“Put your house in order for you are about to die.” Those words from the prophet Isaiah reminded me of relatives and friends who may also have been told those words. I can only imagine what their reaction might have been.
Like Hezekiah did they also turn their faces to the wall, shed a tear, and pray? Like others before him Hezekiah may have asked how this could be since he had tried to lead a purposeful life.
Both Scripture readings today have a message for anyone who is faced with the certainty of dying. The Hezekiah story is meant to assure us that God hears prayers while seeing tears and still shows mercy. The Gospel story does the same. We heard Jesus say it was mercy that he desired not sacrifice. It was just yesterday that we heard Jesus’ invitation, “come to me all you who find life burdensome, and you will find rest for your soul, for my yoke is easy and my burden light’.
At times of despair and worry, the soul needs comfort, and for that we look to Jesus, look to the figure of the crucified Christ and be reminded that hidden from our earthbound eyes, our destiny lies with Him alone. By focusing on the Cross, we will find the comfort our soul seeks.
Saint Bonaventure, who we commemorate today, knew this well. For him Jesus was “all sufficient, the redeemer of the lost, the Savior of the redeemed, the hope of exiles, the strength of laborers, the sweet consolation of anguished minds.”
Each one of us will be expected to put our house in order. Some will feel apprehensive while others are ready and waiting to be called.
In my local religious community, I seem to have acquired the reputation of someone who says, “It is time.” It can be time to go into the dining room because it is six o’clock. No apprehension there. It is time when it is learned that a brother religious has passed. In most instances, the time is welcomed.
And for you and me, it will also be time and hopefully our houses will be in order. But first a word. Do not leave it to others to pick up after us once our time has come.
