1st Sunday of Advent Nov. 27, 2011 (Mk 13:33-37)
"Be watchful! Be alert! You do not know when the time will come. It is like a man traveling abroad. He leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with his work, and orders the gatekeeper to be on the watch. Watch, therefore; you do not know when the lord of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or in the morning. May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to all: 'Watch!'"
The Church once again celebrates a new liturgical year and she begins this with the Season of Advent. Advent literally means coming. In this season, the Church invites us again to wait for the Lord who came once and will come again.
The Gospel for today reminds us of our responsibility to prepare for the final days. Jesus urges us to be alert and to be "watchful".
Being watchful does not mean being like the guards in Luneta Park who stand there and keep watch until other guards take their shift. Neither does it mean being free to do whatever while we wait for something to happen. Being watchful means being faithful to our master as we wait for His return. And faithfulness means being loyal to our tasks all the time - not at the time most convenient to us, but all the time. And what is our task? It is to be obedient to God's commands all the time.
As faithful and watchful servants, we must not be too weary of thinking of Jesus' return. The "end times" always cause too many unnecessary speculations and distress. But as Christians, we "await in joyful hope the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ". We are happy as we await the Lord. We are joyful because the Lord's coming means salvation for us. We only need to fear the Lord's coming if we have not prepared ourselves and have not been loyal servants of His. As Jesus Himself said, "May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping." May we not be found unfaithful on the day of the Lord's return.
As we await the Lord, we must be alert. This means that we must never put out guard down. We must never, at any circumstance, think that it is alright to be unfaithful and to commit sin at the moment because we can always repent later. For all we know, that could be the last moment of our lives. Wallowing in sin and putting off repentance for some other time is not faithful watching for the Lord. It is procrastination.
As the new liturgical year begins, may we heed the call of the Advent Season. May we always bear in mind the Lord's exhortation to stay awake. The Lord is coming and we must always be ready, joyful and faithful for His coming.
The Gospel for today reminds us of our responsibility to prepare for the final days. Jesus urges us to be alert and to be "watchful".
Being watchful does not mean being like the guards in Luneta Park who stand there and keep watch until other guards take their shift. Neither does it mean being free to do whatever while we wait for something to happen. Being watchful means being faithful to our master as we wait for His return. And faithfulness means being loyal to our tasks all the time - not at the time most convenient to us, but all the time. And what is our task? It is to be obedient to God's commands all the time.
As faithful and watchful servants, we must not be too weary of thinking of Jesus' return. The "end times" always cause too many unnecessary speculations and distress. But as Christians, we "await in joyful hope the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ". We are happy as we await the Lord. We are joyful because the Lord's coming means salvation for us. We only need to fear the Lord's coming if we have not prepared ourselves and have not been loyal servants of His. As Jesus Himself said, "May he not come suddenly and find you sleeping." May we not be found unfaithful on the day of the Lord's return.
As we await the Lord, we must be alert. This means that we must never put out guard down. We must never, at any circumstance, think that it is alright to be unfaithful and to commit sin at the moment because we can always repent later. For all we know, that could be the last moment of our lives. Wallowing in sin and putting off repentance for some other time is not faithful watching for the Lord. It is procrastination.
As the new liturgical year begins, may we heed the call of the Advent Season. May we always bear in mind the Lord's exhortation to stay awake. The Lord is coming and we must always be ready, joyful and faithful for His coming.
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