A Complicated Parade

BY KATE BLAIN
MANAGING EDITOR

"Watch out!" Jesus said. "You don't know when I'm coming back. I'm like a man who leaves on a trip, puts his servants in charge and tells them to watch for his return. Watch, because you don't know if the master of this house will come at midnight or sunrise. If I come back suddenly, I'd better not find you sleeping. Watch!"

Happy Thanksgiving! A lot of people start this day by watching a parade on TV. But no one thinks about how complicated it must be to organize one of those big parades! The bands have to march at the right pace; the people holding the giant balloons can't get tangled up; everyone has to stop and start at the same time.

And someone's got to be in charge, telling all those people what to do.

In this week's Gospel (Mark 13:33-37), Jesus makes His coming back to the world someday sound more complicated than a Thanksgiving parade. He tells His listeners that no one will know when or how it's going to happen - but, day or night, they'd better be ready.

The organizers of Thanksgiving parades have a lot to think about: who gets to participate, what route the parade should take, how far apart each float or band has to be. But those organizers probably wouldn't have the job if they didn't like dealing with details.

In the Gospel story, Jesus pointed out that details are important in other ways, too. He didn't want to scare people, but He wanted them to remember that He could come back any time - so it's not okay to forget about all the things He taught about treating other people well, taking care of the world and staying close to God.

Organizers who pay attention to details make big parades look simple. Jesus wanted us to pay attention to being good, so He could come back anytime and we'd be making it look easy, too!