William Allen White, one of America’s great journalists, is often remembered for his clever defense of his adopted state of Kansas. It was on the occasion of a banquet at which he was the principal speaker that the toastmaster, who was from Missouri, told the story of the day when William’s parents informed him that the family was leaving Missouri and moving to Kansas. “Little William,” he said, “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 he really said was, “Good! By God, we’re moving to Kansas.” There’s a big difference. God remains the same. Only the circumstances change.

After reading about the Apocalypse or the end of the world in today’s gospel, 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. This is a cautionary tale. It exhorts us to be ready, to be prepared 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 up at the sky and actually saw the sun go out, and the utter darkness being pierced by billions of falling stars, our greatest fear might well be that God no longer cares about us. But, He does care for us, and He wants us to be ready to receive Him now or at the last day. We can expect to be set to by seismic changes in our world and by earth-shattering events like the horrific wild fires that are blazing a path of destruction in California as you’re reading this message. These events come with the territory. The fragmentation of the world around us calls for faith and steadfast patience, born of hope. No need to draw our wagons in a circle and let the world fall apart. This reaction will not wash. It is not based on scripture and it will not help bring about God’s reign.

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.” We do not know what tomorrow will bring, much less when the world will end. 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 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. As Christians, we rest our case on our faith that the risen Lord is with us, active and effective. We need only open our hearts and minds to the great work at hand, and “not be terrified.” Let us be attentive to the signs of the times and try to make our community and our world a better place to live in with God’s help.

Do not be filled with fear over something you have no control. and which only God knows. What you need to focus on is being faithful to Christ, so that whenever the end comes, you will be ready.

Tomorrow can take care of itself for today, as Jesus says, “has enough problems of its own.”

Fr. Hugh Duffy