Bellarmine University
“How to Conduct Yourself as
You Wait”
Rev. Ronald Knott
November 29, 2015
When you
see these signs
begin to happen,
stand erect
and raise your
heads because
your redemption
is at hand. Do
not let your
hearts become
drowsy and that
day catch
you by surprise. Be vigilant at
all times and
pray that you have
the strength to stand before
the Son of Man. Luke 21
Advent is a lot like driving a car. We look back through our rear view
mirror to where we have been and we look forward through our windshield to what
is coming toward us. We look back by
re-reading the old stories about how our spiritual ancestors waited for the
coming of the Messiah. We look forward
by re-reading the gospels so that we can be reminded of where we are heading.
We wait in joyful hope between the first coming of Christ and the second coming
of Christ. We not only wait in joyful hope, we are told to stand erect, with
heads raised, We are warned not to take our eyes off the wonderful things Go
has in store for us, not to doze off and miss the boat. We are told to pray
always so as to have the strength necessary to stand face to face before
God.
Students! Here is the bottom line today. No matter how old we are or
young we are, our days are numbered and the clock is winding down. We have no
idea how much longer we will be here. It has nothing to do with age. Many young
people your age and younger die every day through accidents, disease and
violence. It is a sobering thought to know that death is always a possibility,
no matter how young we are. All we have to do is think back a few short weeks
ago. One of our students, Tylar Misbach, was here one day and gone the next!
All I have to do is think of two of my students from St. Meinrad a couple of
years ago. Fr. Jorge Gomez, age 32, ordained eight weeks, and Seminarian
Stanley Kartiuki, age 32, were killed instantly in an intersection in Tulsa by
a car that sped through a red light. They were students of mine just eight
weeks early and a promising olife ahead of them.
Even old people don’t always know when they are going to die. We have a
monk at Saint Meinrad who is 105 and from the way he looks, he could be around
for a while! I recently anointed three
people, one 86, one 96 and one 98. In all three cases, I left their beds
thinking they would die quickly. I was convinced that the 86 year old would not
last the night. He has been spotted at several social functions recently. One
was taken off her respirator to die naturally. She was spotted downtown
recently, in a beaded cocktail dress, to receive an award from the Center for
Interfaith Dialogue. One I kissed good-bye, thinking I would see her, next
time, in heaven. I called the next day and she was up drinking coffee and
laughing on the phone. If you want to die, don’t call me to anoint you!
It was this last one who really taught me what these reading today want
us to know. As I said, she is 98. We were talking one day about death and I
asked her if she was worried about her future. She answered, in a
matter-of-fact way, “God has always taken care of me and I suspect he always
will.” She really put me in my place on another occasion when we were again
talking about dying. I started telling her all the stuff I was going to say at
her funeral. After I finished, she looked me right in the eyes and laughed, “I
hope you live long enough to be there!” She has a point! It’s just like her to
outlive me! Truly, we know not the day or the hour.
Students! A good disciple, and I know many of you are seriously trying
to be good disciples, a good disciple does not presume he has plenty of time. A
good disciple always lives with the end in mind - not in a morose kind of way,
but with the idea always tucked in the back of his/her mind. The best thing you
can do to prepare to die is to live well now, each and every day, with all the
deliberateness that you can muster. Be
“vigilant” and “alert” as the first reading tells us! That means to live “on purpose”
and “with purpose.” If you live well, standing erect and your head up, then you
will be able to stand confidently before God whenever the end does comes! The great American poet, Oliver Wendell
Holmes Sr., put
it: “Death tugs at my ear and says, 'Live. I am coming.”
How are we to wait? (1) A good
disciple loves God enough to want what God wants! (2) A good disciple never
forgets who he is – a child of God. He respects himself and all others, without
compromise. (3) A good disciple lives as close to the way Jesus lived that he
can! (4) A good disciple is in command of himself. He stands up to his
addictions and passions. (5) A good disciple never forgets that, in the end,
good will triumph over evil. It’s not up for grabs. It has already been
decided. For that reason, a good disciple never gives up. (6) A good disciple
lives with the end in mind and knows for certain that it will be glorious.
Therefore, he lives “in joyful hope for the coming of our Lord, Jesus Christ.”
Students! Many of the thoughts in today’s readings were also in our
readings from two weeks ago. I have tried not to repeat myself, but I do want
you to remember this! God has given you the precious gift of life. Take charge
of it and care for it! Never forget who you are! You are a child of God.
Respect yourself and all the children of God around you. Don’t worry about
dying. Worry about living! Live well, one day at a time, and wallow in the
peace of knowing that, in the end, everything will be OK! Last of all, under no circumstances forget
that death is simply the doorway to eternal life. This, my friends, is how we
“wait in joyful hope for the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
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