Gospel of Mark, chapter 13:32

William Allen White, one of America’s great journalists, is often remembered for his clever defense of the honor of his native state, Kansas. It was on the occasion of a banquet at which Mr. White was the principal speaker that the toastmaster, who was from Missouri, said he was reminded of the little girl whose parents told her that the family was leaving Missouri and moving to Kansas. The girl went into the back yard, looked up at the sky and said, “Goodbye God! We’re moving to Kansas!” When Mr. White got up to speak, he said the story was true, but the emphasis was wrong. What the little girl really said was, “Good! By God , we’re moving to Kansas”

Hearing today’s gospel lesson, some people might imagine that it predicts a time when people all over the world will look up at the sky and say, “Goodbye God!” It doesn’t mean anything of the sort; it simply cautions us to be ready for the time when the world, as we know it, will end.

Jesus tells us that the time will come when the “sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give us light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in heaven will be shaken.” (Mk. 13:25)

If the time were to come when we looked at the sky and actually saw the sun go out, and the utter darkness being pierced by billions of falling stars, our greatest fear would be, I am sure, that God’s providence was moving elsewhere; or that He no longer cared about us. But, He does care for us; and He wants us to be ready to receive Him now or at the last day.

“Goodbye God” would never be appropriate under any conditions or in any situation of uncertainty. Jesus tells us that, come what may, we will see Him, “coming in clouds with great power and glory. And He will send His angels, and gather His elect from the four corners of the earth to the ends of heaven.” (Mk. 13:26-27)

Life is filled with uncertainty. Jesus declares: “heaven and earth will pass away.” But of that day or that hour no one knows…only the Father,” Yes, life is full of uncertainty, especially how and when it will all end for us. We do not know what tomorrow will bring. The important thing is to live our lives to the fullest as followers of Christ in good times and in bad. We have no control over the future but we can control how we live our lives in the present. Today’s gospel reminds us that “the end times” will arrive. We need to live each day as if it were our last because we never know when God will take us from this world; we never know when we will die. It could be today, tomorrow, a year from now. Nobody knows. Only Almighty God knows .

There’s no point in being filled with fear over something we have no control over; and which only God knows. What we need to focus on is being faithful to Christ, so that whenever the end comes, we will be ready.

Fr. Hugh Duffy