God of the Future

We are approaching the end of the church year, which will culminate with the Feast of Christ the King on Sunday, and our Scripture readings at mass are relaying grim stories of persecution and torture, visions of beasts and devastation of the earth, and stern warnings to be ready when the master returns. What are we called to do in the face of these dire admonitions and predictions?

Today’s gospel reading (Lk 19: 11-28) gives us clear instructions: “A man called ten of his servants and gave them ten gold coins and told them, ‘Engage in trade with these until I return.’” In other words, use the skills and resources entrusted to you and be faithful to the work you have been asked to do. Period.

But that seems so simple. And boring, honestly. Yet what is apt to yield the most fruit: tending to the needs of others and of the earth through our work as educators, health care providers, counselors, gardeners, administrators, housekeepers, cooks, technicians, and so on, or using our imagination to reap anxiety and dread about what the future will bring?

Do we really expect the God we meet in the future to be any different from the God we experience today—the shepherd who sustains us with mercy, love, and forgiveness? Civil rights activist Ralph Abernathy said, “I don’t know what the future may hold, but I know who holds the future.” The more we come to know God through our everyday encounters within the body of Christ, the more we can live our way into a joyful future through the joyful, faithful acts we perform today.