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My Grandfather, Ted Bickel, was a loving and generous grandfather. He loved my sister and me. He loved opera, history and always read many books per week. At Church he would always start with the Rosary. We would have mercy on him and wash his glasses for him and get him an iced tea in the summer. He did have a grumpy side. At Halloween he would hate the children coming to the door begging for candy. “By Gosh, teaching a whole generation of young Americans to be nothing but a bunch of beggars.” In the 50’s and 60’s Halloween was not the big celebration it is today. As children we didn’t purchase costumes, we would dress up in our parent’s old clothes. It still was about the candy for kids. We all had upset stomachs, and our dentists loved the long-term results left behind in visits to his office.
My Grandfather would have thought Halloween was a gathering of vultures. This is a scary passage and conjures visions of someone picking on someone else. When I was a child, Halloween was a day of fun for us kids. It was as Jesus would say to love one another and giving generously. It is important to know the context of the vultures in this passage which happened just before this scripture. Jesus was referring to the Pharisees as vultures. It starts in Luke 17: 20-21 Asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he said in reply, “The coming of the kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is. for behold, the kingdom of God is among you.”
Be prepared!
The Kingdom of God can come to anyone at any time, so be prepared. Our Saint Elizabeth of Hungary was betrothed at birth, married at 14, and a widow at 20. She died at the age of 24. After her husband’s death, she made a vow of celibacy and was a third order Franciscan. She did much for the poor. For her the Kingdom of God was quick. Nonetheless, on a gravestone of any human, there is the date of birth and a dash and then the date of death.
The vultures of this world will tell us we have time, Jesus says,……. maybe.
Today we have disagreements in the Church, in the family and in the world. God’s Kingdom is so apparent in receiving the Eucharist in the body and blood of Christ. There are those who would say it is only a symbol. These are vultures. In another circumstance we may disagree with Pope Francis, but a vulture would attack the Chair of Peter and the authority of the Papacy.
I don’t presume to have all the answers but at times Jesus can give all of us a glimpse of the Kingdom of God. ‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘Look, here it is,’. In our Gospel today, He is saying to be ready. All we have is the dash and the Sacraments. There is an Irish folk song that goes something like this. I’ll eat when I am hungry and drink when I dry and if moonshine don’t kill me I’ll live till I die.
‘Look, here it is,’
God Love You Always
Bob Burford
PS: Please Pray for Cancer victims and their caregivers. Pray for the conversion of Russia and the salvation of the Ukrainian and Russian people and their soldiers. Pray for the Holy Land. Pray for children everywhere who are suffering. Pray for peace!
