A man was being chased by a lion and began to run as fast as his legs would carry him, but he realized that the lion was gaining ground. He decided to change course and veered to the right, but as he turned, there was a tiger coming towards him. He was at his wits’ end and did know what to do and so in his desperation he turned left to escape the tiger and soon found himself nearing the edge of a precipice. He was now perspiring not only from the strain of his effort but also because of fear that had gripped him. Then he woke up.
Are you awake or if you have been asleep have you woken up yet? “Stay awake!” is the rallying call of the Gospel Text of today and sets the theme for the whole season of Advent. To stay awake – what does it mean for us today? What does it mean to stay awake when churches and other places of worship are being burned to the ground? What does it mean to wake up when women are being raped and dehumanized? What does it mean to stay awake when human beings are being tortured and killed mercilessly? What does it mean when our words and motives are being misunderstood?
It means very clearly that disciples of Jesus need not concern themselves with apocalyptic speculation or predictions of the future. They must remember that doing God’s will has no relationship to the timing of divine judgment. Neither should the disciples concern themselves with the fate of those who persecute them or who reject the message of unconditional love. The only question the master will ask is whether the servants have been faithful to their call as disciples, whether despite all odds they have been instruments of that love. Which he showed when he hung from the cross.
Being a disciples of Jesus does not just happen suddenly. It is a commitment that must be made constantly and decision that must be renewed at every moment of everyday.
The “watching” and “staying awake” that Jesus demands in this Advent is far deeper than watching staying awake like children who wait for their Christmas gifts or birthday gifts. The watching of Advent demands introspection as well as awareness of the surroundings. We look for the coming of the Lord within us as he calls us closer to Him. At the same time, we watch for the signs of his presence around us. We take a step of humility and recognize God’s presence working in those around us, particularly members of our family. It is easy to see the Lord’s presence in a stranger. It is the more difficult to see his presence in someone whose human limitations and whose idiosyncrasies are part of our daily lives. It is easy to see the Lord in the priest who speaks from the pulpit but may not be easy to see the Lord in Him when we meet him in the parish, it is harder to see the Lord in the person who finds fault with us, spreads false rumours about us and who hampers our growth. Husbands and wives, parents and children can make God’s presence real in their families. The other members of the family need to have humility to see God working through them. In this advent, we should consider the gifts of our lives and have a greater awareness of God’s hand in our own personal histories. Why did God lead us here? How did we get to this stage of our lives? Do we really have any regrets when we realize that God continues to write a straight line using the crooked paths of our lives? God is continually present in each of us, guiding us. We need to be aware of this presence.
The staying awake that Advent demands is the readiness we must have to respond to God’s presence.
The Symbolism of Advent is the symbolism of preparing ourselves for the imminent arrival of God: not only his entry into human history, commemorated at Christmas, but also the impact he would have on our lives now, if we made ready to welcome him or indeed, in the case of many of us, reawakened our desire for God which we have managed to bury under a pile of other preoccupations. As Jesus says in the Gospel when God comes, he must not find us asleep!
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