
Matthew 25:1-9
I have lit the oil lamp, and I am waiting for my spouse to take me home. This is what Matthew 25, verse 1 to 9 asks us to prepare for.
Whether we believe in the Catholic religion or whether we do not, we all know that death will come. We do not know when, what time and how. We can feel invincible and act as though we do not need anyone, as we see so many people do. Are we one of these people?
When you are young, you never think about your last day on earth. And why should you? You are young and have a whole life ahead of you. Every new day brings something different, something exciting perhaps. You have energy, strength and vigour. (Apart from the sick of course).
However, as you get older and less naive, you start to realise that hardships come our way more than we would like. We wake up every day hoping to enjoy a carefree time, with no worries or hassles. We do not want to face unpleasantness and try to carry on oblivious to whatever is around us. We put our head up high and pretend that nothing bad can reach us.…until our bubble bursts and we come crashing down.
Dementia is one of those bubbles that ram us into the ground and wake us up to the real world and maybe the end of the world.
Dementia is just one of so many conditions, illnesses, problems that we, as a human race, face. If it is not dementia, it is cancer or ALS or MS or a million other conditions. And yes, our world comes crashing down. Suddenly, life is not beautiful anymore. If only we had not placed our feeling of invincibility so high in our lives and thought that we were immune to the real world and all that it brings. Maybe the thump to the ground would not be so hard.
We know not when, what time and how we will depart from here. Earth is just a stepping stone, a journey that we must take, however long or short it may be. We are faced with countless decisions and trials that shape our lives and take us on different paths. Do we lose our way? Yes, we certainly do. Some people lose it for many years, perhaps through the influence of drugs, alcohol and a wayward life. Yet, at one point, we hope that everyone gets back on the train of life. The train that has many stops, and those depend on choices, and our choices will determine how many and how long our stops that we take will be. The train keeps going and going and we must work hard to stay on this journey of life, until we finally come to our last stop. Our very last stop.
Dementia, cancer, heart disease and countless more, may shorten our train ride but, for whatever reason, our time will come and therefore we must prepare. We must fill up our oil lamps and keep them full so when our spouse finally knocks on our door, we are ready to open it, and we are happy to open it. If we are prepared, we need not be afraid. We need not fear judgement, we need not fear this last train stop. All our illnesses, all our troubles, loneliness, hurts, helplessness, will fizzle away to nothing. They will disappear totally. Yes, we are afraid, I am too, but I want to learn how to prepare, to be ready, to be waiting, and there is never a better moment to start than today. Today, right now. Fill up your oil lamp and light it up. The light will fill you with warmth, peace and serenity. Go now, for your last stop awaits somewhere, sometime and somehow.