So what?

I've been going to RCIA lately. If you're unfamiliar, that is the Rites to Christian Initiation for Adults and those are the classes a person attends when they want to know more about becoming catholic. I've been through RCIA once already when I was converting and felt powerfully inclined to join in again for many reasons. I'll admit that when I went seven years ago, I was so eager to become a Catholic that I really can't recall much of what I learned. There's a lot of information to take in and all at once, it can be overwhelming. But you leave with a small sense of the faith and hopefully as you grow closer to Jesus and your practice, you also grow in your knowledge. 

These days I'm more secure in my faith and my foundation more sturdy, so I have more questions than I once did. And I ask a lot of them. Some questions are informative like "What is the difference between Vatican 1 and Vatican 2?" while other questions are more than surface level. Things like: "if God knows all and knew all, then why did he let Eve eat the forbidden fruit?" I haven't stumped my priest yet, but he sure stopped me in my tracks a few weeks back. I had a question which I thought was very profound and intuitive and his answer was SO simple, yet it had me pondering for longer than I'd like to admit. 

Then after yesterday's gospel reading from Luke 21: 5-19 I knew I had to write about it. It hit me like a Mac truck! It said: 

"Then he said to them, 

"Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky."

Boom. 

It immediately sent me back to RCIA those weeks ago when I asked my priest..."What if this is the end? What if all the food shortages and the blasphemy in Hollywood and the plagues and natural disasters are the signs that Jesus spoke of?" 

His reply was, "So what?" It kind of pissed me off, honestly. I looked at him bewildered and said, "That's it? SO WHAT?" He went on. 

"If the world is going to end and there will be famine and disease and Jesus is inevitably coming... then we need to worry about our souls and not our groceries." This was quite the explanation. 

We live in a fallen world and there really hasn't been a moment in history where this isn't true. While some decades may seem easier than others, they all came with their own problems. Whether it be wars, famines, diseases, you name it. Human beings throughout time have seen some shit. Today being no different. We see our religions being attacked. Food shortages. Diseases and viruses being spread. Children being abducted and manipulated in their own school systems. And all the while there is a prophecy of all these things being the "end times". There is good reason we should pray, and daily, that the worst of these things doesn't befall us or those we love while we pray for the perseverence to survive whatever might be thrown at us. But just because those things are happening, we shouldn't be distracted from the truth that IF it is really coming to pass. If Jesus is coming back soon, then we should not get our bank accounts in order, but account for our souls instead. 

There is always going to be something to worry about. Bills. Cancer. Divorce. Sex. Drugs. And within reason, be prepared. Whether that means buying more land or investing in self sustenance, saving more money or buying huge bags of rice and flour. You be the judge of what you may need should some terrible tragedy befall us. Just don't forget that when Jesus comes and every knee bows....what were you worshipping here on earth? Was it the news? Was it Twitter? Was it stacking up all your goods in a cellar? Because none of it will matter when we stand in judgement. Did you help your neighbor when you sowed your fields? Did you evangelize to those around you to make sure they're saved from damnation, even though it was uncomfortable? Did you pray for your enemies? Have you been asleep? 

Surely I'm not telling you that a 50lb bag of flour is a bad idea. But don't forget to learn to make bread with it and then give a loaf to your neighbor.

. 

Because while Jesus said he is coming back and to "Watch.".. he also said: “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority." 

So instead of despairing about when and where and what... ask yourself who? Who will you be bringing with you to heaven? Who have you told the good news to lately? Who have you been praying for? Who have you been worshipping? 

The world is going to hell in a handbasket that hasn't changed since Jesus last walked this earth. But "so what?" If you're not right with God, then I'm not sure the contents of your cellar, bank account or acreage matter at all.