21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

I remember a case against a Court Stenographer II (Calingasan), of a Municipal Trial Court in Cities, Sta. Rosa City, Laguna who was reprimanded for her habitual tardiness with a stern warning that a repitition of a similar offense in the future will be dealt with more severely. In the said case, the excuses offered by respondent are not the kind that would justify her tardiness. The court held that moral obligations, the performance of household chores, traffic problems, health conditions, and domestic and financial concerns are not sufficient causes to excuse habitual tardiness. But what is striking in this case was this quote: "Public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people... Inherent in this mandate is the observance of prescribed office hours and the efficient use of every moment thereof for public service, if only to recompense the Government, and ultimately, the people who shoulder the cost of maintaining the Judiciary. Thus, to inspire public respect for the justice system, court officials and employees are at all times behooved to strictly observe official time. As punctuality is a virtue, absenteeism and tardiness are impermissible."

My dear friends, our Gospel (Luke 13:22-30), speaks of the same thing, that tardiness is impermissible. In other words, it is not good to risk being shut out especially when we set our feet for a spiritual journey. In the said Gospel, Jesus made it clear that each one of us must strive to enter heaven. Heaven is already open for all. Yet, Jesus made it also clear that not all would be able to enter heaven. Why? Jesus said that time would come for the householder to rise up and shut the door. The door of heaven would be shut to those who would come too late. It is like a door closed by the teacher on tardy students. At its best, this is a particular Gospel that gives us one instance why some people could not enter heaven i.e., they come late. We are therefore reminded to efficiently use every hour, every minute, every second, every moment of our life to serve God and His people. We have to do this as early as possible while alive. We must not waste any time. While still young and able, we must be good. When we are old and weakened by age, we must remain good. And when death comes, we are not afraid going to heaven. Because by that time, we know our right foot has already entered heaven waiting for our left foot to step inside too. To end, our Gospel reminds us that it is not good to always say it is better late than never. We are rather called to do good as early as we can. It is like saying then, early bird catches worms. Amen.