{"id":7851,"date":"2020-09-09T14:48:03","date_gmt":"2020-09-09T19:48:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/?p=7851"},"modified":"2020-09-09T14:55:20","modified_gmt":"2020-09-09T19:55:20","slug":"this-is-not-a-dress-rehearsal-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/this-is-not-a-dress-rehearsal-2\/","title":{"rendered":"This is not a Dress Rehearsal."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Maybe it was because my father held a rather strict hand in raising his children. Maybe it was the preaching Old Fr. MacIntyre would deliver Sunday after Sunday in my parish growing up. Maybe it was just \u201cthe times\u201d back in the fifty\u2019s and early sixties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whatever the reason, I\u2019ve always been a little afraid of the words in the Creed which says God \u201cWill come again in glory to judge the living and the dead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It tells me that what I do in my life will be examined by God who made me. It\u2019s called \u201cJudgement Day\u201d when \u201c\u201dEvery one of us will have to give an account of himself\/herself before God.\u201d Romans 14:12<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t think we give enough attention to this warning. We in the United States, we here in Webster (where \u201clife is worth living\u201d), can easily forget that this life of ours will come to an end and then God will have a few questions for us. (I don\u2019t have the slightest idea HOW this will happen . . . but faith tells us somehow there will be a reckoning.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other generations had this urgency in their bones. My father, who saw life and death during the war, was fond of telling us that \u201cLife is real and earnest. This is not a dress rehearsal. This is it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So many today live a passive response to this urgency. \u201cWhatever\u201d we say carelessly. Or, \u201cthat\u2019s a long way off. I can\u2019t be bothered thinking about the end.\u201d Or, \u201cMy life is mine to live. Back off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

We have a choice as to how to imagine our lives. In the end I think it comes down to two basic options. (See if this image makes any sense . . . it will take you back to your post high school days.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think of a college or certification class that will help you develop a certain knowledge or skill. And you have a choice . . . you can take the course for credit or you can simply audit it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Auditing has a certain appeal, doesn\u2019t it? It\u2019s cheaper, there\u2019s no essay required and best of all no test. All you have to do is sit there. Take whatever you want and leave the rest. (I audited a course one summer. It was great! I can\u2019t remember a single thing it taught but I met this really cool girl.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

OR – – – You can take it for credit. This will cost you more in time, money and sweat. And . . . you will have to show what you\u2019ve learned to get the credit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why take the credit course? Because it leads somewhere. It takes you to a new place. You now have something you own and with this achievement you can advance a career, secure a future, realize what you are capable of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So the question is: are you in this life for credit or are you merely auditing? Jesus has a story that might help you decide. Read Matthew 25: 14-30<\/a>. (really I mean it, it\u2019ll take three minutes).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An owner gives three people a different sum of money to conduct their portion of the business of running a vineyard. The first two take the money and use it in a way that increases the value of the vineyard. The third fellow takes the money and buries it thinking if he just gives it back that will be enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well guess what? It wasn\u2019t enough. He fired him. The master wanted a return on his investment. He wanted to see some sort of effort to advance the cause of the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus tells this story to wake us up. God has given you a life to live. He\u2019s blessed you with certain talents and gifts. What have you done with it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s never too late to begin. All God asks is that we try. He\u2019ll take care of the rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is it. No dress rehearsal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fr. Tim<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maybe it was because my father held a rather strict hand in raising his children. Maybe it was the preaching Old Fr. MacIntyre would deliver Sunday after Sunday in my parish growing up. Maybe it was just \u201cthe times\u201d back in the fifty\u2019s and early sixties. Whatever the reason, I\u2019ve always been a little afraid […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weekly-column"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7851"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7857,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7851\/revisions\/7857"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}