Stay Awake

Stay Awake

Mt 24: 37 – 44

First Sunday of Advent

Introduction

Today’s reading tells us about Jesus who will come at a day and hour we do not know. This reading tells us to remain vigilant and awake as we begin this season of Advent. 

The Gospel

³⁷ For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸ For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, ³⁹ and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰ Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴¹ Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. ⁴² Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ⁴³ But understand this: if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴ Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

Reflection

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. We are entering into the beginning of a new liturgical year. The season of Advent ushers us to this new period in the Church’s Liturgy. We begin this season with a mood and atmosphere of awaiting; awaiting Him who comes to be with us, our Emmanuel whose presence brings God in our midst. In this season, the Church not only recalls to us the events leading to the birth of Christ; she also brings us to a somber mood of awaiting the Lord’s arrival or advent. 

Such is the mood for today’s Gospel. Using three short parables, Jesus speaks about his own coming at an unexpected hour and how important it is to remain vigilant and prepared at all times. 

In the first parable, Jesus uses a well known figure in the Old Testament. The figure of Noah immediately reminds us of the devastating flood which practically obliterated all living things on the earth. Jesus tells us that before the disastrous flood, people went about their usual merry making routine. Jesus speaks of the people in Noah’s time as merry makers; people who seemingly had nothing in mind except to engage in partying all day long. This partying mood was apparently correlated by Jesus with the unbridled sinfulness and immorality of that generation which eventually resulted in God’s judgment of destruction through the great flood. 

This doesn’t mean that merry making is sinful in itself. In those days, merry making, like those mentioned by Jesus, was associated with lavish and extravagant festivities, parties, revelries and other similar social gatherings which catered to the sinful and lustful instincts of people. St. Paul, in today’s second reading, gives us a hint of this correlation, especially when he refers to orgies, drunkenness, promiscuity, lust, rivalry and jealousy as “deeds of darkness” (Rom 13: 11 – 14). 

This parable simply tells us that a life of sinfulness doesn’t help one in preparing for the Lord’s coming. In fact, a life of sinfulness doesn’t prepare anyone for anything at all, not even for death, since the premise of a life lived in sin, is to enjoy life as much as one can while still alive. Apparently, Jesus tells us that a life lived this way will only pave the way for one’s own destruction, like the destruction seen in the days of Noah. 

In the second parable, Jesus tells us of a very simple parable about ordinary men and women, working on the fields and grinding on the mill. Here, Jesus tells us that not even the ordinary, the simple and uncomplicated daily routine of everyday life will be spared. Disruption will come even to those whose lives are so routinary and ordinary. If the first parable tells us about wicked and evil people, the second parable speaks about ordinary people. So what does Jesus tell us in this second parable? He advises us to stay awake and always be prepared. The Lord will come to the good, the bad and the ordinary at any moment, for no one knows the day when he comes.  

The third parable more or less re-enforces the message of the second parable. This parable speaks of the owner of a house who stays awake because of a foreknowledge of the thief’s entry into his house. This is why the owner stays awake. This vigilance spares the house from the thief’s sudden entry. 

The last parable apparently tells us that vigilance and preparedness remain as the expected mode of living for the followers of Jesus.  We need to always consider that at any time, at any place, at whatever condition, the Lord will suddenly come to our lives to meet us. This is perhaps why, he compares himself to a “thief” who comes unexpectedly and unannounced. 

This kind of vigilance and constant preparedness constitutes some kind of tension that we have to live with. It is a tension that is both filled with anxiety yet filled with hope. This tension is filled with anxiety because when the Lord comes, we have to render an accounting of all that we have done. But it is also filled with joy and hope, as the Lord who comes is one whom we have loved and followed in life and he now comes as the fulfillment of all that we have hoped for in life. 

This somber mood of advent teaches us one final thing: that our life is a constant waiting for the Lord who will come at a time we know not; that the best way to await his coming is to do the best that we can in whatever we do; and to keep one’s heart always attuned and sensitive to whatever movements our divine “ thief” makes when he tries to break in to our hearts. Come Lord Jesus, come.  

Prayer

Dear Lord, you are a thief in the night. You hide yourself from me, only to make your surprise entry at a time I know not. Let me await you that I may learn to wait patiently. Let my heart be sensitive to your coming that you may not find me unprepared when you break into my heart. Come Lord Jesus, come. Amen.  

   “ Awake, my soul!
Awake, O harp and lyre!
    I will awake the dawn.
⁹ I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
    I will sing praises to you among the nations.” – Psalm 57: 8 - 9