“If the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”

Many of our Church fathers say that this passage can be interpreted in two senses: Narrow and Broad. In its narrow sense, this refers to the Second Coming of Jesus called the Parousia, and in its broad sense, to the time of our own death, when God will call us to meet Him and we will give an account of our life on earth. But you probably wonder why talk about death or the end of times when we are just a little past the middle of the year, and nowhere near the end?

I want to answer through a story. Once upon a time, Satan called an end of the year meeting to go over the year's results. One disciple said, “I recruited more this year because I sent men of the earth distractions in prayer.” Another said, “I recruited more because I developed the multi-billion-dollar porn industry and that brought in great results. Success!” he said! And another said, “I also brought in many more because I infiltrated the music industry and tempted men to lust and greed by singing explicit songs, with so many “F” words!”

But still, Satan was not satisfied. He wanted to know what new strategies they could employ to move men’s hearts away from God. Suddenly, one bright idea came to him. “Aha!” he said, with his usual devil’s laugh, “I know now what to do! We must convince men on earth that they still have plenty of time!”

The biggest lie that the devil wants us to believe is precisely this - we still have plenty of time! When we become so convinced, we become complacent and we procrastinate. Sometimes, we start on doing something but slowly fade away because “we have plenty of time.” Or worse, we spend all of our time doing nothing, grossly neglecting what we are supposed to do because again, “we have plenty of time.”

This is the mistake of the unwise servant in our Parable this weekend. He says to himself, “My master is delayed in coming.” So, he did not do what he was supposed to do. He grew complacent, putting things off, and neglecting to fulfill his duties. Worse, he misused his power, started beating the other servants, eating unreasonably, and drinking excessively. He thought he had the license to do anything and everything he wishes because anyway, “the master is not yet here.” Jesus says, “The master will come on an unexpected day, and at unknown hour, and will punish this servant severely and assign him in a place with the unfaithful.”

Fools are those who think they still have plenty of time. Fools are those who neglect their duties and live in immorality and licentiousness just because “the master is away.” But wise are those who do not waste any second of time and do the will of God.

“Teach us to number our days, O Lord, that we may gain wisdom of heart.” Amen.