Hindsight is 20/20

Seeing today in light of the end of the world

11/26/2023

Mt 25:31-46 Jesus said to his disciples: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit upon his glorious throne, and all the nations will be assembled before him. And he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.' Then the righteous will answer him and say, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?' And the king will say to them in reply, 'Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of the least brothers of mine, you did for me.'

There is an old saying that hindsight is 20-20. Do you know what that means? It means that when you are at the end of the road looking back, you see the path you should have taken more clearly. For example, when you are in college, you know what you should have focused on back in high school. I should have paid attention in algebra and anatomy instead of sleeping. After you have been working for 5 years you realize what you should have majored in back in college, business or engineering not philosophy like me!

By the way, I actually used hindsight as teenager to help me figure out I should become a Catholic priest. How so? I tried to imagine myself as two different 80 year old men. First, I tried to visualize myself as a retired CEO of Walmart, having been married to Sandra Bullock for 50 years, and we had 10 children and 40 grandchildren. And I asked my 80-year-old self, “If I had a chance to do it again, is this the life I would have chosen?” And I tried to feel in my heart either peace and joy or regret and sadness, and that feeling would indicate the right choice. At the end I know how I should live.

Then I switched scenarios and saw myself now as a retired 80-year-old monsignor, oh, let’s say bishop, what the heck, let’s make it an archbishop! I am retired and living as a chaplain for a cloister of Carmelite nuns. And I ask myself: do I feel any regrets?  That is, if I could live this life over, is this priestly path the one I would have chosen? And listening to my heart I can either feel peace and joy or sadness and regret. I bet you can guess which 80-year-old man felt peace and joy. In other words, hindsight is 20/20, when we are at the end and looking back, things become clearer.

Today is the last Sunday of Ordinary Time, and really the last Sunday of the whole liturgical calendar. It is kind of like the December 31 of the secular calendar. We are at the end of the year and so we can now look back. It is also the solemnity of Christ the King. That is, if you really want the 20/20 vision of hindsight, don’t stop at your 80th birthday (like I did), but go all the way to the end of time. And what do we see there? Not me as a CEO or an archbishop, but Jesus Christ enthroned as King and coming back to judge the nations (me and you). In other words, the end of the liturgical year sort of catapults us to the end of all years, that is, to the end of time.

It is so interesting how the gospel of Matthew shows Jesus creating two scenarios like I did for myself to help us harness this hindsight of faith. For instance, in one scenario we are like “sheep” who help the poor, imprisoned, the naked, the sick. In the second scenario we are like goats who ignore the sick, imprisoned, and naked. Jesus’ parable makes it pretty easy to know which life – that of the sheep or goats – leads to peace and joy rather than regret and sadness. Again, notice the dynamic at work in Jesus’ words: the clear 20/20 vision of hindsight. When we are at the end – at the real end – and look back, suddenly things become crystal clear.

Another way that hindsight can help us is not to exaggerate our problems and pains. Have you heard of something called “first world problems”? Those are things like, “Oh, I cannot believe I broke a nail!” or “Gosh, our flight was delayed two hours!” or “Can you believe the waiter brought me a dirty martini, when I clearly said I wanted the dirty on the side???” Or, “My dad won’t let me play videogames until after I finish my homework!!” Or, “I can’t understand the priest’s foreign accent!” Or, “You expect me to give up deer hunting to go to Mass on Sunday?!”

These are not problems people in the “third world countries face, who are like the people Jesus describes in need: the hungry, the naked, the strangers, the imprisoned, etc. In other words, our first world problems make us start acting more like the goats rather than the sheep, who are focused more on helping others rather than what hurts them. When we try to think of what the end of time will be like –separating the sheep and the goats – we can ignore our first world problems and start helping people with their third world problem. Hindsight help us see which who has the real problems.

My friends, from Thanksgiving until Christmas we enter the crazy season – the mad dash to shop for gifts, decorate home and hearth, make it to as many parties as possible, getting Christmas cards out on time, and look as adorable as Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus every time we step out of the house. And all this is good and part of the seasons. But when the Christmas season makes us lose our joy and peace, we start to feel more like the Grinch: anxious, angry, and depressed, perhaps a little hindsight can come to the rescue. Am I behaving like a sheep (helping others) or a goat (worried about myself)?

Instead of hurrying and scurrying about this holy season, take time to sit quietly and pray and ponder the great mystery we are awaiting: the birthday of our Savior. In order to do that, you will have to miss a party or two, or not get your cards out in time this year, or you might not get the tree you really wanted this year. But what of any of this will matter in the end? The answer: the only thing that will matter is the birthday of Jesus, the Incarnation, and the lesson to help our neighbor like a sheep. Heck, you might even think it’s a good idea to become a priest.

Praised be Jesus Christ!