When I was in college, I was visiting a state park in Southern Indiana with some friends, when suddenly I looked out over a small lake and noticed that there was teenage boy in trouble in the water. Now for the first few seconds, you sort of doubt your eyes. You want to make sure that what you're seeing is what's really happening. The young man wasn't playing around. He wasn't joking. He was drowning. Now I have been a swimmer all my life. And I'm a good swimmer. Maybe it's a natural buoyancy thing, I don't know. I have even been trained several times as a lifeguard. So when I finally realized that this was real, and that this guy was in trouble, I ran as fast as I could down a pier and dove into the water. And I swam right up to the guy, which of course, as they teach you, you're never supposed to do. I was so worried that I might have to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation if he quit breathing, that all I wanted to do was get him out of the water, while he was still breathing. I kid you not. That is exactly what I was thinking about. You can probably guess what happened. As soon as I got even close to the young man, he flung himself at me, desperately trying to keep his head above water. As he did so, he locked his arms around my neck, choking off my air supply as he did so. I tried pushing him back, I tried punching him in the face, I tried everything to get to let go of my neck, so that I could get both of us to shore. But nothing worked. And so after a few minutes of this struggle, pretty soon both of us were sinking underwater in that lake; the teen with a death-grip on my neck and I powerless to do anything at all about it, until he quit breathing. Just as things were looking pretty black, two other guys swam out and pulled both of us out. They had been passing by in a car. They saw the young man struggling. They saw me go out to help and then get in trouble myself. And in one instant they both came out and saved both of us.

I am extremely grateful to both of those guys. They could have driven on. They could have not gotten involved. Instead, they stopped when they were needed. They put themselves in danger. When a person is drowning, they need help now. Not tomorrow, but now, today. Sometimes the now, today, is the most important thing. Jesus seems to be saying the same thing to us in our Gospel today, when He makes the point of saying that "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Luke is the only one of the four Gospel to make a big deal about this today thing. In fact, several other times in Luke's Gospel, "today" becomes an important aspect of what he is trying to teach us about Jesus. Luke wants us to be sure to hear the message that in this Jesus, God is NOW fulfilling His promise of a Savior. We don't have to wait any more. No more waiting; the Savior is here now, today. Jesus is declaring today that what has never happened before is happening now. Jesus declares, "Today God is making this happen through Me!"

This Good News is for the now. Jesus is not saying wait until you get to Heaven. He saying let me in NOW! Today! Today we are being reminded that we can't wait. We can't wait to get involved. We can't put off learning more about our Faith. We can't wait until it is more convenient to serve. We can't delay going on a Christ Renews His Parish weekend or a Cursillo weekend any longer. We can't put off telling somebody we love about Jesus and His Church. The time is NOW. Today is important. We might not get to have tomorrow. There's a special urgency, then, to all of this Faith stuff. We are not to put this off, making excuses, passing by on the other side of the street. In our world people are in need today, right now. We have the Good News and the power of God working through us today. Let's not waste it. Let's not wait. There's so much to do right now.

You know, those guys who jumped out of their car and came into the water to save my neck had plenty of other things to do. But because they got involved, because they seized the moment, they saved my life. They were able to see how important it was to act that moment, that day. We all have opportunities, thousands of them everyday, in large and small ways, to get involved and to make a difference. We might save a life. Or we might work for a few hours in the Shepherd's Gate food pantry. Or we might change someone's life with the Good News of Jesus Christ, or might offer our time or a sympathetic ear. There are so many things to do. Those guys who pulled me out of the water did a Christ-like thing. Their action is exactly what Jesus does for you and me. Jesus stops to bring the Good News into our present moment, in our lives each day. He saves us. He concerns Himself with our problems and worries. He doesn't have to. We have no claim on Him. Yet He comes to bring us the forgiveness and love of God here and now. Not two thousand years ago. Not last year. Not last week. It's all about right now, today. Today this scripture is being fulfilled in your hearing. Think about that!

May God bless each of us now and forever, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. AMEN!!!

St. Maria Goretti. Pray for us!!!