Gospel: Mt 24:37-44
Jesus said to his disciples: “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into.
So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”
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All of us have had the experience of being caught off guard because we did not expect our parents to come home at the time which they did. Perhaps we had been asked to do some chore for them and we thought that we had enough time to do it and got caught up in doing something which was more interesting to us. The result, whatever the circumstances, was unpleasant because we had failed to do or to complete what was expected of us. What had happened to us was very simple. We had failed to prioritize correctly. We gave priority to what was interesting to us and failed to prioritize according to the larger picture. That failure proved our undoing and it is that failure that the Gospel reading for this first Sun day of Advent seeks to warn against.
The Gospel passage begins by reminding us of the ways in which the people of Noah’s time lost focus and concentrated on their own self indulgence. “In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark.” The people were so unfocussed that they did not read the signs of the times. They did not ask Noah what was happening. They kept on doing what was displeasing to God. We are told in the book of Genesis; “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil…” The result was that “the flood came and carried them all away.” The Gospel reading reminds us therefore of prioritizing correctly and for us Christians that means giving the things of God the importance that they deserve. If we do not, then like the people of the time of Noah, the day of God will find us un-expecting and unprepared.
If the quotation of the book of Genesis refers to all whole people who were on the earth, the Gospel passage reminds us that the day of the Lord comes to us as individuals also. We are told that “Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.” Each person is responsible for his/her own preparation for the day when the Lord will come and therefore the Gospel exhorts us; “Stay awake therefore! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come.” This staying awake is not a morbid preoccupation with death, it is rather a disposition of mind, heart and soul which allows us to be conscious of God’s purpose in the world and our own acceptance of that purpose and desire to have that purpose furthered. Staying awake is the ability to read the signs of the times and one’s own position as regards the building of God’s kingdom here in our midst. In other words when God comes, God must find us actively concerned and engaged in furthering God’s purpose which is a world of justice, peace and love; a world characterized by harmony. Staying awake is giving priority to God’s purpose.
God has promised it; a new heaven and a new earth. It will come. As Christians we wait in hope, actively ensuring that by our lives we do not put blocks or obstacles to its appearance. It is this hope that we reactivate and celebrate during the season of Advent, remembering that what we celebrate in Advent must be lived throughout the year and throughout our lives. This is what the saints did. This is what we must imitate.
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, we thank you for this new season of Advent. We thank you for reminding us of those things which must have priority in our lives. We thank you for the gift of hope given to us in baptism and confirmation. During this season of Advent we ask that you strengthen our hope so that we may stay awake, focused on making your purpose for the world a reality. Never let us be obstacles to your purpose. We ask this through Mary the Mother of hope and Jesus your Son. Amen
