The Big Time Out

Learning how to do a little purgatory here on earth

10/27/2017

Luke 12:54-59 Jesus said to the crowds, "When you see a cloud rising in the west you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is. You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time? "Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny."

         I have two chairs placed in the corners of the church. What do you think they are there for? They are “time out chairs.” Could I get two volunteers to sit in those chairs? Boys and girls, raise your hand if you have ever had to sit in a time out chair at school or at home. I have a small confession to make about something I should go to time out for. Sometimes Fr. Pius is in the shower, and I will flush the toilet in my bathroom.  Both our bathrooms are located side by side with a wall in between. Do you know what happens to his shower when I flush the toilet? That causes all the cold water to leave his shower and only hot water coming out, and he screams. Sometimes even adults have to sit in the time out chair.

        One mother I know puts her children in time out depending on how old they are. She makes them sit there for one minute per year of their age. If you are five years old, then you’d sit in time out for five minutes. If you are ten years old, then you will sit in time out for ten minutes. If you’re Mrs. Mandy Becker, and you did something wrong, how long will you sit in time out? That’s right, for twenty-nine minutes.

         But boys and girls, what is the real point and purpose of sitting in time out? Are you supposed to just to sit there until your five minutes is over and then go back and get in trouble again? No, of course not. The idea of time out is to give you time to think about what you did wrong, and to teach you how to make better choices and decisions. During time out our heads and our hearts should change, and we should develop new habits, so that at the end of the time out, we don’t go back and get into trouble again.  We should leave time out a better person.

         In the gospel today, Jesus also talked about “time out,” but he calls it “going to jail.” He says that when we get into trouble, we will also have to go to a “big time out.” But I don’t think he is really talking about the Fort Smith Police Department jail, or the Sebastian County Sheriff’s lock up. Rather, he’s talking about purgatory; that’s the Big Time Out. And purgatory is not just for little kids; it’s for adults, too.

         What is the point and purpose of Purgatory? Is it just so we can sit there for ten minutes or for ten years and then go back out and get into trouble? Not at all. Purgatory, like time out, is to help us to think smarter and to help us to choose better, in short, to create new habits, and to make better persons. So, when we get to heaven, we won’t want to do anything wrong. That’s what will make heavenly so heavenly: we will have lost all our bad habits and have acquired all good habits, and we will be the best possible people.

         Someone sent me an email last week and asked me a very difficult question. So, put on your thinking caps. It’s such a hard question that most adults don’t know the answer, but I think you know the answer now. How would you answer someone who asks: Can we do our purgatory here on earth? I would answer “yes.” Why? Well, every time we develop good habits and reverse bad habits, we are doing a little purgatory here on earth. Remember, that’s the point of purgatory. When we practice the seven habits here in school – called “The Leader In Me” – we are doing a little purgatory here on earth. When you let someone else have the best seat in the movie theater, when you let someone else have the last cookie, when I stop flushing the toilet on Fr. Pius, we do a little purgatory here on earth. When we decide to go to Mass on Sunday instead of going somewhere else, we do some of our purgatory here on earth. We replace bad habits with good habits, when we become better persons, that’s purgatory.

          Jesus says you won’t get out of purgatory, the Big Time Out, until you’ve paid the last penny. The last penny is the last little way of thinking and choosing to cause trouble. When we no longer want to cause trouble, we will no longer have to go to Purgatory.

Praised be Jesus Christ!