of full communion with the Divine which will bring the peace and understanding anticipated by Isaiah, we hear Paul advise us to live as those who know the Way. Our decision to be patient is not a decision to procrastinate. Father Roberto Donato (Lectio Divina Nov 28, 2013) speaks of procrastination as the indicator that we are putting our needs and desires ahead of the Way of vigilance and living the Word in the present. Friar Jude is reminded by the letter of Paul today of how Augustine might associate the distraction of the flesh with concupiscence. In the Gospel from Matthew, the vigilant and the awake, who continue to live as followers of the Way will recognize the Son of Man, as translated by Rev. Dr. Eugen J.Pentiuc in the Aramaic phrase “Bar 'ěnoš” as the suffering servant of Isaiah and will be with Him in the end time at the marriage feast. Father Roberto suggests the possibility that Peter, by falling asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane, may have missed the opportunity to know Jesus true situation as Messiah (Lectio Divina Nov 28, 2013). Our patience, perseverance, prayer and attention to what we see and do will bring us closer to Him today.