One of the greatest evils that many a good and virtuous men and women easily fall prey to is procrastination. With all good intentions, these men and women begin to postpone the good work they have thought of and planned for. But by the time they get into action, much of the efficacy of the action is lost, and the work remains just a meaningless action. We have also heard about jurisprudence, that justice delayed is justice denied. We love to wait for opportune moments to embark upon our ambitious plans and projects, and quite often we are surprised to note that the delay often costs us a lot.
We human beings care notoriously known for delaying good actions, and that is why it is said that we should do good works at the very moment we conceive them. There are things which cannot be waited. We should use our conscience to get going, and the season of lent is a reminder which tells us, we cannot wait for too long. The story of Doctor Faustus (based on the medieval play by Christopher Marlowe) is a bitter reminder for all of us to realize that if we wait too long, we would lose the battle; even our bitter appeals to the devil for a minute, or a few seconds would be in vain.
In the Old Testament, we hear God giving ultimatum to the people of Israel to return to him; the people of Nineveh had 40 days to repent and return to the Lord; but if the people were to wait for 35 days to get over and they would do the needful on the last five days, it might be too late for them. But in our case, we do not know how many days we have been given; who knows before our conversion, our time may run late. And hence the urgency that the season of Lent comes with is real and we cannot take it lightly. Today is the favorable time, says prophet Joel, and are we listening to him?
Lent is a season which calls for concrete action; we cannot write pages after pages of resolutions which we would consider putting into practice after the Lent. However noble a resolution be, if it cannot be put into concrete action, then in vain is it. After listening to the cries of our neighbors with empathy, we are called to plunge into action immediately, and here each one will have to estimate what he/she is called to, without comparing one with the other. This action alone can lift the brother and sister who is steeped in pain and sorrow and provide the much needed solace and comfort.
Lent is not a season of high and noble ideals, but is a season of concrete action, where the body, mind and spirit jointly embark upon acts which can benefit humanity at large. When my action and sincere efforts are targeted at my neighbor with utmost empathy can bring down the blessings of God and of the whole of creation. It is also an invitation to live in the eternal present, in com-union with the God of Now, because it is only in the present moment that we can truly encounter God! The action can proceed only when we have listened to the cries of our brothers and sisters with hearts, with empathetic sentiments! This action will again take us to deeper listening and the cycle will go on endlessly, taking us into deeper realization of God's presence in our midst!
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