I've been contemplating the Delay of the Parousia -- for those not in the "know", that's fancy seminary talk for "Waiting for the 2nd coming of Jesus." We recently had a guest speaker speak on this topic and his comments got me thinking about what I really believe about this and it's companion piece -- eschatology (fancy seminary speak for the "theology of the end times.")
To be frank I don't think about these topics very much -- to quote myself -- if you knew for a fact that Jesus was coming next Thursday at 2:03 pm, would you live your life any differently? If the answer is "yes" then you aren't living your life correctly to begin with.
However, I do get into those conversations about end times -- are you post-millennial, pre-millennial or millennial? Am I a Preterist or a Historist? What if ... ? And I try again to wrap my brain around the whole thing.
I was contemplating this Delay of the Parousia the other day when my Maine Coon kitten got in my lap, blocking my view of, well, everything as she tries to fit under my chin. Now that she's gotten bigger (9 pounds at 6 months -- this cat is going to be huge!) she doesn't quite fit anymore. It's hard to think deeply about theology when you have that much fluff in your face. I stopped and moved her to my lap and begain to brush her. She enjoyed it tremendously. Her purring causes all her whiskers to vibrate. Eventually she got down and said "Meow!" in that tone that tells me she wants food NOW.
I realized that cats live in the moment -- only human beings dwell on the past and worry about the future. That the task is to live NOW, not dread or anticipate what is to come. In Matthew 25, in the Parable of the 10 Virgins, Jesus tells us that we don't know the day or the time, but we need to be prepared. Live in the moment, doing what you need to do NOW. Feed the hungry, visit the sick and do it NOW. Not tomorrow, not next week. Do it NOW. And then don't worry about it anymore.
Cats know how to do this; we humans can take a cue from them. NOW.
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