Who hasn’t had the experience of being unready for a long-awaited guest? A thousand things have hindered our preparation. An unexpected phone call kept us late at the office. Traffic on the freeway was tied up by an accident. The super market was crowded and we ended up in the slowest check-out line. The oven won’t heat. The cat has walked down the middle of the table we set this morning, leaving unmistakable, sooty footprints. And our six-year-old knocks over a cup of milk. Then time runs out. The guest is at the door. We have lost the opportunity for a leisurely visit; we must struggle instead with dinner preparations. For all of us, in large matters and small, a time of judgment inevitable comes. Time runs out. We have no more second chances.

In this chapter we’re dealing with the para…