Just over forty years ago there was an old man named Harry who lived in a simple cabin at the base of a mountain in Washington State, a beautiful area covered with forests and meadows surrounding the deep blue waters of Spirit Lake. The mountain was actually a dormant volcano which had been quiet for over one hundred twenty years—and Harry and all the other nearby residents assumed it would always remain so, even after an earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale occurred in March 1980. A few weeks later a forest ranger heard what he thought was a sonic boom; the mountain had given a sign that it was ready to erupt. Scientists warned of the possibility of catastrophic destruction; some people evacuated the area after further rumblings, but most stayed put, including old Harry. He bragged, “Nobody knows more about this mountain than me, and it doesn’t dare blow up on me. [Besides,] I’m king of all I survey. I’ve got plenty of whiskey. I’ve got food for fifteen years, and I’m sitting high on the hog.”
Nothing happened for several more weeks, and many people assumed the scientists’ warnings were a false alarm. Then, on the morning of Sunday May 18, 1980, Mount Saint Helens erupted, hurling pulverized rock and ash over thirteen miles high. Millions of trees were uprooted and smashed by the force of the blast—which was five hundred times greater than the atomic explosion that destroyed the Japanese city of Hiroshima at the end of World War II. Vegetation was incinerated, ash and mud flowed into Spirit Lake, and the once-beautiful countryside was transformed into something ghastly and incapable of sustaining life. This eruption was the deadliest volcanic event in U.S. history, destroying over two hundred homes, forty-seven bridges, and one hundred eighty-five miles of roads. Fifty-seven people were killed—including old Harry, who had stubbornly refused to listen to the warnings that had been given (Dr. David Jeremiah, The Book of Signs, p. 151). This was a tragic example of what psychologists call the “normalcy bias,” in which people tend to assume their pleasant and predictable experience of life is normal, and will always continue on that way. Jesus reminds us today that this will not always be the case. His followers must be prepared for whatever may come—and paying attention to God’s warnings is an essential part of being ready.
Prophecy is a tricky thing. Sometimes it foretells good or happy times, as in the first reading for the First Sunday of Advent, in which the Lord, speaking through the prophet Jeremiah (33:14-16), promises “In those days Judah shall be safe and Jerusalem shall dwell secure. . . .” Quite often, however, Scripture warns of terrible events to come, as in the Gospel of Luke (21:25-28, 34-36), in which Jesus describes the frightening signs that will precede His Second Coming. A cynic or non-believer might say, “Of course the Bible talks about both good and bad things in the future; that way, no matter what happens, believers in God can say, ‘There, you see—it was foretold in the Bible!’” A religious scholar or theologian might say, “No, it’s not that simple; many dire prophecies are conditional, and are warnings to repent and change our ways; if we heed them, they’ve achieved their purpose, and the predicted chastisements don’t have to occur.” A simple religious believer might say, “If God knows the future, why doesn’t He warn us more precisely when everything will happen, so we can be ready?” The answer to that is easy: if people knew exactly when prophesied events, and especially the end of the world, were going to occur, they’d take that as a license to continue their sinful ways up until the last minute, even though their own deaths might occur suddenly and unexpectedly, leaving them unprepared for judgment and in grave danger of eternal damnation. It seems to be part of our human nature to procrastinate, to take unnecessary risks, and to assume that “while tragedies may occur in other places, they won’t happen here.” That’s why scriptural warnings are meant to be taken seriously by everyone—for while God has a unique plan for each of us, none of us knows the day and the hour when we will be judged by Him on how we’ve lived our lives.
Should this truth fill us with a spirit of fear and dread? No! No more than fire drills, tornado watches, and safety instructions by airline flight attendants are meant to terrify us or ruin our day. Purchasing health, car, or life insurance doesn’t mean we’re convinced bad things are going to happen to us; we’re just being responsible and taking prudent precautions. In the same way, Jesus is calling us to be spiritually prepared—not so much to avoid any possibility of eternal damnation, but to be ready to experience the fullness of joy and life in Heaven. However, everlasting happiness in the Kingdom of God doesn’t happen automatically or by chance; we must be actively ready for it, so as not to miss out on the blessings and rewards God has prepared for those who love Him.
This means loving the Lord with all our hearts, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. In practical terms, we do this by obeying God’s commandments and the teachings of the Church. These rules or ordinances are given to us not for the Lord’s benefit, but for ours. God perfectly understands our human nature; He knows that certain moral decisions and actions will help us grow in holiness and increase our potential for eternal happiness, while others will be spiritually destructive and lead to unnecessary misery and suffering. That’s why His rules are so strict, and why the teachings of His Church are unchanging and at times controversial: the Lord does not want us to experience spiritual death or unending tragedy. He is able to use everything that happens to us, even if it wasn’t part of His original plan, for our own benefit—but only if we are wise and humble enough to listen to Him, to heed His warnings, and to make His will a priority in our lives.
On this first day of Advent, Jesus advises us to be vigilant and to pray for strength. If we’re truly living as His disciples, He will help us recognize and understand the signs of the times, He will fill us with His peace even if the world around us is frightening and confusing, and He will help us be ready for whatever may come. Life is a gift. If we choose to waste it by living according to this world’s false values, our future will be one of fear and dread. If instead we follow the way of Christ, our future will be one of peace, gratitude, and rejoicing.
